Reading through Genesis 21 and Exodus 12 it strikes me that there is some Christian symbolism and/or foreshadowing involved. As you might remember, in Genesis 21 we have the story of Abraham's command to sacrifice Isaac. The theme of a father willing to sacrifice his only son, and the faith behind which eventually will secure victory for the children of Israel seems to parallel the story of a Father who is willing to sacrifice his only Son, the faith behind which will give everlasting Victory for the children of the Father. The sacrifice is halted and God substitutes a ram - the adult incarnation of a lamb - which takes the place of Isaac. Perhaps this ram is a metaphor in and of itself. The figure of Abraham also seems to represent mankind in this story, as God makes a covenant with Man wherein because of his faith, God will in turn give him the opportunity for salvation by sacrificing his own son. This could be interpreted as an allegory; the story could be seen as an early reference to the Christian model of salvation.
Also, in Exodus Chapter 12, we have the story of the original Jewish Passover, which follows the description of the final plague in Chapter 11. In order for the plague of the death of the firstborn to pass over the houses of the Isrealites, they need to kill a lamb and wipe its blood upon each house. In this way, the blood of the lamb would save God's people, much as in the Christian tradition, where the blood of the Lamb saves Christians. It is also interesting that the plague killed the firstborn - which, in some way, seems to parallel the death of God's firstborn and the averted death of Abraham's first born. When the Passover was finished, "the Lord said to Moses: Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals is mine." This obviously has a lot to do with the primogenative Isreali tradition, with its emphasis on the right of the first born, but it also draws very interesting connections to the idea of the sacrifice of the first born.
Obviously this is not a new concept, I'm sure that many in our class have made this connection, but I do find it interesting that the Passover is a Jewish holiday, not a Christian holiday. It would seem that this story would appeal more to the Christian tradition because of its Messianic overtones than it would to the Jewish tradition.
Also, in Exodus Chapter 12, we have the story of the original Jewish Passover, which follows the description of the final plague in Chapter 11. In order for the plague of the death of the firstborn to pass over the houses of the Isrealites, they need to kill a lamb and wipe its blood upon each house. In this way, the blood of the lamb would save God's people, much as in the Christian tradition, where the blood of the Lamb saves Christians. It is also interesting that the plague killed the firstborn - which, in some way, seems to parallel the death of God's firstborn and the averted death of Abraham's first born. When the Passover was finished, "the Lord said to Moses: Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals is mine." This obviously has a lot to do with the primogenative Isreali tradition, with its emphasis on the right of the first born, but it also draws very interesting connections to the idea of the sacrifice of the first born.
Obviously this is not a new concept, I'm sure that many in our class have made this connection, but I do find it interesting that the Passover is a Jewish holiday, not a Christian holiday. It would seem that this story would appeal more to the Christian tradition because of its Messianic overtones than it would to the Jewish tradition.
posted by Matt McLeod at 4:40 PM
2 Comments:
If you want more information, "The Lamb's Supper" or "A Father Who Keeps His Promises," both by Scott Hahn, talk about this, though they are very much faith based (I don't know of any secular studies of this subject).
Thanks that sounds interesting
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