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Pseudo-Philo and Rabbinic tradition in Genesis Rabbah interpret the binding of Isaac to have God declare that Abraham’s faith has been revealed, not discovered, in order to avoid the natural reading of Genesis that suggests God learns something.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Pseudo Philo Biblical Antiquities 32:4
Classical
4 “And when his father had placed him upon the altar and had bound his feet to kill him, the Almighty quickly sent forth his voice from above, saying, ‘Do not kill your son, nor destroy the offspring of your body: for now I have made myself known to those who are unaware of me, and have silenced those who constantly speak ill of you. And your memory shall be before me forever, and your name and the name of this your son from one generation to another.’
Genesis Rabbah 56:7
Aggadah
Rabbinic
“The angel of the Lord called to him from the heavens, and said: Abraham, Abraham. He said: Here I am” (Genesis 22:11). “The angel of the Lord called to him from the heavens, and said: Abraham, Abraham” –Rabbi Ḥiyya taught: This is an expression of affection, [and] an expression of exhortation. Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov said: [It also denotes that it is] for him and for future generations. There is no generation in which there is not someone like Abraham; there is no generation in which there is not someone like Jacob; there is no generation in which there is not someone like Moses; there is no generation in which there is not someone like Samuel. “He said: Do not extend your hand against the lad, and do not do anything to him, for now I know that you are God-fearing, and you did not withhold your son, your only one, from Me” (Genesis 22:12). “He said: Do not extend your hand [against the lad]” – and where was the knife? Three tears fell from the ministering angels and destroyed the knife. He [Abraham] then said to Him: ‘[Since I no longer have the knife], I will strangle him.’ He [God] then said to him: “Do not extend your hand against the lad.” He [Abraham] said to Him: ‘I will extract from him a drop of blood.’ He said to him: “Do not do anything [me’uma] to him” – do not inflict any blemish [muma] on him. “For now I know” – I have made it known to everyone that you love Me. “You did not withhold [your son, your only one [yeḥidekha]]…” – so that one should not say that any ills that are external to one’s body are not really ills; rather, I ascribe credit to you as if I had said to you: ‘Sacrifice yourself,’ and you did not refuse.
Date: 500 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The classic paradigm examined by the Rabbinic tradition to illustrate the paradox ... is the Akedat Yitzak (Genesis 22) where the question of Hashem’s yediah ('foreknowledge') and human will / choice is raised. The key is, “atah (now) yadati (I know) ki atah yirei hashem (that you fear Hashem).” Genesis Rabbah 56:7 comments, “Did He (Hashem) then not know beforehand? Surely it is written, I am G-d ... declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done (Isaiah 46:9)? ... Read not YADATI ('I know') but YIDATI ('I have made known'): Now all mortals will know how far the fear of heaven reaches, that man may sacrifice his only son.” Thus, the Midrash tolerates no lacunae or absence in Hashem’s knowledge but sees the Akedah, as does the later Degel Yehudah, as a means to educate the world of Avraham’s faith and betuchon, raised as the Ramban says 'from potentiality to actuality'. Rav Saadia Gaon also resolves this paradox in the choice of the verb tense he makes in his Arabic translation of the Tanakh. Rav Saadia translates YADATI to ARRAFTU ALNAS which means in Arabic, 'I have made known to mankind'. Rabbis Yosef Albo and Gersonides however disagree with Rav Saadia’s argument of strong providence and assert that Hashem knew precisely how Avraham would respond, because both philosophers hold that in order to be a moral agent who is responsible and accountable we have to act “as if” we have free will ..."
Levy, David B.
The Theology, Halakhah, Politics, and Esotericism of the DSS Essene Sect Compared with Normative Rabbinic Practices and that of the Second Temple Sadducees
(pp. 1-64) Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Convention of the Association of Jewish Libraries, 2008
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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