In this series, we continue our look at Abraham’s Journey. We’ll examine the stories of Abraham and the guests, the destruction of Sedom, the birth of Isaac, the deteriorating relationship with Hagar and Ishmael, and the climactic Akeidah – the Binding of Isaac. In previous series, we have explored a number of these stories in their own right; here, we seek the “ties that bind” – that is, what themes unify these apparently disparate stories, making them into a single, flowing narrative?

In our previous series, when we began our look at “Abraham’s Journey”, we noted a fascinating series of parallels, linking the life and times of Abraham and Sarai to the Creation narratives at the beginning of Genesis. One of the questions we will explore over the course of this new series: How far do these linkages go; what messages are they meant to convey; and how do they transform our view of Abraham’s quest and its meaning?