CHAPTER XXXI THE BINDING OF ISAAC ON THE ALTAR [38A. i.] THE tenth trial was (as follows): "And it came to pass after these things, that God did prove Abraham" (Gen. 22:1). He tried Abraham each time [ See Gen. Rab. 55:1, and Cant. Rab. 1:9.] in order to know his heart, whether he would be able to persevere and keep all the commandments of the Torah [ The next words, up to “as it is said,” are not in the printed editions.] or not, and whilst as yet the Torah had not been given, Abraham kept all the precepts [ According to the Book of Jubilees, Abraham not only enacted the laws of tithes (xiii. 25–29), but he also celebrated the feast of first-fruits of the grain harvest on the 15th of Sivan (xv. 1, 2), and the feast of Tabernacles (xvi. 20–31); he ordained peace-offerings and the regulations as to the use of salt and wood for the offerings, washings before sacrifices, and the duty of covering blood (xxi. 7–17), and prohibited intermarrying with the Canaanites (xxii. 20, xxv. 5), and adultery (xxxix. 6). On this theme see Apoc. Baruch lvii. 2, and cf. Ecclus. xliv. 20.] of the Torah, as it is said, "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, [ In the MS. the quotation ends here, but it is continued in the first editions.] and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my Torah" (ibid. xxvi. 5). [ See T.B. Joma, 28a f.] And Ishmael went repeatedly from the wilderness to see || his father Abraham. [ As Abraham had visited Ishmael, the latter knew that his father would receive him. See Pal. Targum, Gen. 22:1, and Gen. Rab. 55:4, for the story of the dispute between Isaac and Ishmael, and for the account of the readiness of the former to offer up his life to the service of God.]
Rabbi Jehudah said: In that night was the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed unto him, and He said unto him: Abraham ! "Take now thy son, [ In our MS. the quotation ends here, but it is continued in the first editions.] thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac" (ibid. xxii. 2). And Abraham, having pity upon Isaac, [ Luria thinks that the reading should be: “The Holy One, blessed be He, had pity upon Isaac” (and ordered that Ishmael should be offered as an atonement for his past evil life). See Jalḳuṭ, Gen. § 96, Midrash Haggadol, c. 317, and cf. Wisdom x. 5.] said before Him: Sovereign of all worlds ! Concerning which son [ See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 69, and cf. the Liturgy for the second day of the New Year, ed. Heidenheim, pp. 34b ff.] dost Thou decree upon me? Is it concerning the son lacking circumcision, [ Ishmael had been born thirteen years before God commanded the rite of circumcision, and when he was born his father was uncircumcised, but when Isaac was born Abraham was circumcised. On the theme of the “‘Aḳedah” see Gen. Rab. 55:1 f.] or the son born for circumcision? He answered him: "Thine only son." He rejoined: This one is the only son of his mother, and the other son is the only son of his mother. He said to him: "The one, whom thou lovest." He said to Him: Both of them do I love. [ See T.B. Synhedrin, 89b; Gen. Rab. 39:12.] He said to him: "Even Isaac."
"And offer him there for a burnt offering" [ See the rest of this quotation.] (ibid.). He spake to Him: Sovereign of all worlds ! On which mountain hast Thou told me (to offer him)? (God) answered him: In every place where thou dost see My glory abiding and waiting for thee there, and saying, [ The first editions add “to thee”; see Jalḳuṭ, Gen., loc. cit.] This is Mount Moriah; [ The 1st ed. reads here: “the altar.”] as it is said, "Upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of" (ibid.). [ The first editions add: “‘Which I have told thee of,’ is not written here, but, ‘ which I will tell thee of.’” God would indicate to Abraham the place in His own good time; cf. Gen. Rab. 55:8.]
Abraham rose up early in the morning, and he took with him Ishmael, and Eliezer, and Isaac his son, and he saddled the ass. Upon this ass did Abraham ride. This was the ass, the offspring of that ass which was created during the twilight, [ Preceding the first Sabbath in the week of creation. See Aboth 5:9; Jalḳuṭ Gen. § 98; Jalḳuḳ on Zech. 9:9 (ed. King, p. 48); and cf. supra, p. 124.] as it is said, "And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass" (ibid. 8). [ This quotation should probably belong to the previous sentence, and follow the word “ass.”] The same ass was also ridden upon by Moses when he came to Egypt, as it is said, "And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon the ass" (Ex. 4:20). This || same ass will be ridden upon in the future by the Son of David, [ The Messiah; see Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 71, note 2, and Jewish Sources of the Sermon on the Mount, p. 143, for the strange interpretation given to this Messianic function by Matthew (xxi. 7), and cf. Justin Martyr, Dial. c. Tryph. liii.] as it is said, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy king cometh unto thee: he is just, and saved; [ In the MS. this first part of the verse is not quoted.] lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt, the foal of an ass" [ Later Rabbinic interpretation applied this verse sometimes to the Messiah ben Joseph. See Ibn Ezra, in loc.] (Zech. 9:9).
Isaac was thirty-seven years old [ See Tanna de bê Elijahu Rab. 25 p. 138, and cf. Seder ‘Olam Rab. 1; Tosaphoth to T.B. Jebamoth, 61b; Ex. Rab. i. 1, and the previous chapter in our book.] when he went to Mount Moriah, and Ishmael was fifty years old. Contention arose between Eliezer and Ishmael. Ishmael said to Eliezer: Now that Abraham will offer Isaac his son for a burnt offering, kindled upon the altar, [ The wording here is based on Lev. 6:13.] and I am his first-born son, I will inherit (the possessions of) Abraham. Eliezer replied to him, saying: He has already driven thee out like a woman divorced from her husband, and he has sent thee [ See Jalḳuṭ, loc. cit.] away to the wilderness, but I am his servant, serving him by day and by night, and I shall be the heir of Abraham. The Holy Spirit answered them, saying to them: Neither this one nor that one shall inherit. [ See Gen. Rab. 56:1; Midrash Haggadol, col. 320; Tanchuma, in loc. For the story see also the Book of Jashar xxiii. 22 ff., Pal. Targum, and the second version to Gen. 22 The Church Fathers deal with the theme in their usual style. See Ephraim of Syria on Jonah, 6; Ambrose On Faith in Immortality, G.T. i. pp. 404 f.; Zeno of Verona On Patience, 5.]
On the third day they reached Zophim, [ i.e. Mount Moriah, on which the Temple was built; see 2 Chron. 3:1. See Rashi on T.B. Pesachim, 49a; ‘Arukh, ed. Kohut, vii. 33a; and cf. T.B. Berakhoth, 61b. The word צופים means “watch-towers.” The Midrash Haggadol, loc. cit., reads “Zuphith.” Jubilees (xviii. 13) agrees with our book in identifying the mount with Mount Zion. See also Book of the Bee, xxv. p. 43.] and when they reached Zophim they saw the glory of the Shekhinah [ This passage is of considerable interest. We are in the domain of Philonic interpretation of the Bible. Thus Clement of Alexandria, under the influence of Philo’s allegorical interpretation, says on the text, Gen. 22:3, 4: “Abraham, when he came to the place which God told him of on the third day, looking up, saw the place afar off. For the first day is that which is constituted by the sight of good things; and the second is the soul’s best desire; on the third, the mind perceives spiritual things” (Strom. v. 11). Our book identifies the place (מקום) with the Shekhinah, just as Philo does (De Somniis, i. M. i. 638, C.W. iii. p. 213); see Gen. Rab. 56:1 f.; and cf. the valuable note in Weinstein’s Zur Genesis der Agada, p. 88. The representation of the Shekhinah as a “Pillar of Fire” corresponds with Philo’s identification of the Logos with the “Pillar of Cloud,” which at night became the “Pillar of Fire” in the wilderness, leading God’s people to the Holy Land; see Hellenism and Christianity, p. 25, note. According to Jubilees xviii. 4: “And he came to a well of water and he said to his young men, ‘ Abide ye here with the ass.’” Does our author intentionally vary this by substituting the “cloud” for the well?] resting upon the top of the mountain, as it is said, "On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off" (Gen. 22:4). What did he see? (He saw) a pillar of fire standing from the earth to the heavens. [ The first editions add here: “He said to his son Isaac: My son! dost thou see anything upon one of these mountains? He said to him: Yes. (Abraham) said to him: What dost thou see? He replied: I see a pillar of fire standing from the earth up to the heavens.” See, for further references to the vision of Isaac and Abraham, Gen. Rab. 56:1, Pal. Targum, Gen. 22:4, and Tanchuma, Vayêra, §xxiii., which refers to “a cloud enwrapt on the mountain.” See also Jalḳuṭ, Gen. § 99, and the Book of Jashar xxiii., which has used our book.] Abraham understood that the lad had been accepted for the perfect burnt offering. He said to Ishmael and Eliezer: Do ye see anything upon one of those mountains? || They said to him: No. He considered them (as dull) as an ass. He told them: Since ye do not see anything, "Abide ye here with the ass" (ibid. 5), [ See T.B. Jebamoth, 62a; Gen. Rab. 56:2; Eccles. Rab. on Eccles. 9:7; T.B. Ḳiddushin, 68a; and Midrash Haggadol, c. 320.] with such who are similar to the ass. [ The first editions add: “Just as the ass does not see anything, likewise do ye not see anything, as it is said: ‘And Abraham said to his young men: Abide ye here with the ass’” (Gen. 22:5).]
He took the wood and placed it upon the back of his son Isaac, and he took the fire and the knife in his hand, and they went both of them together. [ Cf. Gen. 22:6.] Isaac said to his father: O my father ! Behold the fire and the wood, where is the lamb for the burnt offering? He replied to him: My son ! Thou art the lamb for the burnt offering, as it is said, "And Abraham said, God will provide [ The word might be rendered: “accept.” The verse might be translated thus: “God will accept for Himself the lamb, i.e. my son.”] for himself the lamb" (ibid. 8).
Rabbi Simeon [ The first editions read: “Ishmael.”] said: The Holy One, blessed be He, pointed out [ The Venice edition adds: “with the finger”; see infra, pp. 382 f.] the altar with a finger to Abraham our father, and said to him: This is the altar. That was the altar [ See supra, pp. 153, 171; see also Aboth de Rabbi Nathan (a) i. p. 4a; Jalḳuṭ, Gen. § 101, for a parallel text. The first editions add: “whereon the first man brought (his offering).”] whereon Cain and Abel sacrificed; it was the same altar whereon Noah [ See supra, p. 171, note 8, and cf. Midrash Haggadol, c. 321.] and his sons sacrificed, as it is said, [ The first editions quote Gen. 8:20 also.] "And Abraham built the altar there" (ibid. 9). "And Abraham built an altar there" is not written here, but "And Abraham built the altar there." That was the altar whereon the first ones (of old) had sacrificed. [ Luria suggests a variant reading, based on Jalḳuṭ Makhiri, Ps. 36:5. “As it is said: ‘ And Noah built an altar to the Lord.’ ‘Abraham built there an altar’ is not written here, but ‘ and he built the altar.’” The reading in Jalḳuṭ, Gen., loc. cit., is similar; see also Pal. Targum, Gen. 22:9.]
Isaac said to his father Abraham: O my father ! Bind for me my two hands, and my two feet, so that I do not curse [ The Venice edition reads: “on account of reflex movement.” Read פשימותא, see Pesiḳta Rabbathi 40 (p. 170b), Tanna de bê Elijahu Rab. 27 p. 138; and Tanna de bê Elijahu Ẓuṭṭa ii. p. 174; and cf. Agadath Bereshith 31 p. 62, and Grünbaum, op. cit. p. 112.] thee; for instance, a word may issue from the mouth because of the violence and dread of death, and I shall be found to have slighted || the precept, "Honour thy father" (Ex. 20:12). [ See Pal. Targum, Gen. 22:10, and Jalḳuṭ, Gen., loc. cit.] He bound his two hands and his two feet, and bound him upon the top of the altar, and he strengthened his two arms and his two knees [ See Shocher Ṭob, Ps. 20:8, p. 176.] upon him, and put the fire and wood in order, and he stretched forth his hand and took the knife. Like a high priest [ See Lev. Rab. 29:9 f., which implies that the ‘Aḳedah (Binding of Isaac) was on the Day of Atonement, so that the service of Abraham on that occasion might be considered as resembling that of the High Priest.] he brought near his meal offering, and his drink offering; [ The meal offering and the drink offering accompanied the “burnt offering” in the Tabernacle and Temple.] and the Holy One, blessed be He, was sitting and beholding the father binding with all (his) heart and the son bound with all (his) heart. And the ministering angels [ Jubilees xviii. 9 reads: “And I (the angel) stood before Him, and before the prince of the Mastêmâ, and the Lord said, Bid him not to lay his hand on the lad.”] cried aloud and wept, as it is said, "Behold, the Erelim [ i.e. angels; see Ḳimchi’s Book of Roots, s.v. ארה. Cf. T.B. Chagigah, 5b; Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 73, note 1; and cf. Gen. Rab. 56:5, and Midrash Haggadol, c. 322.] cry [ The quotation ends here in our MS.] without; the angels of peace weep bitterly" (Isa. 33:7). The ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Sovereign of all the worlds ! Thou art called merciful and compassionate, whose mercy is upon all His works; [ Cf. Ps. 145:9.] have mercy upon Isaac, for he is a human being, and the son of a human being, and is bound before Thee like an animal. "O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast"; as it is said, "Thy righteousness is like the mighty mountains; [ The quotation ends here in our MS.] thy judgments are like a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast" (Ps. 36:6).
Rabbi Jehudah said: When the blade [ Lit. “sword.” See Midrash Haggadol, c. 323.] touched his neck, the soul of Isaac fled and departed, (but) when he heard His voice from between the two Cherubim, [ See supra, p. 24. Cf. Heb. xi. 19.] saying (to Abraham), "Lay not thine hand upon the lad" (Gen. 22:12), his soul returned to his body, and (Abraham) set him free, and Isaac stood upon his feet. And Isaac knew [ The first editions add: “of the resurrection of the dead from the Torah.” The connection with the word Torah is not quite clear, and the word should be probably deleted. See Roḳeach, 322, and cf. Brode’s comment, in loc. The Jalḳuṭ, Gen., loc. cit., reads: “He knew that in the future He would revive the dead.”] that in this manner the dead in the future will be quickened. He opened (his mouth), and said: Blessed art thou, O Lord, who quickeneth the dead. [ This is the second benediction of the Shemoneh ‘Esreh; see Singer, p. 45. The benediction is appropriately placed in Isaac’s mouth, for he had also been bound unto death and then set free. The benediction speaks of the loosening of the bound, as well as of the resurrection.] ||
Rabbi Zechariah said: That ram, which was created at the twilight, [ Of the eve of the first Sabbath; see supra, p. 125.] ran and came to be offered up instead of Isaac, but Sammael [ See Jubilees xviii. 12: “And the prince of the Mastêmâ was put to shame. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a single ram caught and it came (?).” The word translated “and distracting it” is Masṭenô; it reminds one of Mastêmâ of Jubilees. See also Midrash Haggadol, c. 324.] was standing by, and distracting it, in order to annul the offering of our father Abraham. And it was caught by its two horns in the trees, as it is said, "And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by its horns" (ibid. 13). What did that ram do? It put forth its leg and took hold of the coat of our father Abraham, and Abraham looked, saw the ram, and he went and set it free. He offered it up instead of Isaac his son, as it is said, "And Abraham went and took the ram, [ The quotation ends here in our MSS.] and offered it up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son" (ibid.).
Rabbi Berachiah said: The sweet savour (of the ram) ascended before the Holy One, blessed be He, as though it were the sweet savour of Isaac, [ See Ẓohar, Gen. 120b.] and He swore that He would bless him [ See Jalḳuṭ, loc. cit., and Apoc. Baruch, loc. cit.] in this world and in the world to come, as it is said, "By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, because thou hast done this thing"; and it says, "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed, as the stars of the heaven" (ibid. 16, 17). "That in blessing" (refers) to this world; "I will bless thee," in the world to come; and "I will greatly multiply thy seed," in the future that is to come.
Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa said: [ See Jalḳuṭ Isa. § 436, and Midrash Haggadol, c. 325.] From that ram, which was created at the twilight, nothing came forth which was useless. [ See Mishnah, Ẓebachim ix. 5, as to the parts of a burnt offering which were not offered on the altar.] The ashes of the ram [ See supra, p. 204, and cf. T.B. Ẓebachim, 62a.] were || the base [ Or, foundation. Does the text here refer to the horns of the altar? or should the text read, “the foundation whereon (stood) the inner altar”? See Midrash Haggadol, loc. cit.] which was upon the top of the inner altar. [ The first editions add here: “as it is said: ‘And Aaron shall make atonement upon the horns of it once in the year’” (Ex. 30:10).] The sinews of the ram were the strings [ Read Nimin instead of Nebalim, and see supra, p. 127. The first editions read: “The sinews of the ram were ten, corresponding to the ten strings of the harp,” etc. According to one tradition the harp of David had only eight strings, and it is the harp of the Messiah which is to have ten strings. See Josephus, Ant. vii. 12. 3, and cf. Pesiḳta Rabbathi, pp. 98b f.] of the harp whereon David played. The ram's skin [ The inference here is drawn from the word “‘Ôr” (עוד), leather.] was the girdle (around) the loins of Elijah, may he be remembered for good, as it is said, "And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins" (2 Kings 1:8). [ The first editions have a corrupt quotation based on 2 Kings 1, verses 6 and 8. The MS. only quotes the few words: “He was an hairy man,” etc.] The horn [ See Othijoth de Rabbi ‘Aḳiba, letter Ṭ; ed. Jellinek, B.H.M. iii. p. 31; and Roḳeach, 203. The first editions read: “the two horns.”] of the ram of the left side [ The first editions read here: “Wherein the Holy One, blessed be He, blew upon Mount Sinai.” See Midrash Haggadol, loc. cit.] (was the one) wherein He blew upon Mount Sinai, as it is said, "And it shall come to pass, that when the ram's horn soundeth long" [ The Oxford MS. and the first editions quote Ex. 19:19.] (Josh. 6:5). (The horn) of the right side, which is larger than that of the left, is destined in the future to be sounded in the world that is to come, [ The first editions add: “at the ingathering of the exiles.”] as it is said, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great trumpet shall be blown" (Isa. 27:13); [ The inference here is derived from the word “great,” implying the right side. On the subject of the Messianic trump, see Abḳath Rochel i., and cf. 1 Cor. xv. 52.] and it is said, "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth" (Zech. 14:9).
Rabbi Isaac said: Nothing has been created except by the merit of worship. Abraham returned from Mount Moriah only through the merit of worship, as it is said, "We will worship, and come again to you" (Gen. 22:5). [ The Midrash Samuel (ed. Buber) iii. 7 contains a good parallel text, which is much fuller than our MS. It adds here: “The Israelites were redeemed from Egypt only in consequence of worship, as it is said: ‘And the people bowed the head and worshipped’ (Ex. 12:27). The Torah was given only through the merit of worship, because it is said: ‘And worship ye afar off’” (ibid. xxiv. 1). See Jalḳuṭ, Gen. § 100.] The Temple was fashioned only through the merit of worship, as it is said, "Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship" (Ps. 99:5). [ The Midrash Samuel, loc. cit., adds here: “The dead also will only be quickened through the merit of worship, as it is said: ‘O come, let us worship and bow down’ (Ps. 95:6). The exiles will only be gathered in again owing to the merit of worship, as it is said: ‘And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great trumpet shall be blown; and they shall come which were lost in the land of Assyria, and they that were outcasts in the land of Egypt; and they shall worship the Lord in the holy mountain at Jerusalem’” (Isa. 27:13). See also Gen. Rab. Ivi. 2, and Midrash Haggadol, c. 320 f. On the entire chapter see the Book of Jashar xxiii.; Tanchuma (ed. Buber), Gen. p. 57a, b; Tanchuma, Vayêra, § xxiii.; and Midrash Agadah, Gen. pp. 50 ff.]