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The near sacrifice of Isaac, or Akedah, in Genesis 22, is to many readers one of the most challenging, and perhaps ethically troublesome, parts of the Bible. For the significance of sacrifices, especially in Biblical times see the korbanot.
It figures prominently in the writings of many major theologians, such as Soren Kierkegaard in Fear and Trembling and Shalom Spiegel in The Last Trial. The story is often referred to as “the binding of Isaac”, especially in the Jewish tradition.
The Bible states that God tests Abraham, by asking him to present his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah. No reason is given within the text. Abraham agrees to this command without arguing. According to the text, God does not want Abraham to actually sacrifice his son; it states from the beginning that this is only a test. The story ends with God stopping Abraham at the last minute and making Isaac's sacrifice unnecessary by providing a goat to be sacrificed, which had become caught in some bushes nearby.
In Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature, the literary critic Erich Auerbach considers the Hebrew narrative of the Binding of Isaac, along with Homer's description of Odysseus's scar, as the two paradigmatic models for the representation of reality in literature. Auerbach contrasts Homer's attention to detail and foregrounding of the spatial, historical, as well as personal contexts for events to the Bible's sparse account, in which virtually all context is kept in the background or left outside of the narrative. As Auerbach observes, this narrative strategy virtually compels readers to add their own interpretations to the text.
Some have argued that the story should be read in the context of ancient Near Eastern culture. In the time and era in which Abraham lived, he was surrounded by cultures where the sacrifice of animals to gods was the normal way of showing devotion and loyalty. Abraham lived among some cultures that sacrificed human beings to their gods - sometimes even their own children.
One understanding of the text is that God inspired Abraham in this episode in order to teach him a lesson, in order to stop human sacrifices from happening.
Readers note that Abraham was put by God into a dilemma with no clear solution.
Whatever the original intent (which may never be totally elucidated) of the text, the episode has quite an effect on Abraham and Isaac; it is clear to them both that human sacrifice is not acceptable.
Many readers have noted Abraham's prophetic Freudian slip. he says "I and the boy will go there, bow down, and we will return to you". Many classical rabbinic commentators hold that Abraham knew that Isaac wouldn't die. The New Testament book of Hebrews says Abraham believed God would raise Isaac from the dead after he had been sacrificed.