Jennifer Read

Rewriting Sarah Jennifer Read

The story of the akedah (the binding of Isaac described in Genesis 22) is perhaps one of the most ethically problematic stories in the biblical text. Very little attention, however, seems to be given to Sarah. In this thesis we will examine Sarah's role in relation to the events of the akedah and how it has changed over time. In order to do this, I will discuss three groups of literature: Rabbinic midrash, the Hebrew Crusade chronicles, and Yiddish religious materials from the pre-modern period.