Sacrifice in Genesis 22 : literal polemic or literary construct

• Main Author: Rosini, Amanda.
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: McGill University 2008
• Subjects: Sacrifice in the Bible.; Human sacrifice.
• Online Access: http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=112512

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the role of human sacrifice within the narrative of Genesis 22:1--19. For several decades, biblical scholarship has interpreted the role of human sacrifice within this particular narrative as an established and accepted practice, which was, only later abolished and replaced by the Law of Redemption (Ex 22:29--30). This thesis will study the archaeological data surrounding the practice of ritual human sacrifice in the expectation that it will provide added insight into the meaning of the ritual act within the narrative of Genesis 22. === The study will also investigate the use of ritual offerings as a symbolic code and as a literary construct to transmit the interests and concerns of the author. These concerns were generated by specific political, social and religious realities brought about by the events surrounding the Babylonian and Persian invasions of the Syria-Palestine region.