Genesis 22:1-19

Genesis 22:1-19 is called the Akedah in Jewish tradition. This post is an interesting examination of this passage from a Jewish perspective.

Abraham, a Servant, Rebecca, and Isaac (Gen 24)

David Frankel asks the following question.

Abraham tells his servant to go to his hometown to find a wife for Isaac. When the servant returns, he never reports back to him or introduces Rebecca to him. Why does Abraham disappear from the narrative? And, as Rebecca is his great-niece, why not send the servant to her father’s home directly?

I don't agree with some of the critical methodologies on display in answering the question but I found the discussion here interesting.

Abraham's Purchase of a Burial Cave

Diana Edelman has a nice article here on Abraham's purchase of the burial cave of Machpelah (Gen 23:3-20). I enjoyed the whole article but liked this last bit the best.

R. Yuden son of R. Simon said: “This is one of three places that the nations of the world cannot charge Israel and say to them ‘this is stolen [land] in your hands.’ They are: the cave of Machpelah, the Temple mount, and the burial plot of Joseph. The cave of Machpelah ‘Abraham paid Ephron’ (Genesis 23:16); the Temple mount ‘David gave Arnon’ (1 Chronicles 21:25), the burial plot of Joseph ‘And he bought the field’ (Genesis 33:19).” [Genesis Rabbah (§79)]

Here the rabbis are picking up on an important theme in this chapter, which emphasizes the legal nature of this purchase. Thus, the long story of Abraham purchasing a burial plot for Sarah from the local Sons of Heth represents the first step towards fulfilling the divine promise.

Where Is Ur?

Dave Armstrong has a pretty good discussion here related to the city of Ur mentioned in the book of Genesis (11:28, 31). He interacts with both the traditional southern location and an alternative location farther north. I remain a bit agnostic on the issue but the alternative view is argued well by Barry Beitzel in The New Moody Atlas of the Bible (pp. 98-100).

Genesis 12 and 22

More than one commentator has noted the parallels between Genesis 12 and 22 but Gary Rendsburg lays it out pretty nicely here.

The Akedah: Genesis 22:1-19

The Akedah ("The Binding") is the Jewish designation for the story in Genesis 22 where Abraham is called upon to sacrifice his son Isaac. It is one of the most important events narrated in Genesis. In this post Aaron Koller posits that, "Abraham passes the test of the Akedah but fails as a father." While I disagree with Koller's conclusion the post does provide an interesting study of the passage.

Genesis 23 and 24

Recently while preparing to teach Genesis 23-24, I created the following table.

 

Comparing Genesis 23 and 24
Genesis 23	Genesis 24
Setting is about death	Setting is about life
The need is procuring a burial cave for Sarah	The need is procuring a bride for Isaac
Main agent is Abraham	Main agent is Abraham’s servant
Negotiations and a payment	Negotiations and a “payment”
Sarah’s tomb	Sarah’s tent
Sarah is mourned	Isaac is comforted
Abrahamic promise related to the land	Abrahamic promise related to the seed

Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs

This article provides an interesting account of a surreptitious visit to Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs. Because of security issues most tourists do not go to Hebron much less see the features described and pictured in the article.

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 3.2

The latest issue of Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament is available here. Here is a list of the articles with links.

“Was Elihu Right?” by Martin A. Shields 

“Queens, Widows, and Mesdames: The Role of Women in the Elijah-Elisha Narrative” by Joshua Joel Spoestra

“Prophet and Patriarch: Abraham’s Prophetic Characteristics in Genesis” by Jay Todd

“The ‘Seventy Sevens’ (Daniel 9:24) in Light of Heptadic Themes in Qumran” by Ron Haydon

Thoughts on Joshua 5

Joshua 5:1–15 records Israel's final preparations before beginning the conquest at Jericho. Four specific preparatory events are related in this chapter. Here is a table noting the event and the message it is likely emphasizing.

Event	Emphasis
Re-institution of circumcision (5:2–9)	Covenant with God
Observance of Passover (5:10–11)	Redemption of God
No more manna (5:12)	Provision of God
Encounter with a “Man” with sword (5:13–15)	Conquest by God

It might also be worth noting that Joshua's encounter with the "man" with a sword is preceded by the statement, "when Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold" (v. 13, my bold). The only prior occurrence of this threefold statement occurs in relation to Abraham in Genesis 18:2: "He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him" (my bold). This comparison is even more striking when one considers the theophanic nature of both encounters and that both encounters occur before the destruction of prominent cities (Sodom, Gomorrah, and Jericho). This might also link Joshua, not only to Moses (Josh 1), but also to Abraham.

Genesis 22: The Aqedah

  
Abraham Kuruvilla discusses Genesis 22 and has a link to his recent article in the Journal of the Evangelical Society entitled "The Aqedah (Genesis 22): What Is the Author Doing with What He Is Saying?" here.
  

Two Go Up and One Comes Down: Genesis 22:1-19

I was recently teaching Genesis 22:1–19, the so-called Akedah passage. Verse 19 has often interested me in that it records that only Abraham returns from Mount Moriah to his servants. This stands in contrast to Abraham’s statement in verse 5 to his servants that, “We [Abraham and Isaac] will worship and then we will come back to you.” Yet verse 19 does not mention that Isaac returns with his father. Now, I think that we can assume that Isaac did indeed return with Abraham. Then what is the point of omission? I would suggest that it is possible that Isaac’s absence from the narrative is not a oversight but is rather intentional. The omission serves to highlight Abraham’s obedience. That is, from a narratival standpoint, it is as if Isaac was truly offered as a burnt offering to God even though the reader knows that a ram had taken his place. Abraham coming down alone symbolically leaves Isaac on Moriah as a picture of the Patriarch’s absolute faithfulness.

  

Abraham's Faith in Hebrews 11

  
Steven Coxhead has a good post on Abraham's faith in Hebrews 11 here.
  

Abraham and Ur

Michael Heiser has a brief post concerning Abraham and the location of Ur. Heiser presents an alternative to the traditional location of Ur in southern Mesopotamia. The post also contains a link to an article by Cyrus Gordon.

Walton on the Blessing of Abraham on the Nations

John Walton has a nice post on the blessing of Abraham on the nations in Genesis. Read it here.