We will be reading through the following narrative, referred to as the Akedah (or Binding of Isaac) in pairs- often referred to as בחברותא. After each textual chunk, I have included some questions for you to consider and discuss with your study partner! You will be addressing one of these questions in more depth later on (through further research).
(1) Some time afterward, God put Abraham to the test. He said to him, “Abraham,” and he answered, “Here I am.” (2) And He said, “Take your son, your favored/only one, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you.”
Questions to Consider
1. Verse 2 seems very wordy. God states "Take your son, your favored /only one, whom you love, Isaac." Why do you think God doesn't just lead by saying "Take Isaac?"
2. How might you expect Abraham to react after being given this command?
Questions to Consider
1. Based on the text, is Isaac aware of what his father has in store for him?
2. It says that Abraham looked up and saw the place from afar on the third day- how do you think he knew it was the right place? (Do you think it was marked in any way?)
3. Abraham tells his servants that he and Isaac will go up the mountain, worship and "return to you." What do you think Abraham means when he says this? (For example: Is he lying? Expressing a hope? Or does he really believe both he and Isaac will return from the mountain?)
Questions to Consider
1. When Isaac asks, "Here are the firestone and the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering" do you think he suspects that he might be the offering?
2. When Abraham answers Isaac that "God will see to the sheep for His burnt offering," do you think that is simply a way of evading the question and keeping Isaac calm? Or does Abraham really believe that at the last minute God might change His mind and provide someone or something else for the offering?
3. What does the mood appear to be like in this scene (is Abraham distraught, is Isaac fearful, something else) and how do you know?
Questions to Consider
1. Does the text give any indication that Isaac struggled when being bound?
2. Do you think Isaac was compliant with this plan (to be sacrificed to God)? Why yes/ no (prove it from the verses)?
3. How do you think Abraham felt when he picked up the knife to kill his beloved son?
Questions to Consider
1. Who calls out to Abraham to stop him slaughtering his son?
2. Is it significant that it is an angel who stops him when it was God Himself who told him to do it? Why yes/ no?
3. Do you think Abraham is surprised by this outcome? Why yes/ no?
Questions to Consider
1. Abraham seems not to want to leave the sacrifice unfinished, and finds a replacement for his son. Why do you think that is?
2. What is the significance of the name Abraham gives the place: Adonai-yireh? Whose vision? What is being seen?
Questions to Consider
1. Why do you think it was necessary for the angel of God to call out to Abraham a second time?
2. What is Abraham's reward for having been willing to sacrifice his son?
3. Why do you think God has determined Abraham deserves this reward?
4. We are not told anything about Abraham or Isaac's emotions in the narrative- we have no idea how they felt at any of the crucial junctures. Why do you think this is? In what way does this factual delivery offer more space for the reader (or commentator) to reflect on the narrative?