GarColga

I hope somebody can help me out on this.

I read somewhere within the past six months or so, in a book or magazine article, a theory that in the original telling of the story, Abraham actually DID sacrifice Isaac, and that the story was changed at a later date, when human sacrifice was no longer acceptable.

I have forgotten the specifics of the textual analysis which supported this idea, and would love to reread this.

Has anybody a clue what I'm talking about?

premjan

where did the Jews come from?

GarColga

Sorry, I'm not interested in arguing the point, I was hoping someone had read the same book or article.

Heathen Dawn

I don’t know of the article you read, but Jewish commentary says Abraham did sacrifice Isaac, and God subsequently resurrected him.

MortalWombat

Isn't that like asking if the she-wolf had eaten Romulus and Remus instead of raising them, then where did the Romans come from?

Toto

I have heard it speculated that Abraham really did sacrifice Isaac. I don't think it is based on a textual reading - more like reading behind the text.

A brief search turned this up that Hyam Maccoby in The Sacred Executioner: Human Sacrifice and the Legacy of Guilt (now out of print) claims that Abraham really did sacrifice Isaac.

Macobby comments on his thesis here:

Doctor X

Directs Staff to hose-down the Great Unwashed trying to sell time shares to GarColga. Invites him in, sits him down, and offers an Oban. . . .

Right, this is artually a serious question.

"Where" it come from is that when you look at the text of the adeqa [Pompous name for binding of Isaac.--Ed.] the E text does not have Isaac saved, come down, or appear in the rest of his/their narrative. This leads some to speculate that the "original" text had an actual sacrifice--like Jephthawhatever's daughter or "that King" who sacrifices his son on his battlements to get the Israelites squished.

Source?

Callahan discusses this in his Secret Origins of the Bible. However, a major problem that I have with his book is he does not name his sources. Thus, it appears that he has "discovered" this little tidbit of textual analysis. I find that wrong, frankly. I would like to look for original sources. I am not accusing him of anything, but it is unfortunate.

The great Who Wrote the Bible?; however, has a footnote on it--really merits a section of his text. This is a great book, incidentally, and if you do not have it you should. In fact, you can get it at a discount with the book The Bible Unearthed.

Jon Levenson has a book, The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity which I have prated on about regarding sacrifice. I was disappointed with this particular issue. He basically skips over it. He does not believe the textual evidence but does not answer it. I would have prefered he did, even if it was, "they have a valid argument, but I am not convinced."

--J.D.

{Amazon URL's edited to add revenue link to II}

GarColga

OMG thanks! I checked "Who Wrote The Bible" out of the library about four months ago!

I'll check out the other books everyone else mentioned.

Thanks to all who responded.

Toto

Friedman writes in a note at p. 256-7:

The story of the near-sacrifice of Isaac is traced to E. It refers to the deity as Elohim in vv. 1,3,8 and 9. But, just as Abraham's hand is raised with the knife to sacrifice Isaac, the text says that the angel of Yahweh stops him (v. 11) The verses in which Isaac is spared refer to the diety as Yahweh (vv. 11-14) These verses are followed by a report that the angel speaks a second time and says, ". . . because you did not withhold your son from me. . . ." Thus the four verses which report that Isaac was not sacrificed involve both a contradiction and a change of the name of the deity. As extraordinary as it may seem, it have been suggested that in the original version of this story Isaac was actually sacrificed, and that the intervening four verses were added subsequently, when the notion of human sacrifice was rejected (perhaps by the person who combined J and E. Of course, the words "you did not withhold your some" might mean only that Abraham had been willing to sacrivice his son. But still it must be noted that the text concludes (v. 19) Abraham returned to his servants." Isaac is not mentioned. Moreover, Isaac never again appears as a character in E. Interestingly, a later midrashic tradition developed this notion, that Isaac actually had been sacrificed. This tradition is discussed in S. Spiegel's The Last Trial (New York: Schocken 1969; Hebrew edition 1950).

GarColga

Thanks, Toto.