The Binding of Isaac: A Religious Model of Disobedience / Edition 1

by Omri Boehm, Andrew Mein, Claudia V. Camp

Overview

Traditional interpretations in both Judaism and Christianity argue that the Akedah presents not only an ethical question but also an ethical reply. But for the intervention of the angel, Abraham would have killed his son. Obedience to God take precedence over morality as humanly conceived. Yet, the angel of YHWH that appears to Abraham is a later addition to the text; thus, in the original narrative Abraham actually disobeys the divine command to slay his son, and sacrifices a ram instead.

The first part of the book shows how the "original" version of the narrative did not contain the angelic figure. The second part of the book re-examines various religious interpretations of the text to show that exegetes such as Maimonides and his followers did point out Abraham's disobedience. According to these writers the esoteric layer of the story in fact declares that disobedience to God's command was Abraham's true affirmation of faith. In the third part of the book, Boehm re-opens the philosophical debate between Kant and Kierkegaard. Boehm concludes the book by contending that the monotheistic model of faith presented by Abraham was actually a model of disobedience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780567026132
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/20/2007
Series:	The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies , #468
Pages:	164
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

Omri Boehm is a doctoral student in the Philosophy department at Yale University who has published articles on the Akedah in various Hebrew Bible journals.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Jack Miles
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Preliminary Methodological Considerations
Chapter 3: Abraham: A Model of Obedience?
Chapter 4: The Original Abraham Story: Abraham's Disobedience
Chapter 5: Abraham's Ethical Protest: The Trial of Sodom
Chapter 6: Abraham's Jourbaney to the Land of Moriah
Chapter 7: The Religious Significance of the Akedah
Chapter 8: "The Prevention of Sacrifice": Ibn Caspi's Interpretation
Chapter 9: Maimonides on the True Nature of Prophecy
Chapter 10: Between Job and Abraham
Chapter 11: On Fearing God without Being Afraid of Him: From Kierkegaard to Kant
Chapter 12: A Religious Model of Disobedience

Editorial Reviews

."..a rare delight. Boehm offers a fresh and sometimes disturbing reading... This is a rich and thought-provoking book that definitely deserves to be read. It can be argued that its message lies right in time: we are today more prone to accept a reading of disobedience than ever before, and it fits well into much contemporary research in the fields of the prophets (of resisting prophetic metaphors) and of Lamentations (of picking up the counter-voices of the lamenters)." Svensk Exegetisk Arsbok (Swedish Exegetical Yearbook), vol. 74 (2009)

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