A Note on Isaac as First-Born in "Jubilees" and Only Son in 4Q225

Author(s): Betsy Halpern-Amaru

Source: Dead Sea Discoveries, Vol. 13, No. 2 (2006), pp. 127-133
Published by: BRILL
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A NOTE ON ISAAC AS FIRST-BORN IN JUBILEESAND

ONLY SON IN 4Q225
BETSY HALPERN-AMARU
Jerusalem, Israel

The Book of Jubilees and 4Q225 (4QPseudo-Jubilees)each develop a

connectionbetween the Aqedah and the exodus. Jubilees creates that
nexus throughan intertextualdesign that depictsthe Aqedahas a foreshadowingof the exodus. 4Q225, on the other hand, adopts a linear
structurethat employs Genesis 15 as a mediatingtext between the two
deliverancenarratives.Scholars have given considerableattentionto
the motifs that advance the relationshipbetween the Aqedah and the
exodus in each text.' The intent of this note is to examine a feature
that has not been exploredin that scholarship,specifically,the designation of Isaac as a first-bornson in Jubilees and as an only son in
4Q225.2

I On the intertextualdesign in Jubilees, see G. Vermes, "Redemptionand Genesis

XXII-The Bindingof IsaacandtheSacrificeof Jesus,"ScriptureandTradition:Haggadic
Studies (SPB 4; Leiden:Brill, 1961) 215-16; A. Jaubert,"Le calendrierdes Jubil6set
les jours liturgiquesde le semaine,"VT7 (1952) 152-53; R. Le D6ut,La nuitpascale:
Essai sur la significationde la Pdquejuive a partir du Targumd'ExodeXII 42 (AnBib
"TheAqedah,Jubilees,
22; Rome:BiblicalInstitutePress,1963) 179-84;J.C.VanderKam,
andPseudo-Jubilees,"
TheQuestforContextandMeaning:StudiesinBiblicalIntertextuality
in Honor of James A. Sanders(eds C. Evans and S. Talmon;BIS 28; Leiden: Brill,
1997)241-5 1;J. Huizenga,"TheBattleforIsaac:ExploringtheCompositionandFunction
of the Aqedahin the Book of Jubilees,"JSP 13 (2002) 37-46; and Jacquesvan Ruiten,
JobandtheBookof Jubilees:TheIntertextual
"Abraham,
Relationshipof Genesis22:1-19,
Job 1:1-2:13 and Jubilees 17:15-18:19,"The Sacrificeof Isaac: The Aqedah(Genesis
22) and Its Interpretations(eds E. Noort and E. Tigchelaar;Leiden,Brill, 2002) 71-83.
On 4Q225, see J.T. Milik and J.C. VanderKam,"225. 4QPseudo-Jubileesa"
Qumran
Cave 4 XIII: Parabiblical Texts, Part I (DID 13; Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1994)
141-55; VanderKam,"The Aqedah,"251-55; R.A. Kugler and J.C. VanderKam,"A
Note on 4Q225 (4QPseudo-Jubilees),"RevQ 20 (2001) 110-115; and R. Kugler,
theReligiousImaginationof theQumran
"Hearing4Q225:A CaseStudyin Reconstructing
Community,"DSD 10 (2003) 80-103.
2 VanderKam
commentson the bakwrakain his textualnotes (The Book of Jubilees:
A CriticalText[Louvain:Peeters,198912.106-07 notes on 18:11, 15), but neitherthere
nor elsewheredoes he addressits significance.Van Ruiten includesthe reading"your

? Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2006

Also available online - www.brill.nl

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128

BETSY HALPERN-AMARU

The biblical AqedahnarrativeidentifiesIsaac by his relationshipto

Abrahamon three occasions-when God issues the initial directive
(Gen. 22:2), when the angel restrains Abraham (Gen. 22:12), and,
again at the end of the account,when God renews the covenant(Gen.
22:16). MT Genesis 22 reads "your only one" (l-lr'r) in each passage;3 the LXX, OL, EthGen reading in Gen. 22:2, 12, 16 is consis-

tently "your beloved one" (the equivalentof the Hebrew 1'yT').4 All
three passages appearin the Jubilees account,but in none of them is
Isaac described as "your only son." God refers to Isaac as "your
beloved one" (fequraka) in His commandto Abraham(Jub. 18:2);'
the restrainingangel calls Isaac bakwraka(the Ge'ez equivalent of
11::)(Jub.18: 1 );6 andGodrepeatsthefirst-borndesignation,bakwraka,
in the renewal of covenantpromises(Jub. 18:15)7at the close of the
narrative.8Only the first of the three passages (God's command to
Abraham)appearsin 4Q225 and there (2 i 11), Isaac is referredto as
"your only one" (p1T'1).9 The terms that the authors of Jubilees and

of 4Q225 employ in their designationsof Isaac are terms of consequence. They provideinsight into the internalworkingsof each inter-

first born son" in an enumerationof where Jub. 18:1-17 deviates from MT Gen
22:1-19 ("Abraham,"
81). Kuglercites Jub. 18:14-16, but focusing solely on the addiand "only
tions to Gen. 22:15-18, he does not commenton the issue of "first-born"
son" ("Hearing,"95, n. 42).
3 The Samaritanand Syriac readingsare equivalentto those in the MT.
4 Many English translationsrenderthe Hebrew TlrT as "yourbeloved one." That
translationmay assumethat the readingin LXX (the GreekequivalentOf71'7) is the
correctone (e.g., E.A. Speiser, Genesis [AB 1; GardenCity, New York: Doubleday,
1964], 163, note on Gen 22:2) or understand"youronly one" in the Aqedahcontext
as "construed as a term of value" (N. Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary:

Genesis

[JPS:Philadelphia,1989], 151, note on Gen 22:2).

s A form of fequraka is attestedin all the Ethiopicmanuscripts(VanderKam,The
Book of Jubilees, 1.102, note to Jub. 18:2).
6 All of the Ethiopic manuscripts used in VanderKam's critical edition attest
bakwrakaor some form thereoffor Jub. 18:11.
I Duplicatinga phrasethat appearsin the initial command(Gen 22:2; Jub. 18:2),
God refers to Isaac as "yourfirst-bornson whom you love" (Jub. 18:15).
8 The Hebrewtext of the passages is no longerextant.All but threeof the Ethiopic
manuscriptsattestbakwrakafor Jub. 18:15. One of the variantsomits the word (ms 9);
the other two (mss 12 and 38) read a form of fequraka(The Book of Jubilees, 1.104,
notes to Jub. 18:11, 15). On the relativetextualvalue of the Ethiopicmanuscripts,see
TheBook of Jubilees,2.xxiv-xxxi. The Latinversionreadsprimogenito(1lZfl) in Jub.
18:11 and unigenito (1-l'rT)in Jub. 18:15. Commentingon bakwrakain Jub. 18:15,
VanderKamnotes that "since the Ethiopicis unique, it is perhapsmore likely to be
original"(The Book of Jubilees, 2.108).
9 Only the first four letters(nf') are visible.

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A NOTE ON ISAAC AS FIRST-BORN IN JUBILEESAND ONLY SON IN 4Q225

129

pretationand at the same time highlight the differentapproachesof

the two interpretivetexts.
The first of the two designationsfor Isaac in the Jubilees reworking of the Aqedah narrative,"your beloved one" (Jub. 18:11), may
reflect use of a version of the biblical text in agreementwith the LXX
renderingof Gen. 22:2. That Isaac is identified as "your first-born
son" (Jub. 18:11, 15) from the momentthe rescue begins, however, is
unique to Jubilees. The uniquenessof the "first-born"usage and the
selective way in which that designationis appliedto Isaac only when
he is no longer at risk suggest that the authorof Jubilees is creating
a deliberateassociation between the rescued Isaac and the first-born
sons of the Israeliteswho are saved from the tenth plague. Indeed, at
one point in the Jubilees reworking of the exodus story, that tenth
plague is ascribed,like the binding of Isaac, to the machinationsof
Mastema(Jub. 49:2).'0
There is no biblical reference point for transformingthe rescued
Isaac into a first-bornson. Clearly that transformationis a metaphoric
one, for the precedingnarrativesof Ishmael's conception,birth, and
subsequentbanishmentin Jubilees (Jub. 14:21-24; 17:1-14), like the
narrativesof Genesis 16 and 21, straightforwardly
presentIshmael as
the first child and first son born to Abraham. The metaphor may
reflect the influenceof the descriptionof the Israelitesas God's firstborn in Exod. 4:22. That descriptionis not included in the Jubilees
exodus narrative;it does appear as an aspect of the fore-electionof
Israel in the creation story (Jub. 2:20). However, nowhere does
Jubilees make an explicit connectionbetween Isaac and the election
of Israel; it is Jacob who is overtly associated with the election of
Israel (Jub. 2:20; 16:17). It may be that the attributionof nlI: status
to Isaac has its roots simply in the associationbetween first-bornsons
and redemptionin the exodus story. In either case, the introductionof
the r1nz motif at the moment of Isaac's rescue suggests that the
authoris creatinga parallelbetween him and the first-bornsons of the
Israeliteswho are saved in the exodus story.
That parallel provides an important,but hithertounexplored,clue
to the timing of events in the Jubilees account of the Aqedah. The
calendartrackingof Abraham'sjourney from Beershebato the scene

'0 In another passage the killing of the Egyptian first-bornis attributedto "the
Lord's forces"that "did everythingthat the Lord ordered"(Jub. 49:4).

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130

BETSY HALPERN-AMARU

of the Aqedah places the challenge and subsequent command to

Abrahamon the twelfth day of the first month (Jub. 17:15; 18:1-2),
has him departing"early in the morning,"and "coming to the place
on the third day" (Jub. 18:3). Applying the principle that the day
begins at sunset, a principle that is firmly asserted in the Jubilees
descriptionof the Israelitesconsumingthe paschalofferingon the eve
of the exodus as well as in the legislation for its futurereenactment
(Jub. 49:1, 10-12)," the time scheme suggests that God's command
comes after sunset on the 12th and the travel begins in the morning
of the same day. Given a journey of three days duration,the scheme
places Abrahamand Isaac on the mountainbefore the close (at sunset) of the fourteenthday of the first month.'2
No scheduleis providedfor the events that unfold on the mountain.
At this point the transformationof Isaac into a first-bornson becomes
the key to the timing of events, for it directsthe readerto the precise
dating of the rescue of the Israelitefirst-bornon the eve of the exodus in Jubilees 49. The prelude to the rescue, the slaughterof the
paschal offering, occurs "on the fourteenth of the first month...
before evening;"the rescue of the first-bornsons comes "at night on
the evening of the fifteenthfrom the time of sunset"at which time the
Israelites eat the pesah and rejoice at being saved from the tenth
plague (Jub. 49:1-6). Applyingthat dating to the events on the mountain, the preludeto the rescue-the arrivalon the mountainand perhaps even the binding"3-wouldoccur, as VanderKamhas calculated,
"at the end of 1/14."But the actualrescue, the release that transforms
Isaac into a first-bornson, takes place, like the rescue of the Israelite
first-bornsons, only after the sun has set, i.e., "at night on the evening of the fifteenthfrom the time of sunset"(Jub. 49:1).14 Although
not stated in the Jubilees narrative,the three-dayjourney back to

I On the day beginningat sunset in the calendarof Jubilees, see J.M. Baumgarten,
"The Beginningof the Day in the Calendarof Jubilees,"JBL 77 (1958) 355-360, and
idem, Studiesin QumranLaw (SJLA 24; E.J. Brill: Leiden, 1977) 124-31.
12 Up to this point, the dating of Abraham'stravel accordswith that suggestedby
VanderKamin "TheAqedah,"247.
13 WhereasR. Ishmael likens the bound Isaac to the paschal lamb (Mek. 7.78-79;
11.92-94), the primarycorrespondencecreated in Jubilees is between the redeemed
Isaac and the redeemedfirst-bornsons of the Israelitesin Egypt.
14 VanderKamcombines the binding and release into a single event on the fourteenth, which he identifiesas "the very time of the Passovermeal" ("TheAqedah,"
247). However,in Jubilees the Passovermeal is consumednot on the fourteenth,but
"at night on the evening of the fifteenthfrom the time of sunset"(Jub.49:1-2).

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A NOTE ON ISAAC AS FIRST-BORN IN JUBILEES AND ONLY SON IN 4Q225

131

Beersheba,like that to the mountain,would most likely begin the following morning.That Abrahamsubsequentlyinstitutesand celebrates
a festival to commemorate"the seven'5 days during which he went
and returnedsafely" (Jub. 18:18) indicates that his arrival back in
Beershebacomes after sunset,that is, on the eighteenthday of the first
month.16

The transformationof Isaac into a first-bornson is subtlypresented,

but it is a pivotal aspect of the intertextualdesign by which Jubilees
develops the Aqedah as a foreshadowingof the exodus. As a firstborn, Isaac presagesthe first-bornsons of the Israelites;the timing of
his deliverancefrom Mastema prefiguresthe timing of their deliverance; and the unnamedfestival that his fatherestablishesto celebrate
the occasion, like the exodus Passoverfestival, commemoratesboth a
rescue of the first-born(Jub. 49:7) and a journey (Jub. 49:23).17
The identificationof Isaac as Abraham'sonly son (-rTrr)is no less
significantto the structureand thematic developmentof 4Q225. Set
within a citation of Gen. 22:2, the descriptionappearsonly once (2 i
11), but it is a vital element in the contextualrelationshipthe author
establishes between the Aqedah and the promises to Abrahamat the
CovenantBetween the Pieces (DrnMIMl
l': nnnl) (Genesis 15). That
covenant-makinginforms the structureof 4Q225 and unites its presentation of the Aqedah and exodus as victories over threats to the
fulfillmentof God's promises."8
In Genesis 15 Abrahamis assuredthat he will have a son and multiple descendants(Gen 15:4-5), and that, after being oppressed and
enslaved "in a land not their own," his descendantswill be avenged
andredeemed(Gen 15:13-14).No creativityis requiredto linkthe Exodus

Emphasismine.
VanderKamarguesthat the authorwould have Abrahamback in Beershebabefore
the Sabbath,which accordingto the Jubileancalendarwould fall on the eighteenth
(Aqedah,246-57). Accordingto Baumgarten,however,"the datingof Abraham'sjourneys has nothingto do with the Sabbath"(Studies, 104).
17 The dual commemorations
are fused into one festival in both narratives.The seam
line of that fusion is visible in the legislationof "the statuteof the pesah... and the
festival of unleavenedbread"(Jub.49:22). It is not apparentin Abraham'sfestival, for
the redemption of Isaac falls within "the seven days during which he went and
returnedsafely" (Jub. 18:18).
18 In the editio princeps of 4Q225 published in DJD, the account of the exodus
(frg. 1) precedesthat of the Aqedah(frg. 2). However,subsequentstudies of the fragments indicatethat theirpositionsshouldbe reversed.See Kuglerand VanderKam,"A
Note," 109-110.
15

16

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132

BETSY HALPERN-AMARU

narrativeto those promises,for a connectionis alreadyestablishedin

the prediction of enslavement and promise of redemption in Gen
15:14. The authorof 4Q225 accesses that connectionin his accountof
the exodus simply by alluding to "[. .. his covenalnt, which he made
with Abraham" (1 4).19

Establishmentof an associationbetween the Genesis 15 promiseof

a son and the Aqedahrequiresmore ingenuity.There is no comparable allusionto theAqedahin thebiblicalaccountof theCovenantBetween
the Pieces. Moreover,among other stories that separatethe two narratives (Genesis 15 and Genesis 22) are the accounts of Ishmael's
conceptionand birth(Genesis 16). To bringthe Aqedahdirectlyunder
the contextualumbrellaof the promiseof progenyin the covenantof
Genesis 15, the authorof 4Q225 develops a structurethat creates a
new backdropfor the narrativeof the Aqedah.Prefacingthe account
of the Aqedahis a summarypresentationof the promisesof a son and
multipleprogenyin Gen 15:2-6 (2 i 3-7). Isaac's birthis announced
immediatelythereafter(2 1 8-9a) and therebyis explicitly portrayed
as the fulfillment of the preceding divine promise of a son. The
Ishmaelnarrativesthat intervenebetweenthe promisesof the covenant
making in Genesis 15 and the birth of Isaac are omitted.20Indeed,in
4Q225 Ishmael is never born. Consequently,when God commands
Abrahamto sacrifice his only son (2 i 11), Isaac is quite literally a
71m9,the only son the patriarchhas.
There is no overt change to the designationof Isaac in 4Q225. In
the citation of God's command to Abrahamhe remains, as in Gen
22:2, 1rm, "youronly son" (2 i 11). However,in the Qumrantext a
new understandinghas been assigned to the word rrnn and it now
denotes somethingquite differentfrom that which it signifies in the
biblical context. Indeed, one might say that Isaac is also transformed
in 4Q225. However,this transformationis not an internalone involving a change in designationas in Jubilees 18. Rather,the transformation here is a cross-textualone involving a change in signification.
Alteringthe sequenceof events in the biblical narrative,the authorof

comparableallusion to Gen 15:14 appearsin Jub. 48:8.

CanaWermanhas arguedthat the exclusionof Ishmaelhas a polemicalbasis that
is also evident in the reworkingof the Aqedahnarrative.See "The AttitudeTowards
Gentiles in the Book of Jubilees and QumranLiteratureComparedwith the Early
(UnpublishedPh.D. dissertation,
TanaaicHalakhaand ContemporaryPseudepigrapha"
HebrewUniversity,1995) (Hebrew) 142-46.
19 A

20

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A NOTE ON ISAAC AS FIRST-BORN IN JUBILEESAND ONLY SON IN 4Q225

133

4Q225 grounds the Aqedah in a context that shifts the reference to

Isaac in Gen 22:2 from an allusion to the place he holds in his
father's affectionsto a descriptionof his status within the family. In
otherwords, the move from the biblical narrativeto 4Q225 transforms
Isaac into an only child.
From the standpointof family structure,it might appearthat there
is little difference between the first-bornand only son designations
assigned to the Isaacs of Jubilees and 4Q225. From an exegetical perspective, however, there is a markeddifferencebetween the two designations. In the Jubilees narrativeIsaac is not presentedas the first
son born to Abraham;his status as a first-bornis a metaphoricone
that the author-exegeteassigns in order to create an intertextualrelationship between the saving of Isaac at the time of the Aqedah and
the saving of the Israelite first-bornsons at the time of the tenth
plague. In contrast,in 4Q225 Isaac is literally an only son, a designation necessitatedby the author-exegete'sdesire to treat the Aqedah
within the context of the promisesto Abrahamin Genesis 15.
The differencesbetween them notwithstanding,the first-bornson of
Jubilees and the only son of 4Q225 each promotethe interfacingof
Aqedah and exodus in their respective texts. In Jubilees the relationjoins the firstship is an intertextualone in which Isaac-the-first-born
born sons of the Israelites in parallel accounts of redemption. In
4Q225 the relationship is a linear one in which Isaac-the-only-son
joins the Aqedah to the exodus as sequentialprooftextsof the surety
of God's promisesto Abrahamat the CovenantBetween the Pieces.

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