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Genesis 22: 1-22

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The interpretation of Old Testament narrative is important as is provides both background and history of the OT and conveys a message, or a story, to the reader. As Spencer notes in his lecture, “They are crafted in such a way that the story which is told has a certain force and effect upon the reader. Studying these narratives gives us insight into the way in which God works among His people and His creation in the form of a story.” Utilizing Spencer’s framework derives certain aspects of Genesis 22:1-24. Physical setting – Abraham and Sarah have settled in Beer-Sheba with Isaac. In verse 2, God tells Abraham to take Isaac to the region of Moriah and sacrifice him on one of the mountains there. Moriah was a three-day journey from Beer-Sheba (v 4). The only other reference to Mount Moriah was is 2 Chronicles 3:1, which was the location in Jerusalem where God appeared to David, inspiring him to build an alter and make a sacrifice. Solomon later constructed the temple on the same site. It is questionable to identify both locations as identical, because verse 2 identifies a region, rather than a specific mountain. However, Jerusalem can reasonably be described as a three-day trek from Beer-Sheba, and verse 14 indicates that later generations would know the site as “the mountain of the Lord”, language commonly used in Psalms, Isaiah and Zechariah for Zion./Jerusalem. …show more content…

This required the sacrifice of an animal from the flock or heard be an unblemished male. Isaac would have qualified under this criteria.
Temporal setting – Genesis 22 begins approximately 15 years after Genesis 21, indicating that Isaac was now a teenager. The chapter itself runs in narrated time, excepting the three days that it took to travel to and from

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