medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: Anne Willis <[log in to unmask]>
> At the end of the Dead Sea Scroll exhibition in the Royal Ontario Museum
in
Toronto in 2009 were three depictions of Abraham attempting to sacrifice
Isaac; Jewish, medieval European (gorgeous French stained glass) and Islamic
(I think 14th century). The only picture to show the donkey, who must have
been necessary to carry the wood, was the Jewish one. All the men showed
great horror at seeing the Hand of God, dramatically portrayed in all
pictures, but the donkey seemed quite calm about the matter.
i know not from "donkeys" but a ram caught in a thicket and trusssed up,
ready
for sacrifice to an (unusually) non-vengeful Yahweh is rather common, i
believe.
My surprise was that the donkey should apparently remain so calm in what
must have been terrifying circumstances. You would have thought that it
would have galloped off braying with terror. Was the donkey oblivious to
Yahweh, or was it so used to his presence that the appearance of his hand
was no surprise.
As for rams, sacrifice must have been a good way to dispose of unwanted
beasts. You don't need many rams; they are only useful once a year, or for
food. If you followed Jacob's example you would make sure that the good
ones, and their lineage, never got sacrificed.
Anne
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