Texts in Conversation
Genesis 22 describes Abraham taking his knife to kill his son Isaac on the altar. 4 Maccabees reshapes this moment as a model for martyrdom, adding the interpretation that Isaac saw the knife descending and was not afraid.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 22:10
Hebrew Bible
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. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 12 “Do not harm the boy!” the angel said. “Do not do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.” 13 Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
4 Maccabees 16:20
Pseudepigrapha
17 For it would be shameful if, while an aged man endures such agonies for the sake of religion, you young men were to be terrified by tortures. 18 Remember that it is through God that you have had a share in the world and have enjoyed life, 19 and therefore you ought to endure any suffering for the sake of God. 20 For his sake also our father Abraham was zealous to sacrifice his son Isaac, the ancestor of our nation; and when Isaac saw his father's hand wielding a knife and descending upon him, he did not cower. 21 Daniel the righteous was thrown to the lions, and Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael were hurled into the fiery furnace and endured it for the sake of God.
Search:
Notes and References
“… What could explain this layer of cultic resonances within the martyrological tradition in both 4 Maccabees and Paul that seems focused especially on Yom Kippur (especially in the case of 4 Maccabees) but extends beyond it to encompass cultic references per se (at least in Paul’s case), in a relatively fixed association, but without dominating the primary narrative? I know of only one explanation for these dynamics, although it is a plausible one: the underlying influence of the Jewish martyrological development of Genesis 22 that was later known as the Akedah, or “the binding of Isaac.” …”
Campbell, Douglas A.
The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul
(pp. 917-922) Eerdmans, 2009
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.