Melito, The Jewish Community at Sardis, and the Sacrifice of Isaac
1976; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 37; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1177/004056397603700103
ISSN2169-1304
Autores Tópico(s)Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies
ResumoSINCE THE PUBLICATION of Melito of Sardis' Paschal Homily (PH) in 1940, an enormous literature has grown up around a man known previously only through a few fragments. Though the PH has merited the greater attention in recent years, and rightly so, the fragments are still important for an understanding of Melito. Three of the fragments which have come down to us in the catenae deal with the sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22, a text of some significance for Judaism during the period. These fragments are particularly interesting when viewed in the light of the Paschal Homily and the situation in Sardis at the time Melito was bishop; for equally if not more important than the discovery of the PH has been the excavation of an enormous Jewish synagogue in Sardis in the last decade. The excavation of this synagogue has given us a new perspective on the religious complexion of Sardis during the second and third centuries. In the following I should like to examine Melito's fragments on the sacrifice of Isaac (Akedah Isaac) in light of the Jewish interpretation of the Akedah in the early centuries of the common era.
Referência(s)