Offerberättelsen i Genesis 22 – i jämförelse med rabbinska utläggningar av Aqedah
(2013) TEOM51 20122Centre for Theology and Religious Studies
- Abstract
- The purpose of this essay is to compare the sacrifice story in Gen 22 with rabbinical commentaries on the binding of Isaac (Aqedah). More specifically, I want to examine what it is in the text of Gen 22 that may have influenced and inspired the early rabbinic tradition of Aqedah; that all subsequent animal sacrifices received its force and validity from the profits that Isaac won by his sacrifice.
In this essay I have done a reception analysis, by using reception history as a method. By doing a close reading I have established a relationship between Gen 22 and the rabbinical texts. I have studied what the rabbis react on in the biblical text by examining the reception in different midrashim and targums. Based on this analysis of the... (More) - The purpose of this essay is to compare the sacrifice story in Gen 22 with rabbinical commentaries on the binding of Isaac (Aqedah). More specifically, I want to examine what it is in the text of Gen 22 that may have influenced and inspired the early rabbinic tradition of Aqedah; that all subsequent animal sacrifices received its force and validity from the profits that Isaac won by his sacrifice.
In this essay I have done a reception analysis, by using reception history as a method. By doing a close reading I have established a relationship between Gen 22 and the rabbinical texts. I have studied what the rabbis react on in the biblical text by examining the reception in different midrashim and targums. Based on this analysis of the texts, I have examined the possible impact and influence that Gen 22 itself may have had to the cause of Aqedah.
It is not difficult to understand that the sacrifice story in Gen 22 has become the subject of extensive expositions, given that it raises a number of difficult issues, for example how a good God can give such a cruel command. At the same time, the text contains a large theological content and also shows us a brilliant narrative technique behind the text. The story leaves some gaps and opens up to a lot of questions so that the reader is curious about Isaac and his part of the plot.
The evidence suggests that Judaism's encounter with the evangelizing Jesus movement affected the emergence of Aqedah. However, my research shows that Christian influence is not a sufficient explanation. It seems that Gen 22 with its tension and its contents along with other texts in the Old Testament opens up for a wealth of interpretations. In its innermost, the text contains an extensive depth of different motifs, framed by a description of a burnt sacrifice ritual. This has made the story a text which the rabbis easily could use in their expositions of sacrifices in Leviticus. The rabbis came to use Gen 22 as an explanation for the questions that arose about the Levitical sacrifices. These questions could be about the cause and function. They also came to use Leviticus as a way to explain Gen 22. My analysis shows that Gen 22 was a suitable dialogue partner and that Aqedah came to be a response that could be used on several issues raised by the rabbis.
In addition, there are also indications that their interpretation of Aqedah may have been influenced by texts such as Exodus 32, Isaiah 53 and 4 Maccabees. Furthermore, it seems like the rabbis brought their own world with them into their reading of Gen 22, and thus they read Gen 22 with the understanding that the whole book of Genesis pointed towards their contemporary history and the salvation at the end time. This has also affected their exposition of Gen 22 and Aqedah. (Less)
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http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/3410910
- author
- Imberg, Johannes LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- TEOM51 20122
- year
- 2013
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Targum, Midrash, Isaac, Abraham, Burnt sacrifice, Sacrifice, Aqedah, Gen 22
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 3410910
- date added to LUP
- 2013-02-11 09:42:54
- date last changed
- 2015-12-14 13:35:32
@misc{3410910,
abstract = {{The purpose of this essay is to compare the sacrifice story in Gen 22 with rabbinical commentaries on the binding of Isaac (Aqedah). More specifically, I want to examine what it is in the text of Gen 22 that may have influenced and inspired the early rabbinic tradition of Aqedah; that all subsequent animal sacrifices received its force and validity from the profits that Isaac won by his sacrifice.
In this essay I have done a reception analysis, by using reception history as a method. By doing a close reading I have established a relationship between Gen 22 and the rabbinical texts. I have studied what the rabbis react on in the biblical text by examining the reception in different midrashim and targums. Based on this analysis of the texts, I have examined the possible impact and influence that Gen 22 itself may have had to the cause of Aqedah.
It is not difficult to understand that the sacrifice story in Gen 22 has become the subject of extensive expositions, given that it raises a number of difficult issues, for example how a good God can give such a cruel command. At the same time, the text contains a large theological content and also shows us a brilliant narrative technique behind the text. The story leaves some gaps and opens up to a lot of questions so that the reader is curious about Isaac and his part of the plot.
The evidence suggests that Judaism's encounter with the evangelizing Jesus movement affected the emergence of Aqedah. However, my research shows that Christian influence is not a sufficient explanation. It seems that Gen 22 with its tension and its contents along with other texts in the Old Testament opens up for a wealth of interpretations. In its innermost, the text contains an extensive depth of different motifs, framed by a description of a burnt sacrifice ritual. This has made the story a text which the rabbis easily could use in their expositions of sacrifices in Leviticus. The rabbis came to use Gen 22 as an explanation for the questions that arose about the Levitical sacrifices. These questions could be about the cause and function. They also came to use Leviticus as a way to explain Gen 22. My analysis shows that Gen 22 was a suitable dialogue partner and that Aqedah came to be a response that could be used on several issues raised by the rabbis.
In addition, there are also indications that their interpretation of Aqedah may have been influenced by texts such as Exodus 32, Isaiah 53 and 4 Maccabees. Furthermore, it seems like the rabbis brought their own world with them into their reading of Gen 22, and thus they read Gen 22 with the understanding that the whole book of Genesis pointed towards their contemporary history and the salvation at the end time. This has also affected their exposition of Gen 22 and Aqedah.}},
author = {{Imberg, Johannes}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Offerberättelsen i Genesis 22 – i jämförelse med rabbinska utläggningar av Aqedah}},
year = {{2013}},
}