Proper 8, Year A
Genesis 22:1-18
This is an enormously complicated and difficult and even painful passage. It has been the subject of contentious debated since forever, perhaps from the first time that anyone passed it down from one generation to the next. In terms of preaching and teaching, there are usually three fairly consistent popular interpretations of it.
First is the one
on its face. Abraham is tempted by God to see how faithful he would be. To see
if he would be willing to sacrifice everything, including his own son and the
promise of descendant blessings in order to obey God. This is the one most
commonly used by preachers. Brueggemann stresses this point in his Interpretation: Genesis commentary. William
Willimon followed this thinking in an old 2002 Pulpit Resource article.
The second is that the story was
constructed by the Elohist writer to help combat the child sacrifice of his
time. Child sacrifice was found in Judah during the time in which the Elohist
was writing (2 Kings 16:3; 21:6 (“He made his son pass through fire”); 23:10
(“He defiled Topheth…so that no one would make a son or a daughter pass through
fire as an offering to Molech); Jer. 19:4,5 (“Because the people have…filled
this place with the blood of the innocent, 5 and gone on building
the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings
to Baal, which I did not command or decree,…6 Therefore…”). The
so-called “Covenant Code” allows for the first born child to be “given” to the
deity just as the first born animal was given. Cf. Exodus 22:29-30,
“You shall not delay to make
offerings from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your
presses. The firstborn of your sons you
shall give to me. 30You shall do the same with your oxen and
with your sheep: seven days it shall remain with its mother; on the eighth day
you shall give it to me.”
So
the theory was that the Abraham and Isaac story was written to help overcome
child sacrifices in ancient Israel
See for example, Exodus 13:13-16:
“But every firstborn donkey you shall redeem with a
sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. Every firstborn male among your children you shall redeem. 14When
in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall answer, ‘By
strength of hand the LORD
brought us out of Egypt ,
from the house of slavery. 15When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let
us go, the LORD
killed all the firstborn in the land
of Egypt Egypt .”
“So,
it is possible that the E story, in which Abraham, the father of the people,
with whom the descendants feel corporate responsibility, was meant to dramatize
the deity’s demand for the substitutionary practice, and was one of the factors
which brought about cultic reform and the abandonment of human sacrifice. The
biblical prophets and the laws in Deuteronomy and Leviticus expressly forbid
this practice, but that fact also implies strongly that it continued to occur.
In fact, the story of Abraham’s “sacrifice” of Isaac suggests that Abraham
was familiar with human sacrifice. He knew how to do it, and he was not surprised
by Yahweh’s demand.” [a]
The third interpretation is that Abraham knew all the time that God was just
testing him and there was really nothing particularly scary about the story. He
was going along with it because he knew that God would never make him actually
do it. The story of “faith” in this version is that he had enough faith in God
to know that God wouldn’t actually do it (or, better, allow Abraham to do it). I
personally think this is bunk. It’s demeaning and detracts from the pain the
author or the real life participants went through in the story. However, I
have, and I’m sure everyone has, heard a sermon on this text using this theme.
A fourth possibility is from Michael Lerner,
which repeats some ancient thinking of the rabbis on the story. In it Abraham
is internally torn because of things that had happened to him by his father in
his own youth and he was repeating down to his child the habits and demonic
voices of that pain. “The real task,” says Lerner, following this
interpretation, “was for him to be able to separate out the voices within him
and discern the voice of the one true God from the gods of the pain and
destruction of his childhood.”
What
follows is the gist of my sermon, based roughly on Lerner’s theory, but I’m not
altogether happy with it.
SO WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The
story is basically from the Elohist, though there is some confusion over the
use of the name YHWH (Yahweh) at vv. 11, 14, and
16. Some believe that vv. 14-18 are insertions from the hand of the Yahwist.
But that doesn’t explain the first use of YHWH at v. 11, where the angel of the lord comes to
Abraham again and tells him not to sacrifice Isaac. The insertions appear
purposeful, and appear to make a statement. My guess is that it probably has to
do with the primacy of Yahwist religion over Elohist religion. Exactly what is
the key question of the passage.
Michael
Lerner, in “Cruelty Is Not Destiny: Abraham and the Psychodynamics of
Childhood” (Tikkun, n.d., p. 33 ff.)
argues that Abraham is a man wracked with conflict over abuses in his own
childhood, stories of which Lerner finds in early Rabbinic midrash on this
passage. Abraham, according to the stories, grew up as a monotheist in a
typically polytheistic society. His father was a maker of idols for the
culture, and Abraham early on realized how useless they were for helping crops
or love lives. In a very revealing story, once Abraham’s father went away for a
while and left Abraham to sell the idols by himself. “A man came and wished to
buy one. ‘How old are you”’ Abraham asked him. ‘Fifty years,’ was the reply.
‘Woe to such a man!’ he exclaimed, ‘you are fifty years old and would worship a
day-old-object!’ At this the man became ashamed and departed.” (p. 33).
According to the story, these exchanges continued, and finally the father, who
made his living supporting these idols, turned Abraham over to the king, who tortured
him to make him believe in the idols, and threw him into a fiery furnace.
Abraham does not die from the occasion, but he comes out scarred both
externally, and internally. His internal burns are probably deeper and more
dangerous than his external ones. He never again lives in his father’s house,
and eventually, when his father dies, he leaves the country altogether and
travels north to Canaan becoming a wandering
nomad. The root definition of the word ivri,
which we translate as “Hebrew,” is one who crosses boundaries, who is rootless.
It is to this troubled, boundary crossing, contradictory, sometimes violent, unhealed
monotheist that God finally comes and chooses as the beginning of his new religion.
In
the Abraham and Isaac story then, according to this interpretation, Abraham is
a victim of “repetition compulsion,” a Freudian term which means he is
repeating on his son the same horror he experienced by his father (remember
“Corporate personality”? We pass it all down to our kids). The Rabbis theorized
that the first message that Abraham receives in v. 1, is from Elohim, the many
raging internal gods which tell him that he has done despicable things in the
way he has treated Hagar, his wife, his child Ishmael, and deserves not to have
the blessing of God, and now the best way to get out of the pain is to destroy
the promise, to kill the child of laughter. He, Abraham, is a child of
violence, and unable to deal with the world without violence, and now in his
despair and misery with his life, he resorts to end everything with violence.
The voice he hears from the beginning is the voice of the pain of his childhood
which he projected into the voice of God, telling him to do to his own son what
was done to him. As he was thrown into the fire, so he will pass the pain on to
his own beloved. “Take your son, your only son, the one whom you love, Isaac,
and offer him in burnt offering.…”
All
of us do this. We act out of the fundamental traumas of our childhood. There is
something about doing the things that were done to us as kids that somehow
makes us think we can master them, or have control over them. In childhood
events in which we were powerless or victimized, we attempt right ourselves as
adults by repeating the sin on someone else. (“The parents have eaten sour
grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” [Jeremiah 31:29]). We pass
down or pain to our offspring as a prize f their inheritance. Then they despise
us for it and pass it down to their offspring. All but a few of us hated
something in our parents. And all but a few of us who have children have
something in us that we have blotted them with that came from our childhoods
and which they hate within us. We should put our wounds in our wills, for that
is the largest thing that people inherit from us.
Whoever
inserted “Yahweh” as the speaker in the second message, v. 11, intended it to
be a different voice than the first. Lerner, following the Rabbis, believes
that it was intended to represent a word that is truly from God. The task
(“test”?) of Abraham was not that he was willing to take his son Isaac to a mountain
and sacrifice him to God. The real task was for him to be able to separate out
the voices within him and discern the voice of the one true God from the gods
of the pain and destruction of his childhood. To separate out the voices of the
gods of humiliation, and defeat, and abuse, and unlove, and to hear instead the
voice of the God of the Covenant and the gift and the laughter, and the God who
gives sight and vision to see the resources what will rescue us. the greatness
of Abraham is not that he was tough enough to obey a God’s command to kill his
own son; the greatness of Abraham is that he didn’t go through with it! “At
that very last moment, Abraham hears the true voice of God, the voice that
says, ‘Don’t send your hand onto the youth and don’t make any blemish.’”
(Lerner) Don’t do it, God says, you don’t have to do it. You do not have to
hurt others to get over your own hurts. You do not have to damage others to get
over your own buried sense of damage.
The
distinction of the voices is that the first one is plural, “the gods.” The many
voices that Paul speaks of that torture us with threats and challenges. The
second is YHWH, the one voice, the one
God. The God who says the chain of pain can be broken, who the God of the redemption
and liberation of Israel
from Egypt
Note that Jews read this story every year at Rosh Ha
Shanah, the traditional time of atonement. It is the time when that which has
been in our lives does not ultimately and completely have to bind us, limit us,
make us less than we could be and should be. If Abraham can transcend the
voices of his childhood, the ceremony says, then so can we.
Genesis 22:1-18
After these things[2]
God[3]
tested[4]
Abraham.[5]
He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”[6]
2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love,[7]
and go to the land
of Moriah
3 So Abraham rose early in the
morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his
son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the
place in the distance that God had shown him. 4On the third day
Abraham looked up and saw[10]
the place far away. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here
with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there;[11]
we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6Abraham took
the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself
carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7Isaac
said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He
said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt
offering?”[12] 8Abraham
said, “God himself will provide[13]
the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
9 When they came to the place
that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in
order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Then
Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill[14]
his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord[15] called to him from heaven,
and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”[16]
12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him;
for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your
only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham looked up and saw[17]
a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and
offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham
called that place “The Lord will provide”[18];
as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”[19]
15 The angel of the Lord[20] called to Abraham a second
time from heaven, 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and
have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will indeed bless
you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as
the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of
their enemies, 18 and by your offspring shall all the nations of the
earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.”[21]
19So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went
together to Beer-sheba;[22]
and Abraham lived at Beer-sheba.
[a]Victor harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas and John H.
Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary : Old Testament (Downers Grove , IL
[3] “God” (’elohim
) Plural of 'elowahh, deity in
general, or the Deity. In the
ordinary sense it means “gods,” but usually used (when plural) of God.
[4] “Test” (× ×¡×” nâsâh) verb, to test, try, prove, tempt, assay, put to the proof or test (BDB
Dictionary). “Testing, however, does not
always suggest tempting or enticing someone to sin, as when the Queen of Sheba
tested Solomon’s wisdom (1Ki. 10:1; 2Ch. 9:1); and Daniel’s physical appearance
was tested after a ten-day vegetarian diet (Dan. 1:12, Dan. 1:14)….can refer to
the testing of equipment, such as swords or armor (1Sa. 17:39)” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary).
“In most contexts nasa
has the idea of testing or proving the quality of someone or something, often
through adversity or hardship. The rendering ‘tempt’…generally means prove,
test, put to the test, rather than the current English idea of “entice to do
wrong.” In a number of passages nasa
means to attempt to do something. It is used of attempting or venturing a word
which might offend the hearer (Job. 4:2), of venturing to touch one’s foot to
the ground (Deu. 28:56), and of trying to take a nation (Israel) from another
nation (Egypt) (Deu. 4:34)….The largest number of references, however, deal
with situations where a person or a nation is undergoing a trial or difficult
time brought about by another. Though man is forbidden to put God to the test
(Deu. 6:16), the OT records that he did so. The wilderness place of Massah (“trial”)
becomes a byword in this regard, often combined in a play on words with nasa,
“to try” (Exo. 17:2, Exo. 17:7; Deu. 6:16; Deu. 33:8; Psa. 95:8, Psa. 95:9; cf.
Deu. 9:22). Those who put God to the proof in the wilderness would not see Canaan (Num. 14:22-23). The hymns of Israel
[6] “Here I am”: Often used to indicate readiness
and availability with respect to God’s command. See also 31:11
(Jacob); 46:2 (Jacob);
Exodus 3:4
(Moses); 1 Samuel 3:8
(Samuel). Used here three times, vv. 7 and 11. Especially interesting is v. 7,
where Abraham says the words in response to being addressed by Isaac.
[7] “Whom you love.” This is the first time that
love is ever mentioned at all in the Bible.
[8] Moriah (mountain) Traditional (but unlikely)
site of Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem , on the threshing floor of Araunah.
Cf. 2 Chronicles 3:1 “Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem
on Mount Moriah Moriah Mountain
[9] “Go to the land of Moriah
[10] Saw,
yi’reh, a prim. root; “to see,” lit.
or fig. Also, “provide,” “cause to (let) show (self).” The first of a series of
plays on the word yi’reh, which continues
the complex wordplay on “seeing,” which has been prominent throughout the
Abrahamic stories, 16:13-14; 21:9. Seeing and providing are closely linked
linguistically in Hebrew, and especially theologically in these passages. See
especially below on 22:8, and 14.
[11] “Over there.” The IB notes that in accordance
with Hebrew Scripture usage, if they were really going to Mount Moriah
[12] The first and last conversation between Isaac
and Abraham.
[13] God…will
provide, ’elohim, yi’reh, same word as used in v. 4. Means in this case,
“God will see to it” or God will make it visible.” Haslam suggests that the
phrase may intend irony as in “God
himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering - my son.”
[14] “Kill” (ָשַׁחט
šāḥaṭ). Verb, to slaughter, to
kill, to offer, to slay. Haslam says that “The Hebrew word is a technical term used specifically to describe animal
sacrifice.”
[15]Lord (yhwh, Yahweh). Note the change from Elohim
to Yahweh. Some believe that it was
inserted by the redactor to make a distinction between two gods. Others say it
is two different understandings of the one God, or it is the merging together
of writings by two authors (Elohist and Yahwist). If it is two writers, then
vv. 14-18 are probably from the Yahwist, because they relate naming the place
using Yahweh’s name. But that doesn’t explain v. 11, where Yahweh first
appears. It is fairly clear that a redactor stuck it there for a reason. What
the reason was, is the question. See below on Michael Lerner, who relates
rabbinic Midrash that said it was two voices within Abraham’s head. The good
God and the bad God.
[16] “Here I am” (ִ×”ֵï€×”
hinnēh) Behold, or look.
Continuing the theme of sight
underneath this passage. “An interjection meaning behold, look, now; if. It is
used often and expresses strong feelings, surprise, hope, expectation,
certainty, thus giving vividness depending on its surrounding context. Its main
meanings can only be summarized briefly here: It stresses a following word
referring to persons or things (Gen. 12:19; Gen. 15:17; Gen. 18:9). It is used
to answer, with the first person suffix attached, when one is called (Gen.
22:1, Gen. 22:7).” (Complete word Study Dictionary)
[19] On the
mount of the Lord…provided, yhwh …yi’reh. Either, “The mountain where Yahweh will provide (a ram)” or
“…where Yahweh can be seen.” Either is possible.
[21] God has made promises to Abraham six times:
see 12:2-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15; 17; 18. Now the angel repeats for the seventh and
climatic time (12:2-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15; 17; 18) the great promises in their
most generous form. For the first time, Abraham is blessed because he has
heeded God’s command. [NJBC]
[22] Beersheba .
“This important city, often identified as the southern limit of Israel ’s territory (Judg 20:1; 1 Sam 3:20),
is traditionally located in the northern Negev
at Tell es-Seba’ (three miles east of the modern city). Its name derives from
its association with the wells dug to provide water for the people and flocks
in this area (see Gen 26:23–33) (Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas and
John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background
Commentary: Old Testament (Downers
Grove , IL
