Notes on Genesis 22

The Sacrifice of Isaac

"The sacrifice required of Abraham in the offering of Isaac shows that if a man would attain the keys of the Kingdom of an endless life; he must sacrifice all things."

-Joseph Smith

Isaac as type or symbol of Jesus Christ
1. Both were products of miraculous births.
2. Both thought to be approximately the same age when they were offered.
3. Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice just as the Savior carried the wood of his cross.
4. Both were offered on Mt. Moriah or its environs.
5. Both offered themselves willingly.

The Burnt Offering
See verse 2.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Hebrew olah; i.e., "ascending," the whole being consumed by fire, and regarded as ascending to God while being consumed. Part of every offering was burnt in the sacred fire, but this was wholly burnt, a "whole burnt offering." It was the most frequent form of sacrifice, and apparently the only one mentioned in the book of Genesis. Such were the sacrifices offered by Abel (Gen_4:3, Gen_4:4, here called minhah; i.e., "a gift"), Noah (Gen_8:20), Abraham (Gen_22:2, Gen_22:7, Gen_22:8, Gen_22:13), and by the Hebrews in Egypt (Exo_10:25).

The Ram as burnt offering

The ram was a symbol of strength. The burnt offering symbolized an offering of one's entire self to God. Perhaps the Lord offering a ram to Abraham to sacrifice in the stead of Isaac was a recognition of Abraham's entire devotion to God. An acknowledgement that all of Abraham's strength was consumed in serving God.

Interestingly this story also seems to fit the pattern laid out by the facsimiles found in the Book of Abraham:

Facsimile 1 - Sacrifice
Facsimile 2 - Vision
Facsimile 3 - Enthronement

In Genesis 22-23 we see a similar pattern:

Chapter 22 describes the sacrifice of Isaac
Chapter 22 verses 15 - 18 briefly describes a vision or visitation experienced by Abraham.
Chapter 23 verse 6 acknowledges Abraham's royal authority.

In verse 6 Abraham is described as a "prince". The word "prince" is translated from the Hebrew נשאי (Nasi) which can be translated as:

1. An exalted one
2. King or sheik
3. Prince
4. Captain
5. Chief
etc.

Genesis 15

Recently I've been studying Genesis 15 and have been trying to understand the meaning behind the incident where the Lord establishes his covenant with Abraham. The word for "covenant" in Hebrew carries the meaning of "cutting" in the sense of cutting meat. Here is the entry from Strong's Hebrew Dictionary:

בּרית
berı̂yth
ber-eeth'
From H1262 (in the sense of cutting (like H1254)); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh): - confederacy, [con-]feder[-ate], covenant, league.

I came across a website that has shed some light on this story for me. Here is the entry:

The Smoking Fire-Pot and Flaming Torch of Genesis 15
- Pat Adamson

An interesting discussion ensued from one of our Torah Studies. We were looking at Genesis chapter 15 and the possible symbolism behind the covenant HaShem enacted with Avraham. The covenant here involves the promise of a specific parcel of Land to Avraham and his progeny.

The initial covenant in Genesis 15 involves a common form of treaty agreement in the Ancient Near East called a “suzerain treaty.” This agreement involved the ruler of a great kingdom who would make a treaty with the ruler of a lesser, or weaker, kingdom. The greater king would promise protection and blessing in exchange for the lesser king’s vow of obedience and loyalty. Historians tell us it was common for these treaties to involve animals for sacrifice whereby the animals were cut in half, allowing the blood to pool. Both covenant parties were to walk between the slaughtered pieces, through the blood, symbolically proclaiming their intent to uphold the covenant to its fullest. During the procession, each covenant member would say, “May I be as these if I fail to uphold my side of the covenant!” This was obviously a very serious oath, implying the death penalty if compliance was not upheld.

In Genesis 15:10-11, the language of the text indicates that Avraham was anticipating a similar suzerain treaty ceremony.

Following G-d’s lead, Avram expected to take the oath as an equal covenant member, but instead, the usual covenant protocol was set aside and HaShem caused a deep sleep (Heb: "tar-dey-mah") to fall upon Avram. (Interestingly, this same Hebrew word, “tar-dey-mah” is used in Genesis 2:21 when G-d caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep.) In Genesis 15:17-18 a strange, mystical event takes place:

“After the sun had set and there was thick darkness, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared, which passed between these animal parts. That day ADONAI made a covenant with Avram: "I have given this Land to your descendants - from the Vadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River-” Genesis 15:17-18 (CJB)

It appears that HaShem caused Avram to fall into a deep sleep in order to craft a unilateral covenant agreement in which G-d alone would pass between the animal pieces. Jewish commentaries here see the smoking fire-pot and flaming torch as a reference to the presence of HaShem. So, in a mystical scene of covenant enactment, the flaming torch and smoking fire-pot pass between the pieces in order to seal the covenant. It’s not hard to connect the symbolism here with the pillar of fire and smoke that would later lead Israel through the desert wilderness. It’s also possible to connect the brazen and golden alters used in the Tabernacle services: With the brazen alter, sacrifices were consumed by fire, and on the golden alter, incense was burned (smoke) as a sweet aroma before Adonai.

While the symbolism may not be entirely clear, what is clear from the message in Genesis 15 is that G-d alone would be responsible to fulfill this covenant, including any penalty if Avraham or his offspring should turn away from following Adonai. In effect, G-d was saying that He would pay the ultimate price for the sins of Israel.

The spiritual implications here, in view of Yeshua’s sacrifice for Israel (and the world) are nothing less than profound. G-d was in Yeshua, reconciling the world to Himself! There is no greater gift or selfless act, than what HaShem has done for those who place their trust in Him.

The only other aspect to this story that I am struggling to understand is why were those particular animals chosen for this ordinance? What would contemporaries of Abraham have understood by this? If anyone out there reading this blog post has any light to shed on this please comment!

Till and Keep

This morning I read an interesting paper by Margaret Barker entitled "Adam the High Priest in the Paradise Temple". You can read the paper in its entirety by clicking here. There was a very interesting paragraph that explains Genesis 2:15 when Adam is commanded to "till and keep" the garden that I wanted to share. Here is the paragraph:

In each Genesis story, Adam was created as male-and female, and only later, after being set in the garden as high priest, was Adam separated into distinct male and female beings. He was set in the garden ‘to till and to keep’- the usual translation - but both these words have a temple meaning (Gen.2.15), and Adam was understood to be a high priest even though that is not explicit. ‘Till’ ‘bd, was also the technical term for temple service, and ‘keep’, šmr, meant to preserve the tradition. The traditional Jewish interpretations did not think this was a command about gardening. The debate was: did it mean serve for six days and then preserve the Sabbath, or serve God and perform the sacred duties (Genesis Rabbah XVI.5).

Creation

I just came across this video and thought it was really well done. I hope you enjoy it.

Holy Place as Eden

Lately I've been reading a few of Margaret Barker's books including the Gate of Heaven, the Great High Priest, Christmas: The Original Story and Temple Theology. One of the insights which her books have given me is about the creation account and fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis.

These accounts are to be understood as having taken place in the temple. The Holy Place (or hekal) was considered by the Israelites to have been a representation of the Garden of Eden. The menorah was a representation of the tree of life. On the walls of the Holy Place were representations of the cherubim as well as the flora of the garden. There is also evidence to suggest the veil served as a representation of the tree of knowledge of good and evil^[1].

Adam and Eve were expelled from the Holy Place into the outer court of the temple where the alter and laver were located. The temple faced east so they exited the Holy Place through it's east door. To the west of the holy place was the veil and the Holy of Holies (debir). Therefore in Genesis 3:24 when it says that God "placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" we are to understand the tree of life as being the menorah and the east of the garden as being the boundary between the Holy Place and the outer court.

^[1]See Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, The Tree in the Midst of the Garden and the Temple Symbolism of the “Center”

Perhaps the most interesting tradition about the placement of the two trees is the Jewish idea that the foliage of the Tree of Knowledge hid the Tree of Life from direct view, and that “God did not specifically prohibit eating from the Tree of Life because the Tree of Knowledge formed a hedge around it; only after one had partaken of the latter and cleared a path for himself could one come
close to the Tree of Life.”

It is in this same sense that Ephrem the Syrian, a brilliant and devoted fourth-century Christian, could call the Tree of Knowledge “the veil for the sanctuary.” He pictured Paradise as a great mountain, with the Tree of Knowledge providing a boundary partway up the slopes. The Tree of Knowledge, Ephrem concludes, “acts as a sanctuary curtain [i.e., veil] hiding the Holy of Holies which is the Tree of Life higher up.” In addition, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim sources sometimes speak of a “wall” surrounding whole of the Garden, separating it from the “outer courtyard” of the mortal world.