The Binding of Isaac: A Religious Model of Disobedience

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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.

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 rsbok (Swedish Exegetical Yearbook), vol. 74 (2009)

Author Bio

Omri Boehm is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research, USA.