I did a blog post recently named, “Animal Sacrifice in Ancient Cultures” which traces the roots of the infamous Abrahamic sacrifice of his beloved son (Isaac according to the Bible and Ishmael as per the Islamic interpretation of the Quranic verses) to the fertility cults of the Near East as per John Allegro’s book, “The Sacred Mushroom & the Cross”. The concept of sacrifice of course is an important theme throughout the Bible which lays the foundation of both the Christian New Testament and acts as a prologue to the Quran (which narrates some of the same Biblical stories in brief snippets).
Abraham’s Blind Faith:
The most important Biblical account concerning sacrifice is called “The Binding of Isaac”, when Abraham following God’s command took Isaac to Mount Moriah to be sacrificed.
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” – Genesis 22:2
Following God’s command, Abraham without any explicit protest “took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac,and he himself carried the fire and the knife” Genesis 22:6.
Just as Abraham is about to slaughter Isaac, God instructs Abraham to instead sacrifice a lamb rather than his son thereby granting him numerous blessings:
“I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,because you have obeyed me.” – Genesis 22: 17-18
Jephthah’s Imitation of Abraham:
Following Abraham’s example, the Bible tells the story of Jephthah who voluntarily took an oath of sacrificing the first person who walks out of his door to welcome him when he returns home victorious if he defeats the Ammonites:
Whatever (Or whoever) comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it (Note: Or him) up for a burnt offering. – Judges 11: 31
Though God does not formally responds to his oath, Jephthah is nonetheless victorious and on his return home is welcomed by non other than her only daughter much to Jepthah’s regret:
Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low!” but is bound by his vow: “I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow” – Judges 11:35
As the story goes, Jepthah does indeed fulfill his oath and sacrifice his daughter. The Lord however does not replaces his daughter with a lamb like in the earlier story neither does he promises any of his blessings or rewards.
Isaac’s Jihad (Struggle) vs Blind Faith:
In many respects, Abraham’s sacrifice and Jepthah’s sacrifice are the exact opposite when it comes to God’s response. Blind faith which God valued in the case of Abraham is totally condemned in the case of Jepthah. Though people may call it a contradiction, I see a pattern. It goes like this:
The Akedah (Abraham’s Binding of Isaac) is the highest form of “blind” faith or trust in Yahweh. Abraham without much protest takes Isaac to Mount Moriah for the sacrifice exhibiting the highest form of blind faith and earns God’s blessing. But subsequently, Isaac’s son Jacob had to literally wrestle with Yahweh (Genesis 32: 22-32) to earn his blessing thereby becoming Israel. What is interesting to note here is that Isaac did not have the luxury of simply following blindly God’s command but had to wrestle or do “Jihad” (struggle) with Yahweh to earn his favor.
Therefore, my personal opinion is that the biblical authors did not want Yahweh to sanction blind faith as the norm. And it shows in the story of Jepthah when Yahweh does not accept explicitly Jepthah’s sacrifice.
- Thoth Experiment - 