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But Where Is the Lamb?: Imagining the Story of Abraham and Isaac Hardcover – September 10, 2013

by James Goodman (Author)

12 customer reviews

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“I didn’t think he’d do it. I really didn’t think he would. I thought he’d say, whoa, hold on, wait a minute. We made a deal, remember, the land, the blessing, the nation, the descendants as numerous as the sands on the shore and the stars in the sky.”

So begins James Goodman’s original and urgent encounter with one of the most compelling and resonant stories ever told—God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.

A mere nineteen lines in the book of Genesis, it rests at the heart of the history, literature, theology, and sacred rituals of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. For more than two millennia, people throughout the world have grappled with the troubling questions about sacrifice, authority, obedience, and faith to which the story gives rise. Writing from the vantage of “a reader, a son, a Jew, a father, a skeptic, a historian, a lover of stories, and a writer,” Goodman gives us an enthralling narrative history that moves from its biblical origins to its place in the cultures and faiths of our time. He introduces us to the commentary of Second Temple sages, rabbis and priests of the late antiquity, and early Islamic exegetes (some of whom imagined that Ishmael was the nearly sacrificed son). He examines Syriac hymns (in which Sarah stars), Hebrew chronicles of the First Crusade (in which Isaac often dies), and medieval English mystery plays. He looks at the art of Europe’s golden age, the philosophy of Kant and Kierkegaard, and the panoply of twentieth-century interpretation, sacred and profane, including the work of Bob Dylan, Elie Wiesel, and A. B. Yehoshua. In illuminating how so many others have understood this story, Goodman tells a gripping and provocative story of his own.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Guest Review of “But Where Is the Lamb?” by James Goodman
By Wendy Doniger

Wendy Doniger (O’Flaherty) has published over thirty books, including Śiva: The Erotic Ascetic; The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology; Dreams, Illusion, and Other Realities; Other Peoples’ Myths; The Bedtrick: Tales of Sex and Masquerade; The Woman Who Pretended to Be Who She Was; and The Hindus: An Alternative History.

James Goodman’s But Where Is the Lamb? is a great read from the very first line; I really could not put it down until other tasks forced me to take a break. The tone of voice is what hooked me; it’s like reading Biblical scholarship written in the voice of Holden Caulfield. Goodman asks precisely the questions that any thoughtful person would ask, starting with the question of the title, Isaac’s question, and a very good one it is, too: Hey, where is the lamb? The only piece of writing I know on this subject that even begins to compete with the down-to-earth approach of Goodman’s book is Woody Allen’s hilarious dialogue in Without Feathers (which Goodman quotes); but Woody’s language-joke there is that God uses King James English to say things that a New York Jew would say—“Doth thou listen to every crazy idea that comes thy way?”—whereas Goodman does just the opposite: he uses Sam Spade English to ask the same sort of straight questions, and to ask them of Biblical scholarship as well as of the Bible. The result is that the tone begins to feel like your own voice asking these questions, and the book invites you in to ask your own questions, too. It would make a wonderful book to teach with, opening up the sorts of questions that readers as young as Isaac might have had; and it’s also a great book to carry around and read wherever you are. I loved it.

Review

“This book makes you feel like a guest at a truly eclectic symposium on the meaning of the biblical story of the Binding of Isaac, featuring Jews, Muslims, and Christians; medieval and moderns; artists and novelists. It is amazing to see how 19 sentences of the biblical account have given birth to so many different interpretations, and one leaves this book with the sense that the discussion is not nearly over yet.” —Jewish Voice, A Selection of the Year’s Best Jewish Books

“Obviously fascinated by the story, Goodman demonstrates great prudence in not offering his explanation but in asserting that the story has many meanings. This refreshing restraint along with the author’s writing skills make his contribution an important addition to the libraries of commentaries about Abraham and Isaac that vainly strive to explain what is ultimately unfathomable.” —Publishers Weekly

“A fresh and exciting take on the different ways in which the Binding of Isaac has been understood down through the centuries, and also covers how we should understand it today. He writes as one who is both a son and a father, both a Jew and a person in search of meaning, and, above all, as a storyteller who is fascinated by this ancient tale, and who lets his imagination run free over what it meant and what it means….It is enough to say that this book is a must-read.” —Rabbi Jack Riemer, Jewish News Service

“Interesting. . . . A fast-moving account of a wide-ranging and deeply penetrating religious topic, and Goodman closes with an important reminder on how the subject of sacrifice for religious obedience is relevant to the contemporary issue of religious extremism. A well-researched and stirring account of how various communities, scholars and artists interpret the willingness to sacrifice life for God.” —Kirkus

“But where is the lamb? is a fascinating study that uses a single biblical tale as a lock-pick to turn all sorts of tumblers in the human mind and heart. I found it to be a quick read, which would be surprising except that a few years ago I read Goodman’s Scottsboro Stories and was thoroughly impressed with the elegant fluidity and crisp lucidity of his style as well as his gift for distilling mountains of historical documents into a few pages of cogent exposition.” —Vince Cyyz, ArtFuse

“Who knew that nineteen lines of Scripture could reverberate through the centuries with so many interpretations? James Goodman has written a fascinating book offering worlds of opinion on one of the toughest stories in the Bible—and best of all, he pulls no punches in offering his own conflicting opinions. Thoughtful, readable, historical and current.” —Rick Hamlin, author of 10 Prayers You Can’t Live Without

“Genesis 22 rivets: a terrible story of authority, faith, and reason. Moving effortlessly from Biblical time to our own, James Goodman offers an intense yet sparkling chronicle of intellectual, artistic, theological, and spiritual struggle.” —Sean Wilentz, Professor of History at Princeton University, author of The Rise of American Democracy and Bob Dylan in America

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Product details

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Schocken; 1st edition (September 10, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805242538
ISBN-13: 978-0805242539
Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.2 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 12 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,308,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1749 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Bible Study & Reference > Criticism & Interpretation > Old Testament
- #2505 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Bible Study & Reference > Commentaries > Old Testament
- #2682 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Philosophy

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Eye-opening Examination of a Story that Has Made a Profound Impact on 3 Major Religions

November 23, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Very good survey of the history of the familiar tale of Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac, and how it was interpreted over the course of the millennia by Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars. Goodman looks at an incredible range of sources and weighs the different attitudes that evolved among different environments and peoples. Most affecting of all were the sections about how the story of the Akedah affected the sense of martyrdom in all three religions, and how the story was seen during events such as the Holocaust and the battles over the founding of the state of Israel.

Goldman's book is extremely ambitious and overall he succeeds in shedding light on a very wide range of interpretations and interpreters. At first, I was a little bit put off by his style, but after the first chapter or so, I found myself adapting to it more readily. The book is an interesting amalgam in that it's a work of great scholarship by somebody who claims not to have been a scholar in the subject he set out to research. The nice thing is that he is able to make the subject interesting and thought provoking throughout the book without being pedantic.

2 people found this helpful

Brilliant and Inventive

November 7, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This brilliant book examines the story of Abraham and Isaac both imaginatively, from a writer's point of view, and offers a round up of interpretations over the centuries. As he does in all his work, James Goodman approaches the subject with a curiosity that asks if the received notions and common interpretations of this passage in our time are really the final word on the subject. It's intellectually bracing, fun, and inventive.

4 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Fascinating ideas presented here in this book.

February 4, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this "take" on a well-known biblical story. The author gives us, the readers, a lot of "food for thought".
I strongly recommend this to anyone who enjoys Bible stories, and fresh ideas regarding these very ancient stories.

Thank you.

One person found this helpful

Harold C. Hirshman

A guided tour to the perplexity which nineteen lines can sow.

September 15, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

James Goodman follows in the footsteps of Shalom Spiegel in showing how the simple story of the Akedah has provided over the millennia readings which seem to contradict the text and turn the story on its head. He goes well beyond in Spiegel in the scope of his examination of interpretations of this story. For those who believe the text controls Goodman shows how the motivated reteller can turn silences into speech and can point to lacuna in the story which can lead to a myriad of readings. This is a bravura work of exegesis done with a great deal of modesty. For anyone who is interested in the Bible, faith, the written word or intellectual and human history this volume is a must.

10 people found this helpful

A 322-page commentary on a 22-sentence tale

December 6, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This fascinating book provides a wealth of information about the biblical story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. It summarizes the breadth of literature -- interpretations, character analyses, moral implications -- that has arisen around the story. Well written and easy to read, the book challenges the readers to partake in the discussion and develop their own insights into the story.

This fascinating book demonstrates the various versions of the "akeda" story, not only from the Old Testament but also from other ancient sources. (In some of these versions, Abraham actually completes the deed!). The book also points out the ambiguity of the tale and its ability to sustain multiple interpretations. In the course of these discussions, author James Goodman explains the basic modes of reading the bible from simple textual readings ("pshat") to various "fill-in-the-blanks" embellishments of scholars ("midrashim") and to the literary criticism approach of the past century.

One person found this helpful

The author does a great job exploring and personalizing the story of Abraham and ...

August 6, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The author does a great job exploring and personalizing the story of Abraham and Isaac. A fast-moving, well-researched account of a story that has befuddled bible-readers for years.

One person found this helpful

generallysatisfied customer

Not to be Missed, an important contribution to biblical exegesis.

March 14, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Goodman has researched this topic, the Akeda, well. He brings in so much material not only from a Jewish, Christian and Moslem background but also through the eyes of artists, musicians, sculptors among others. What makes the book so attractive is the down to earth personalized style of writing.

One person found this helpful

Most recent customer reviews

Good, in spite of....

If one is able to get past the first several chapters, is able to ignore the pitfalls of the periodic purple plush prose, and is able to overlook the instances of the "O...Read more

Published on August 31, 2014

No Resolution, Rightly

Goodman doesn't resolve the big questions about the story of Abraham and Isaac -- the questions about faith and morality.Read more

Published on October 6, 2013

The best book I have read this year

From the first paragraph, Goodman's Where is the lamb? blew me away. I started reading in the evening, could not put it down, and stayed up reading it long past midnight.Read more

Published on October 5, 2013

I'll preface this by saying that I don't regularly slam books. There is usually something to like. In this case, I found the book to be nothing more than a puffed up,...Read more

Published on September 16, 2013

An ever-resounding story

Few stories are as morally terrifying as Abraham's ascent up mount Moriah with the unbidden task of sacrificing his beloved son Isaac.Read more

Published on September 14, 2013

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