Document Type
Honors Project
Abstract
This thesis reexamines the Aqedah narrative from Genesis 22:1–19, focusing on the conveyance of emotions and the portrayal of characters in a story that lacks explicit descriptions of thoughts and feelings. Approaching the text through a literary and narratological lens, I propose that through phraseological techniques like diction and parataxis and compositional strategies such as allusion and juxtaposition, the text captures the psychological depth of biblical characters, thereby enhancing its emotional impact on the audience. I dissect the narrative into eight scenes and within each scene, I conduct close readings to identify and analyze subtle lexical choices and rhetorical devices. Bridging various methodological approaches of biblical criticism, this study highlights the narrator’s inventiveness in producing emotional intensity and character complexity within the constraints of biblical narrative traditions.
Recommended Citation
Tang, Michael Zhaohan, "The Trial of Abraham and the Trembling of the Audience: Rereading the Aqedah" (2024). Classical Mediterranean and Middle East Honors Projects. 31.
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/classics_honors/31
Included in
Biblical Studies Commons, Classical Literature and Philology Commons, Language Interpretation and Translation Commons, Near Eastern Languages and Societies Commons, Rhetoric and Composition Commons
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