The narration of the almost fulfilled sacrifice of Isaac, commanded by God, leads theology towards a climax and, at the same time, towards the limits of expression. Instead of defusing irritations of the narration by using religious historical, psychological or philosophical considerations it all depends on one’s ability to see it in connection with the Bible.
Gen 22 melts together two major topics of the Pentateuch (The Five Books of Moses) and combines them with Abraham, a founder figure:
• The theme of encountering God in the cult, being intensified through the sacrifice in the temple, anticipates the later temple rituals and explains the meaning of the sacrifice: the ram resembles Isaac, and that means it resembles Israel, which owes everything to God and acknowledges this through sacrifices (“Jerusalem prolepsis”).
• The theme of the fear of God and the listening to God’s voice/ the compliance with divine
will anticipates the Covenant of Mount Sinai (“Sinai prolepsis”).
Gen 22 questions the images of God and of the faithful person. The text talks about extreme experiences, the inscrutability of a commanding God and a listening and trusting human, both facing the end of a long and dramatic relationship which can be seen as a “temptation” or as a “test”. The Abraham narration stands side-by side with similar disturbing texts like e. g. the
book of Job, psalms of lamentation or passion narratives in the gospels.
