Abstract

Several scholars have proposed that Melito, the second-century bishop of Sardis, manifests awareness of Jewish exegeses of Genesis 22 (or Akedah). This article investigates the extent and implications of Melito’s engagement with that Akedah tradition. The first part of this essay examines the Jewish exegetical strands that were in existence during Melito’s period. The second part analyzes Melito’s Fragments 9, 10 and 11, with reference to the Jewish exegeses. This article demonstrates the depth of Melito’s reliance on and response to the Akedah tradition, as he employs its motifs on Isaac, the ram and the Temple site. The Akedah tradition serves as a stimulus for Melito’s soteriological ideas, as he develops his perspectives on the sacrifice of Christ. The Fragments further reveal Melito’s complex attitude towards Judaism, marked by contact, tension and creativity.

Highlights

  • Melito’s scriptural fluency emerges in his extant writings, in his Peri Pascha (PP), his major complete work, as well as in his Fragments.4 Melito’s likely knowledge of Jewish exegeses on Genesis 22

  • Binding of Isaac in Jewish tradition) was initially suggested by Robert Wilken, based on his study of Fragments 9, 10 and 11.5 Wilken observed that these fragments are “highly significant, because Melito is the first Christian writer to give more than passing notice to the sacrifice of Isaac.”6 Wilken posited that Melito’s awareness of Jewish exegeses on Genesis 22, led him to develop “his own interpretation [in] an attempt to rescue Isaac for the Christians.”7 Following Wilken, notable scholars have concurred that Melito’s Fragments seem cognizant of Jewish exegeses and offer a “polemical” response to Akedah tradition

  • Melito’s list of Old Testament books “largely conforms with what is widely agreed to be the ‘Jewish canon’ by this period, with the notable exception of Esther.”15 Melito may have learned of Jewish tradition through contacts in Sardis,16 or during his travels to the Holy Land as the “first recorded pilgrim,”17 or through Jewish Christians who may have comprised part of his congregation

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Summary

The Jewish Akedah Tradition

The word “Akedah” derives from the Hebrew root ‫‘( עקד‬kd) for “binding,” a hapax legomenon which occurs in the Hebrew (Masoretic Text) of Genesis 22:9.23 The Septuagint (LXX) employs the term συμποδίζω for the word “binding.” Modern scholars use the term “Akedah” in various ways. This article employs “Genesis 22” to refer to the biblical account, while using Akedah to refer to the context/event of Abraham’s offering of Isaac. This study will focus on Jewish Akedah tradition since Christian (patristic) readings on Genesis 22 (emphasizing Christological ideas), though extensive, developed mostly after Melito’s time.. (JA), 4 Maccabees (4 Macc), Pseudo-Philo (Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum, L.A.B) and the Pentateuchal Targums.27 These texts contain innovative elements diverging from the original narrative in Genesis 22, including depicting: Abraham as a priest (Philo); Isaac’s martyr-like behavior (4 Macc); the presence of multiple angels (Pentateuchal Targums); a Satan-like figure named Mastema instigating. While many motifs appear in the Jewish Akedah tradition, I will focus here only on five features of their enhanced portrayal of Isaac, which bear relevance for Melito’s Fragments.. While many motifs appear in the Jewish Akedah tradition, I will focus here only on five features of their enhanced portrayal of Isaac, which bear relevance for Melito’s Fragments.30 These five features undergo significant shifts between early and later Jewish exegesis. Akedah traditions are defined here only as those texts unanimously accepted by scholars to be pre-70 C.E. in origin, such as Jubilees, 4Q225 and Philo (Abr. 32-36). Current critical consensus assigns others, like Josephus’ Akedah (JA i. 222-236), L.A.B., 4 Maccabees, and the Pentateuchal Targums, to post-70 C.E.32

27 The editions used are as follows
Melito’s Fragments and the Akedah Tradition
Summary of Findings
Theological Implications
Conclusion
Full Text
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