Abstract
Judaism, Christianity and Islam are often called the three monotheistic religions; there is presently a shift in nomenclature, however, from “monotheistic” to “Abrahamic,” a byproduct of interfaith dialogue and of a desire for greater cooperation among the faith communities. To include Islam in the “Judeo-Christian” dialogue, especially after 9/11, ecumenists preferred to speak of the “Abrahamic.” The three religions share the story of Abraham, who plays a significant, though quite different, role in each. The term “Father Abraham” could give the impression that Abraham founded one religion with three denominational variants. Bakhos’ purpose in her book is “to introduce readers to the Scriptures and interpretive traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and to explore the relationship between these traditions in order to shed light on the extent to which we can refer to them as Abrahamic religions” (p. 10).
The opening chapter, “Scriptures and Interpreters,” is a brief general introduction to the Bible (Tanakh/Old and New Testaments) and the Qur’an, followed by a survey of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim interpreters of the ancient and early medieval periods to show how they approached Scripture. In the rest of her book Bakhos draws on these interpreters. In the next chapter, “The Biblical and Qur’anic Abraham,” she studies the Abraham cycle in the Book of Genesis, how he is interpreted in the rest of the Tanakh, followed by Abraham in the New Testament, and the Qur’anic Abraham. After these introductory chapters, follow a series of thematic chapters of which the first is “The First Monotheist.” Bakhos discusses the depiction of Abraham as the first monotheist. In the Jewish and Muslim traditions he is presented often as the monotheistic iconoclast. The next thematic chapter is “The Wives of Abraham,” and studies how ancient and early medieval sources present Sarah and Hagar. In Jewish and early Christian writings Sarah and Hagar are often described as opposites, but Hagar is not always envisioned unfavourably. In this chapter Bakhos makes an exception by including contemporary readings of the wives of Abraham, including Keturah. These women attract special attention in feminist and womanist readings. The next chapter, “Sibling Rivals,” is devoted to the relationship between Ishmael and Isaac. In ancient and medieval literature, opposition and long-standing strife mark the relationship between these half-brothers, but neither the Bible nor the Qur’an portrays them as rivals. In this chapter Bakhos also explores the notions of family in the three religions. The next chapter, “Firstborn Son,” centres on Ishmael in order to illustrate how biblical figures are used as political tools. The last chapter, “The Sacrifice of Isaac and Ishmael,” studies how this sacrifice is understood and interpreted in the three religions. They all stress Abraham’s willingness to obey God’s command, but at the same time call this order into question. In the Jewish and in the Christian traditions, the identity of the son to be sacrificed is clearly Isaac; in the Muslim tradition, there is a discussion: in the beginning Isaac was seen as the son of the sacrifice, later it was, rather, Ishmael.
There are presently several books and studies on the topic of Abraham as the father of all three religions. Among them Bakhos’ book is exceptional and of a high standard. It is not easy for the same person to be qualified in biblical studies and in the traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. She is well informed, and balanced without favouring one above the other. She shows convincingly how the interpretations of common texts recast Abraham and his family in order to accommodate philological, theological, but also political concerns.
One can question Bakhos on some readings of the biblical text. She says that Abraham in Gn 12 “is summoned from Ur of the Chaldeans to leave his father’s house …” (p. 56; see also p. 52). However, it was Terah, Abraham’s father, who decided to bring his family out of Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan, but on arrival in Haran settled there (Gn 11:31). Therefore God, in Gn 12:1, called Abraham to leave Haran and not Ur, which he had left already. Commenting on Gn 24, she writes: “He orders his oldest servant, Eliezer, to find a suitable wife for Isaac” (p. 64). It would be preferable to write “probably Eliezer” or not give the name at all, since the biblical text does not specify the identity of the servant even if it may indeed be him. She writes: “The apocryphal … work Wisdom of Jesus ben Sira …” (p. 64); she might have better written in such a book on the three religions: “The apocryphal/deutero-canonical …”. These are just a few examples of how one could question her on some details, but they do not diminish in any way the value of her fine study, which I highly recommend.
One problem with the book is the use of endnotes rather than footnotes. These notes comprise a good portion of the book, but turning continually from the text to the notes is frustrating, and will limit the reader’s engagement with valuable notes. There is one index, containing technical terms and names. In such a book, a separate index of biblical and Qur’an references would be useful.