The drama of obedience and emotion : the Sacrifice of a child, authority, and the human trial in the narratives of Abraham and Jephthah (Gen 22:1-19; Judg 11:29-40)

Avsenik Nabergoj, Irena (author)

The narrative of Abraham’s sacrifice of his only son Isaac at God’s command (Gen 22:1-19) and the account of Jephthah’s sacrifice of his only daughter as the consequence of his rash vow (Judg 11:29-40) belong to the broad and diverse corpus of Old Testament texts that explore the motif of human testing. The story of Adam and Eve already reveals humanity confronted with divine autho-rity, demanding obedience and exposing the limits of human freedom. Yet the cases of Abraham and Jephthah introduce a new and more dramatic dimension of the motif: the test is no longer merely a matter of obedience but involves the ultimate decision over the life and death of one’s own child. In this respect, the two narratives are comparable, but at a fundamental level they diverge sharply. Both have received considerable attention since antiquity, but interpreters have often overlooked the decisive role of authority in shaping the drama of the trial. Abraham is tested directly by God, whose supreme authority explicitly aims to examine his faith and obedience. Jephthah, by contrast, is tested amid the circumstances of war, where, in his role as judge, he exceeds his limited human authority by making a vow that fatally endangers his daughter. The outcomes are paradoxical: Abraham, through unconditional obedience, preserves both himself and his son, while Jephthah, bound by his own promise, destroys his daughter. This article employs close literary and comparative analysis on semantic, stylistic, and hermeneutical levels. It demonstrates the distinctive form and meaning of the texts in their original contexts and shows how subsequent Jewish and Christian interpretations have reshaped their original emphases over time.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Isaac, Jephthah, test, authority, vow, literary analysis, hermenutics
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: TEOF - Theological Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.01.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 527-545
• Numbering: Letn. 85, [št.] 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-177641
• UDC: 27-23-537:599.89
• ISSN on article: 0006-5722
• DOI: 10.34291/BV2025/03/Avsenik
• COBISS.SI-ID: 262643459
• Publication date in RUL: 30.12.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Bogoslovni vestnik : glasilo Teološke fakultete v Ljubljani
• Shortened title: Bogosl. vestn.
• Publisher: Teološka fakulteta
• ISSN: 0006-5722
• COBISS.SI-ID: 8745472

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Drama pokorščine in čustva : daritev otroka, avtoriteta in človekova preizkušnja v pripovedih o Abrahamu in Jefteju (1 Mz 22,1-19; Sod 11,29-40)

Abstract

Pripoved o Abrahamovi daritvi njegovega edinega sina Izaka na Božji ukaz (1 Mz 22,1-19) in pripoved o daritvi Jeftejeve hčere – edinke – kot posledici njegove nepremišljene prisege (Sod 11,29-40) sodita v širok in raznolik korpus starozaveznih besedil, ki obravnavajo motiv človekove preizkušnje. Že pripoved o Adamu in Evi razkriva človeka pred Božjo avtoriteto, ki zahteva poslušnost in razkriva meje svobode. Primera Abrahama in Jefteja pa prinašata novo in še bolj dramatično stopnjo tega motiva: preizkušnja ni več le vprašanje poslušnosti, tem-več vključuje skrajno odločitev o življenju in smrti lastnega otroka. V tem pogledu sta pripovedi delno primerljivi, vendar se na bistveni ravni močno razlikujeta. Obe sta že od antike deležni velike pozornosti, vendar so razlagalci pogosto prezrli odločilno vlogo avtoritete, ki oblikuje dramo preizkušnje. Abraham je preizkušen neposredno po Božjem ukazu, saj najvišja avtoriteta izrecno preizkuša njegovo vero in pokorščino. Jefte pa je preizkušan v okoliščinah vojne, med katero v vlogi sodnika prekorači svojo omejeno človeško avtoriteto s prisego, ki usodno ogrozi njegovo hčer. Razplet je paradoksen: Abraham z brezpogojno pokorščino ohrani sebe in svojega sina, Jefte pa, ujet v svojo lastno obljubo, pogubi svojo hčer. Prispevek uporablja natančno literarno in primerjalno analizo na ravni semantike, sloga in hermenevtike. Raziskava pokaže specifično obliko in pomen besedil v njunem izvirnem kontekstu ter razkrije, kako so poznejše judovske in krščanske interpretacije skozi čas preoblikovale njune prvotne poudarke.

• Keywords: Izak, Jefte, preizkušnja, avtoriteta, prisega, literarna analiza, hermenevtika

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P6-0262
• Name: Vrednote v judovsko-krščanskih virih in tradiciji ter možnosti dialoga

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: J6-50212
• Name: Moč čustev in status ženskih likov v različnih literarnih žanrih Stare zaveze