Child sacrifice -

Abraham’s Failure: Missing God’s Nature in the Aqedah (Series Part 2)

November 24, 2024 3 Comments

Pre-Abraham State of the World

Scholars have established that the first 11 chapters of Genesis serve as an extended prologue, providing essential context and foundational insights for the narratives that follow. These chapters effectively recount the story of creation and delineate how the nation of Israel emerged as a privileged people within this overarching narrative. Genesis opens with God’s profound intention to create beings that can reflect His image, leading Him to craft a suitable environment for this endeavor. He then forms humanity and imparts clear instructions for their living—guidelines that they are fully capable of following. Yet, it becomes evident that other forces interfere with God’s plan. Before long, the trajectory of this project is disrupted, even with just two humans involved. The situation escalates—by the time there were four named individuals, there was a tragic murder. From that point, the narrative continues its descent into chaos.

Abraham and the Aqedah: Child Sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible (Series Part 1)

November 23, 2024 2 Comments

Fewer biblical passages elicit intense visceral reactions than the Aqedah, the story of Abraham binding his long-awaited son Isaac for sacrifice as God commanded. This enteric rejection is not unique to modern readers, as some ancient readers, such as the prophet Jeremiah, felt just as strongly against child sacrifice. Traditionally, the account is often read as an instance of Abraham finally demonstrating complete reliance on God. This reading is not without merit. After all, Genesis chronicles Abraham’s sinusoidal faith in his journey with God. When called to leave his home country, Abraham obeyed without any questions (Genesis 12). God promised Abraham that he would become the father of many nations and that his descendant would inherit the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:7). Yet when there was a famine in the land, and he journeyed to Egypt for relief, Abraham had no troubles offering up his wife for potential sexual exploitation (Genesis 12:11-15). He did not even seek God for help – whether to go to Egypt in the first place or how to survive in Egypt. So, in one chapter, we see the man go from exercising enviable faith and departing his homeland to prioritizing self-preservation over the well-being of his wife. This wife was to enable him to become the father of many nations, as God promised. This pattern of highs and lows continues in Abraham’s life, as we shall see shortly. So, the traditional reading of the Aqedah is sensible, though not without problems.