Abraham and the Binding of Isaac

Despite an appearance of simplicity, the Biblical narratives are often complicated stories. In the full-length video lecture “Abraham and the Binding of Isaac,” Ziony Zevit examines the context of one of the best-known narratives of the Hebrew Bible, enabling you to experience a worldview very different than our own.

The Binding of Isaac (the Akedah), a story in which God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, is one of the most perplexing narratives in the Hebrew Bible. In the lecture “Abraham and the Binding of Isaac”—filmed exclusively for the Biblical Archaeology Society and now available in the BAS Library—Prof. Zevit examines some of the most common questions concerning this story, such as: “Why did Abraham go along with God without question or comment?” and “Why did Isaac not fight Abraham but instead lay meekly down?”