Stories

A Jewish friend gave me the original interpretation of the Abraham and Jacob sacrifice story. I liked it very much and was very bothered by taking credit for it myself. I want to thank my friend for discussing these stories with me. He helps me think. However, at his and Robert Alter's urging, I have thought about the story again and have another possibility that follows.
Abraham is the Patriarch of the Jewish people. In the story, God speaks to him directly, but I think it is possible that God spoke then as He tends to speak now, thruough the minds of people and not directly. I think it is possible that the ancient Jews lived among other peoples who did practice human sacrifice while the Jews did not. Possibly, at some point, some number of them may have felt that they would be better off if they imitated the customs of some of these surrounding tribes. The Five Books of Moses have many stories of the Chosen People abandoning the One and Only to worship surrounding gods (Baal of the Canaanites) or showing dissatisfaction with God and murmurring against Him. Keeping Jewish culture pure and free of corruption by other cultures was a constant battle.
Maybe Dissenting Jews considered practicing human sacrifice. The storyteller perhaps made the idea more acceptable by having God order the Patriarch to do what may have been unthinkable for most Jews. Jews always sacrificed the best, most valued lamb or crop or other item. Hence Abraham would have to sacrifice his first and most beloved son. Abraham follows the word of God in the story and prepares to sacrifice Jacob. The narrator tells us about this flatly, without horror or shock. The killing of a human being to placate God does not seem at all unthinkable to either the narrator or the Patriarch himself. However, God intervenes and orders the sacrifice of a lamb. Whether the Jews ever considered or practiced human sacrifice in times before history, this story makes it clear that He does not want His people to kill each other in His name. The story may be parable that warns the people against a temptation they may have been surrounded with.