page_title: Beth Alpha
section_title: Northern panel—Binding of Isaac
hierarchical_section_title: Beth Alpha / Nave mosaics / Northern panel—Binding of Isaac
caption_attribution_description: English: Beth Alpha synagogue. Français&#160;: Israël - Mosaïque de la synagogue antique Beit Alpha - Cette scène naïve, que l'on croirait dessinée par un enfant, représente le sacrifice d'Isaac. l'inscription אברהם אל תשלח יצחק והנה אייל signifie&#160;: "Abraham, ne porte pas la main sur Isaac, et voici un bélier". Les commanditaires n'avaient sans doute pas beaucoup de moyens, et ils ont du se contenter d'un artiste assez médiocre. עברית: אברהם אל תשלח יצחק והנה אייל
context_page_description: Beth Alpha is a sixth-century CE synagogue located at the foot of the northern slopes of the Gilboa mountains near Beit She'an, Israel. It is now part of Bet Alfa Synagogue National Park and managed by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
context_section_description: The northern panel depicts the "Binding of Isaac" (Genesis 22: 1–18). To the right, Abraham is depicted dangling Isaac over the fiery altar as he raises his hand to perform the sacrifice. In the center, God, symbolized by the small fire- encircled hand appearing in the upper center, instructs Abraham to sacrifice a nearby ram instead of Isaac. The hand of God is aptly labeled with "al tishlah" or "do not raise", taken from God's command to the angel that Abraham not "raise his hand against the boy [Isaac]" (Genesis 22:12). In the lower center of the composition, immediately below the hand of God, the ram that served as Isaac's substitute is positioned standing sideways, trapped in the nearby thicket. The odd positioning of the ram may perhaps be a convention the artists used to convey the distance that the Bible says separated Abraham and Isaac, from the two servant boys (Genesis 22:5), who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on their journey, and are depicted standing to the left. All the figures in the scene, except for the two servants, are identified with Hebrew labels.
  The iconographic significance of the "Binding of Isaac" is unclear. There is a wide variety of opinions, with some scholars seeing this narrative as an affirmation of God's mercy, others as symbolic of his continuing covenant with Israel, and others as embodying the rabbinic notion of "zechut avot" or the merit of the fathers. In contemporaneous Christian church art, where the "Binding of Isaac" was also a popular theme, the narrative was seen as a typological pre-figuration for the crucifixion.
caption: Binding of Isaac
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