Fear and Trembling

Johannes tells the story of a man who had learned about and loved the biblical story of how God tested Abraham. As the man grew older, he became more and more interested in the story, but he also understood it less and less. What the man wanted above everything was to witness the actual events in the story because his adult thoughts about it were so varied and complicated. Johannes says that if the man had been able to read Hebrew, then maybe it would have been easier for him to understand the story.

In the story, God commands Abraham to take Isaac to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him there. So, Abraham wakes up early one morning and goes off into the desert with Isaac. As they get closer to Mount Moriah, Abraham gently indicates to Isaac what is going to happen. Confused, Isaac begs Abraham to explain, but to no avail. When they reach the top of the mountain, Abraham suddenly turns on Isaac with a terrifying look on his face and tells Isaac that he wants to do this for himself, not because God commanded it. Isaac cries out that God will be his father. Abraham mutters under his breath that it’s better for Isaac to think he’s a monster than to lose faith in God.

Johannes writes that a mother who is weaning her baby “blackens her breast” so the baby will think the breasts have changed while the mother herself is the same. This mother is lucky that she doesn’t have to do any worse to wean the baby.

In another version, Abraham and Isaac leave Sarah early in the morning. The two ride their donkeys to Mount Moriah in silence. Abraham ties Isaac up and prepares to sacrifice him but catches sight of the ram just in time. The father and son sacrifice the ram and return home together. However, from that day forward Abraham is unhappy because he can’t forget that God asked him to sacrifice Isaac.

Johannes writes that when the baby is old enough to be weaned, the mother covers her breast entirely, and the child believes he or she no longer has a mother. However, the baby is lucky that they didn’t lose their mother in any other way.

In a third version, Abraham wakes up early to go to Mount Moriah, but he sees Sarah kiss Isaac before he goes. Abraham thinks about Hagar and the son he drove away into the desert while he travels to Mount Moriah alone. When Abraham gets to the top of the mountain, he throws himself on the ground and begs God’s forgiveness for having been willing to sacrifice Isaac—a father’s primary duty, after all, is to love and care for his son. Abraham believes it was the greatest sin of all to consider sacrificing Isaac.

Johannes writes that when a mother weans her baby, she becomes sad because she and her baby are growing apart. However, she and her baby experience this sorrow together, and she is lucky that she’s been able to keep her baby so close.

In a fourth version, Abraham and Isaac arrive at Mount Moriah together, and Abraham faithfully prepares to sacrifice Isaac. However, just before Abraham pulls the knife out, Isaac sees him clench his fist and shudder in anguish before raising the knife. The two go back home together, but Isaac has lost his faith—he never tells Abraham about this, nor does Abraham suspect anything is amiss.

Johannes writes that when the mother is prepared to wean her baby, she keeps solid food close by so the baby won’t starve to death. The mother is lucky that she has more food to offer the baby.

The man who loves the story of Abraham considers all four of these possibilities but still doesn’t understand Abraham, even though he was truly a great man.