The Theological and Ethical Complexities of Abraham’s Sacrificial Test in Genesis 22:1-10: A Multi-Faceted Hermeneutical Approach

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https://doi.org/10.71064/spu.amjr.11.1.2026.555
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Vol. 11 No. 1 (2026): African Multidisciplinary Journal of Research

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Grace Nyambura Mwangi
St. Paul's University

Abstract

This study critically examines the theological and ethical complexities embedded in the Akedah narrative (Genesis 22:1-10) through a multi-faceted hermeneutical approach. Employing narrative criticism, historical-critical analysis, literary deconstruction, and trauma-informed reader-response hermeneutics, the paper explores how the biblical text negotiates the tension between divine command and human suffering. The analysis reveals the narrative’s deliberate silences of Isaac’s unvoiced trauma, Sarah’s erasure, and Abraham’s muted obedience that function as sites of theological ambivalence and narrative violence. Historical-critical insights contextualize the Akedah within Ancient Near Eastern child sacrifice practices, highlighting its role as a contested theological polemic rather than a straightforward repudiation of such rites. Literary criticism exposes how the text’s omissions reinforce patriarchal structures, while African feminist and postcolonial reader-response critiques challenge colonial appropriations that have weaponized the narrative to justify oppression. This study advances scholarship by advocating a trauma-informed rereading that centers the silenced voices and calls for a decolonizing interpretive framework. Such an approach not only deepens understanding of the text’s ethical dimensions but also confronts the complicity of its reception history in perpetuating violence. The paper concludes that the Akedah remains an unsettled and unsettling text, demanding ongoing ethical engagement and reflective resistance from contemporary interpreters.

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How to Cite
The Theological and Ethical Complexities of Abraham’s Sacrificial Test in Genesis 22:1-10: A Multi-Faceted Hermeneutical Approach. (2026). African Multidisciplinary Journal of Research, 11(1), 681-702. https://doi.org/10.71064/spu.amjr.11.1.2026.555

How to Cite

The Theological and Ethical Complexities of Abraham’s Sacrificial Test in Genesis 22:1-10: A Multi-Faceted Hermeneutical Approach. (2026). African Multidisciplinary Journal of Research, 11(1), 681-702. https://doi.org/10.71064/spu.amjr.11.1.2026.555

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