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Wisdom of Solomon 10:5 refers to the Akedah, saying that Wisdom kept Abraham strong despite his affection for his child. It portrays the near-sacrifice of Isaac as a contest between parental love and faithfulness to God.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 22:1
Hebrew Bible
1 Some time after these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham replied. 2 God said, “Take your son—your only son, whom you love, Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah! Offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will indicate to you.” 3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out for the place God had spoken to him about. 4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of the place in the distance. 5 So he said to his servants, “You two stay here with the donkey while the boy and I go up there. We will worship and then return to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, and the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father?” “What is it, my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together. 9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter his son.
Wisdom of Solomon 10:5
Deuterocanon
4 When the earth was flooded because of him, wisdom again saved it, steering the righteous man by a paltry piece of wood. 5 Wisdom also, when the nations in wicked agreement had been put to confusion, recognized the righteous man and preserved him blameless before God, and kept him strong in the face of his compassion for his child. 6 Wisdom rescued a righteous man when the ungodly were perishing; he escaped the fire that descended on the Five Cities.
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Notes and References
“... The child here is none other than Isaac, and the colon recalls the Aqedah (Binding) or near-sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham in Genesis 22 as a test of his faith. Again, as in verse 2a, there is a repetition of the root in the adjective, “strong,” “mighty.” The verb, “she guarded,” recalls the similar form found in verse 1b. When taken with the preceding adjective, the verb is intensified. Thus, instead of merely guarding Abraham, Wisdom “guards him intently” and “keeps him strong.” The word in verse 5c literally means “entrails.” For the ancients, the entrails or “innards” were the seat of emotion. The Greek word here may reflect the Hebrew word, “mercy,” “compassion,” which is often associated with parental tenderness. Abraham was frequently held up in Jewish tradition as a model of parental love since his affection for Isaac was so great (compare 4 Maccabees 14:20). Here, however, Wisdom protects Abraham from his paternal love or affection for his son and in so doing presumably strengthens his love for God which enables him to obey the Almighty ...”
Glicksman, Andrew T.
Wisdom of Solomon 10: A Jewish Hellenistic Reinterpretation of Early Israelite History through Sapiential Lenses
(p. 117) The Catholic University of America, 2010
* 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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