Genesis 22

Throughout the Old Testament, God poses many challenges for people both in the sense of entire nations to individuals as well. In each instance there was a purpose for the challenges. Sometimes God was looking to see how people would act and follow laws and other times he wanted to test them. In Genesis 22 God posed a test for Abraham. He commanded him to travel to Moriah and offer his son Isaac to him as a burnt offering. Abraham obeys God and takes Isaac to the place God had told him. He brings with him two of his servants and on the way to the mountain Isaac asks Abraham why there is not sheep for the offering. It would seem that Isaac was catching on to what was happening and he still did not hesitate to follow his father carrying the very wood he was to be burned with. When Abraham was about to slay his son an angel of the Lord stopped him and told him that since he did not withhold his son he was the favored one.

I found that there is some controversy over what the source of Genesis 22 is. There is a theory that the source can be found by using mathematical formulas to find a pattern of syllables. The second of four Priestly (P) source writers composed Genesis 22 along with other chapters of Genesis . I did not completely understand the reasoning behind this but I thought it was interesting that there was a theory like this that added another possible source to the writing of Genesis 22. There is also speculation that Genesis 22 comes from the Yahwist (J) Source. This is the actual source that it wrote this chapter of Genesis . This is based on the fact that there I found more evidence supporting the J source rather than the P. The J source is mainly focused on themes of rewards and fulfillment. This is the basis on which we can say that this is the source from which Genesis 22 was derived. Lastly, it was claimed that the original version of this chapter was from the Elohist (E) source. It was not until later additions where made that it became J source. This is based on select versus that refer to God as Elohim were as the rest of the story refers to Him as YHWH .

The fact that this chapter can be broken down and assigned to these three different sources gives you more incite to the chapter than if there had only been one source. This way you can look at all the different sections individually and see how each source matches up. When I read the chapter for the first time I thought that it was definitely form the J source. This is because I think the focus on the story is the end. It would not have made sense for God to test Abraham so harshly if he was not planning on giving him a great reward in return for passing it. By knowing the J source and how it is incorporated into the chapter it allowed me to better understand why God would test Abraham. The second reason for my reasoning was the representation of God. When the angel came down to stop Abraham from killing Isaac it was an angel of the lord that stopped him. This is a direct and exclusive characteristic of the J source.

When I looked further into the chapter some reasoning for the other sources started to make sense. The usage of Elohim in reference to God would definitely lead me towards the E source. I went back and read over the chapter again trying to look at it from the view of the E source. An underlying struggle came clear to me inside Abraham. He was struggling with the decision to listen to God and kill his only son which would leave him feeling guilty the rest of his life. Also knowing that if he did not follow God's commands the repercussions could be even worse. Finally, the fact that the E source does not have any connections to older history in the Old Testament and this story is about Abraham which is where the E source begins.

While reading this passage I asked myself some questions. If this was the occasion when God saw Abraham fit to be blessed and to bless his future generations which would be in great numbers, what made God see Abraham as worthy of this same promise much earlier in his life?

There are two answers to this question, both of which go outside this chapter for the answer. First would be because Abraham had already proven his faith in God by following a command given to him. This was when God told him to leave his home land and go to a land which he would show him, the land being referred to is assumed to be Canaan . After God commanded this Abraham picked up and left with his belongings proving his trust in God. Second, when God promised Abraham that all his descendents would be blessed and numerous, he believed Him. In believing Him Abraham proved his faith in God once again. This showed again that Abraham is faithful and trusting making him worthy of the blessing God had bestowed upon him .

A second question I had was why would God command Abraham to sacrifice his only child especially since he was part of a previous promise God had made to him? It is obvious that God is testing Abraham but we do not really know if he is going to let him go through with it until the very end . In fact, God waits until Abraham has no choice to go back on what he is about to do then he intervenes and stops the blade from cutting Isaac. This is when we know that it is just a test and Abraham has done just as God wanted. By doing all these things; leaving with Isaac to Moriah, setting up the sacrificial alter and almost sacrificing him, God knows Abraham is loyal and faithful to him.

It has been found that when we look at the Old Testament and its writings we are seeing the beliefs from the surrounding cultures of the authors which would be the Near East. In many cases the stories of the Old Testament can be compared to the beliefs of ancient Near East cultures and see how they match up. When God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to him it does not relate with the rituals of human sacrifice in the Near East at the time . The story is more of God interpreting the sacrifice