The Death of Isaac: Structuralist Analysis of Genesis 22

This article examines Genesis 22 using structuralist theory and methodology. Two primary questions are addressed: what is the structural significance of the sacrifice? and what is the structural role of the two young men? The analysis works on two levels, synchronic and diachronic. Initially it discusses Gen. 22 in terms of its own underlying structures. These structures are then compared to those of Gen. 37, which is shown to be an inverted version of the same myth. The analysis at this level suggests that structurally the element of an actual sacrifice is significant and that the two young men fill the structural role of brother. Finally, the analysis shows that the diachronic development of the underlying structure of the myth in rabbinic midrashic texts supports and strengthens the findings of the synchronic analysis. Rabbinic myths develop in precisely the ways predicted by the structuralist analysis.