Genesis 22: What Question Should We Ask the Text ?

Among the questions raised by Gen 22,1-19, this short study grapples with those concerning the figure of God, the peculiarities of the plot, and the date of the text. God puts Abraham to the test "to know" how the latter will pass this test. The plot is therefore a plot of discovery that ends with an anagnorisis, a passage from ignorance to knowledge in 22,12. There is no explicit peripeteia in the narrative, however, and this means that the reader must imagine the change of situation. All these features point towards a later date.