Historical, Grammatical and Literary Criticism of Genesis
The story of God's command for Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, found in Genesis 22:1-19, is perhaps one of the more well-known biblical stories. Genesis may or may not be a story of actual people; but, most will agree that its religious meaning is more important than proof its historical veracity. The grammatical structure of the modern English translation of biblical Hebrew provides some difficulty to understanding the text. This paper briefly explains research conducted on grammatical points in relation to the text. Literary analysis suggests that the primary purpose of Genesis 22:1-19 is to exhort believers to have absolute faith in God. Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son demonstrates his complete obedience to God's will. The narrator of the story suggests that it is only through complete obedience can believers understand the true nature of faith. Following is a discussion on the historical, grammatical and literary aspects of Genesis 22:1-19.
Some argue that the stories of the patriarchs are myths, a belief supported by the absence of archaeological evidence. This is countered by those who believe that the existence of Abraham is linked to second millennium B.C and indicated by the nomadic way of life, social customs and naming discussed in Genesis. Recent research suggests that Abraham, Isaac and Joseph were actual people. The discovery of ancient tablets at Mari and Nuzi provided evidence of the lifestyles of people living during the time of Abraham. But most will agree that more important than the historical veracity of Genesis is its religious meaning.
The grammatical structure of the modern English translation of biblical Hebrew reveals the difficulty of translation. Speiser asserts, "a given word in biblical Hebrew may require various English counterparts and, conversely, more than one Hebrew term may best be rendered by the same...