Artist James Langley of Steubenville has painted an interesting study for a mural bearing the title Abraham, Isaac, and Sarah.
It’s a curious image that seems to play off some of the most familiar Christian images we know. This holy family of the First Covenant receives a visit from a dove, who comes to rest on Sarah’s hand. A book seems to be in her lap — and don’t mind the anachronism; it’s OK. The dove bows low, perhaps in polite respect to humanity, perhaps to gaze upon the ‘word’ resting on her lap. Perhaps she is already in some way a Seat of Wisdom.
Although Isaac is now nearly a man, Sarah’s form reminds us of our Lady with child, and the dove’s bow says: blessed is the womb of Sarah, for the salvation of the world shall come from her.
The dove is brilliant and shines light upon the woman and her son, while father Abraham remains half in shadow. As with St. Joseph, the light does not reach his eyes, but he is turning gently toward it, even as full illumination remains beyond him.
Both Abraham and Sarah are more youthful here than one would expect: in Scripture, Sarah was well beyond child-bearing years and Abraham “a man as good as dead” when they begat Isaac. Yet this image shows them still strong, still tall these years later. In opening to the gift of new life from God, did they become younger themselves?
The figures of the couple complement one another: Abraham is the color of earth, and his feet are on the ground. Sarah in contrast is the color of the heavens, with her foot on a raised pavement. His face and form are less defined, while the new light shows Sarah clearly. The elaborate and detailed folds of Sarah’s garment echo the figures of Christian icons: saints whose bodies are glorified and made more than mere nature through the grace they have received.
The son of earth and heaven is man: Isaac, bare-armed, and even his clothing is in the color of human flesh. Not as glorious in form as Sarah, he is coming into his strength, and he faces the light and also the everyday world, while his father recedes into the gold of the sunset.
There are very interesting connections between the Jewish traditions about Avraham, Sarah, and Isaac, and those about Christ. Jewish tradition says that Isaac was not a little boy, but 33 years old, and that he was fully aware of the fact that he would be offered as a sacrifice and went willingly. Jewish tradition also posits that he was worthy of being a sacrifice because he is the only one of the patriarchs who did not ever go out of the land of Israel. I have often wondered if the Christian tradition that Jesus died at age 33 was linked to the age at which Isaac was said to have gone to Har Moriah with his father (The gospels do not specify Jesus’ age).
Another interesting thing is that there are hints in the Jewish tradition that Isaac and his father separated after the incident; that even with Isaac’s consent, it was a traumatic experience. Further, the Torah portion that describes the “Akedath Yitzhak” as the sacrifice of Isaac is called, is immediately followed by the account of Sarah’s death, a Torah portion called “Chayei Sarah” — the LIFE of Sarah.
There is a vast Jewish literature about the sacrifice of Isaac and its meaning, and the relation between that incident and the death of Sarah (one tradition says she died of shock when she learned that Isaac and his father had gone to Har Moriah for this purpose).
It is also crucial to remember that the Torah only asks Avraham to “offer” his son — this does not necessarily mean to kill him, but would have been understood in Avraham’s time in that sense.
I think Christians have often seen Isaac as a “type” of Christ, but I’m not sure if the Jewish roots of the connection have been widely known.