Human Sacrifice in Folklore and Mythology Codexery

Binding of Isaac

A biblical account of a commanded sacrifice that is halted.

Abraham binds Isaac on an altar but is stopped by a messenger from God, then sacrifices a ram instead.[1][2] Artworks frequently title this episode the "Sacrifice of Isaac," even though Isaac was not ultimately killed.[3]

Quick Facts

Location
Mount Moriah (Jehovah-jireh)
Key figures
  • Abraham
  • Isaac
  • Angel of the Lord
Substitute sacrifice
Ram
Festival in islam
Eid al-Adha
Also known as
The Binding (Hebrew: הָעֲקֵדָה), Sacrifice of Isaac
Traditional reading
Second day of Rosh Hashanah in synagogue
Mentioned in new testament
Hebrews 11:17–19

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

The narrative in Genesis 22 has been called "one of the most brilliantly told narratives in the book"[4] Maimonides argued the story contains two "great notions": the limit of humanity's love and fear of God, and the truth value of prophetic revelation.[5] Modern biblical critics under the documentary hypothesis ascribe the narrative to the Elohist source.[6] Some scholars suggest the original story may have involved a completed human sacrifice later altered by redactors.[3][7]

The Quran's account (37:100-101) differs from Genesis regarding which son was to be sacrificed and how that son responded.[8] In Islamic tradition, Abraham's son consented to the sacrifice, and no binding to an altar is described.[8] A majority of Muslims hold that the son was Ishmael, not Isaac.[9]

What the cited sources add

Martin S. Bergmann stated that Aggadah rabbis asserted Isaac was "bound on the altar and reduced to ashes"[10][11] The Sefaria text describes Isaac being "reduced to ashes and his sacrificial dust was cast on Mount Moriah" before being revived by dew.[11] One manuscript reads that Abraham "slew him and burned him" and Isaac "was reduced to ashes"[11] Yael Feldman's 2010 book "Glory and Agony" argues the story has impacted the ethos of altruist heroism in modern Hebrew national culture.[12][13]

Wilfred Owen's poem "The Parable of the Old Man and the Young", set to music by Britten, ends with the old man slaying his son.[14][15]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Binding of Isaac" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Binding of Isaac" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Binding of Isaac" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac", an example in Missouri; See Binding of Isaac#Child sacrifice below (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Binding of Isaac" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Whybray, R. N., 4. Genesis, in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary, page 53, archived on 2 November 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Binding of Isaac" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Maimonides, The Guide of the Perplexed, Vol. 2, Book III, Ch. 24. English translation by Shlomo Pines. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Binding of Isaac" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: G. J. Wenham. (1994). Genesis 16-50. Dallas, TX: Word Biblical Commentary. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Binding of Isaac" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "It may be that the biblical story contains traces of a tradition in which Abraham does sacrifice Isaac, for in Genesis 22:19 Abraham appears to return from the; Friedman, R.E. (2003). The Bible With Sources Revealed, p. 65.; Terence E. Fretheim, in Marcia J. Bunge, Terence E. Fretheim, Beverly Roberts Gaventa (eds.), The Child in the Bible, p. 20; Kosior, "'You have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me'. Some arguments for the consummated sacrifice of Abraham", The Polish Journal of the Arts and Culture, 2013, p. 73 en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Binding of Isaac" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Quran 37:100-101 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Binding of Isaac" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Ishaq. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Binding of Isaac" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bergmann, "In the Shadow of Moloch: The Sacrifice of Children and Its Impact on Western Religions, Volume 10", Columbia University Press, 1992, p. 97; "Teach Your Children Well, then let them go Sefaria", www.sefaria.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. "Teach Your Children Well, then let them go Sefaria", www.sefaria.org. facts only, no text reused. sefaria.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Binding of Isaac" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Feldman, "Glory and Agony: Isaac's Sacrifice and National Narrative", Stanford University Press, 2010 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Open Library record, ISBN 9780804759021 ("Glory and agony"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  14. Wikipedia, "Binding of Isaac" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "War Requiem: The complete text", Classic FM (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  15. "War Requiem: The complete text", Classic FM. facts only, no text reused. classicfm.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Binding of Isaac (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Human Sacrifice in Folklore and Mythology

Binding of IshmaelBlood libelBook of AbrahamBridge of ArtaCallirhoë (Calydonian woman)Cleostratus (mythology)Comaetho (priestess)CoresusCrom CruachDemophon of ElaeusDomaldeIdomeneus (son of Deucalion)

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