Yitzchak's Role in the Akeidah/2
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Yitzchak's Role in the Akeidah
Exegetical Approaches
Willing Participant
Yitzchak willingly went to be sacrificed.
Sources:Josephus, Pseudo-Philo, Targum Yerushalmi (Neofiti), Bavli Sanhedrin, Bereshit Rabbah, Tanchuma, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, Lekach Tov, R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Radak, R. S.R. Hirsch, Hoil Moshe
How old was Yitzchak at the akeidah? All of these sources assume that Yitzchak was old enough to fully comprehend what was going on, with many of them assuming that he was full grown adult. Thus, Josephus asserts that Yitzchak was 25, while Targum Yerushalmi (Neofiti) and Bereshit Rabbah place him at 37.1
Did he know what was to happen?
Yitzchak's question: "וְאַיֵּה הַשֶּׂה לְעֹלָה"
"אֱלֹהִים יִרְאֶה לּוֹ הַשֶּׂה לְעֹלָה בְּנִי"
"וְנָשׁוּבָה אֲלֵיכֶם"
"וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם יַחְדָּו"
Why was it necessary to bind Yitzchak?
"וַיָּשׇׁב אַבְרָהָם אֶל נְעָרָיו"
"וְהָאֱלֹהִים נִסָּה אֶת אַבְרָהָם"
Motivations