Abraham's Daughter

Abraham=The Capitol; Isaac=The Tributes, representing the Districts; The Angel=President Snow; The Daughter=Katniss.

Abraham took Isaac's hand And led him to the lonesome hill While his daughter hid and watched She dare not breathe; she was so still

(Katniss and the people in all the Districts must silently watch the Capitol murder their children in the Hunger Games. To speak out is to risk even worse punishments.)

Just as an angel cried for the slaughter Abraham’s daughter raised her voice

(In Biblical times, a woman wasn't even allowed to SPEAK, much less raise her voice. This is an act of rebellion in itself.)

Then the angel asked her what her name was She said, "I have none." Then he asked, "How can this be?" "My father never gave me one."

(The people in the districts are considered subhuman by the Capitol and are of no account other than as slaves. They are not even worth a name.)

And when he saw her raised for the slaughter Abraham’s daughter raised her bow

(her=Rue. When Rue dies in her arms, Katniss intimately experiences the depth of the Capitol's evil. She is compelled to "raise her bow" and make a statement by decorating Rue with flowers and saluting her to the cameras, thus demonstrating to everyone in the Districts how wrong it is. This is a direct challenge to the Capitol and the beginning of the uprisings.)

"How darest you, child, defy your father?" "You better let young Isaac go."

(The last line is not Snow OR Katniss speaking; it is BOTH of them addressing each other at the same time. Snow says you'd better not interfere with our system, the games, or our ability to kill the Tributes and dominate the Districts. Katniss says the Capitol's system is unjust and the sacrifice of the Tributes must stop. Neither one will give an inch. It is a mutual declaration of war.)

Winn Butler said this to Entertainment Weekly about this song:

"Our whole approach was to get into the world and try to create something that serves the story and the film. There’s something in the story of Abraham and Isaac that I think resonates with the themes in the film, like sacrificing children. So we made a weird, apocryphal, alternate-universe version of that, where it’s as if Abraham had a daughter – kind of a metaphor for Katniss.”

Could it be "And with a sword up, raised for the slaughter?"

Instead of "And when he saw her, raised for the slaughter," it's "And with his sword up, raised for the slaughter."

As opposed to the Biblical account where Abraham is told by the angel at the last second to spare Isaac, this song supposes that a daughter followed them up the mountain and Abraham mistook her voice for the angel's. The angel then decides to let the daughter take the place of Isaac as the sacrificial lamb/ram, but she defies this decision as well by raising her bow to fight. The angered angel declares that she'd better let young Isaac go - because she will not get to be with him no matter the outcome.

This interpretation can directly parallel the story with the angel symbolizing the Capitol, Abraham symbolizing District 12, Isaac symbolizing Prim, and the nameless daughter symbolizing Katniss.

I used to believe the last line was "You better than young Isaac go." rather than "You'd better let young Isaac go.". Implying that the angel felt that the daughter would be better suited for the sacrifice due to her disobedience and that she has "No name". This could also explain why Isaac survived and the daughter was never mentioned afterwards.

How's this for a twist on the traditional "meaning of the song". Abraham, the father, is summoned to the mountain to sacrifice his son...a HUMAN BEING. Until this time, God has only accepted animal sacrifices and shown a complete devotion and love for the sanctity of human life. Now, here's where it may get wierd and possibly offensive to some people, but here we go, anyway. WHAT IF God hadn't been the one who summoned Abraham to the mountain? What if this was a rouse by Satan to lure Abraham into a trap that would ultimately lead to the murder of Isaac by his own father, thereby destroying relations between God and Abraham? Abraham's daughter know's something is terribly wrong, and follows father and son to the mountain. At the last moment, an angel of God does appear to stop the murder. Thus, the line "How darest you child defy your father (God). You better let young Isaac go." is not directed at the daughter, but Abraham himself! Not sure what really happened on that mountain, but some theologians do consider the "evil plot theory" to at least be a possibility.

I agree with most of you. the second verse is the toughest one. obviously the daughter didn't mean much to abraham, since he never gave her a name. But the sentence ''ánd with his sword up raised for the slaughter'' doesn't seem right. I am listening very closely, and i just can't decide if they say ''and with his sword up'' or ''and when he saw her''. it seems like they say both.. anyway.. the second could make sense too though. when you think about ''when he saw her raised for the slaughter'' katniss wasn't raised like every other kid in district 12. maybe the daughter was ''raised'' to rebel against her father, since he never gave her a name..

am I making sense? I don't know..

I don't know how well does arcade fire know jewish interpatation of the bible, but a famous one is about abraham having a daughter: Genesis 24:1 - And the Lord had blessed Abraham in everything - some says that this sentence implies that he had a daughter but not a son, and others say that "everything" is actually this daughter's name. Which fits the lyrics where the daugher says she has no name.

As I see it, Abraham is the Capitol, Isaac is every tribute to have entered the Hunger games, the Angel is the people who enjoy watching the Hunger Games, while Abraham's Daughter is the people who fight against it. She is nameless, for she has every name possible - every name of every person wanting to finish the Hunger Games. Nameless, for Abraham(Capitol) would rather pretend she did not exist than to acknowledge her presence and deal with the consequences. And this is how it goes: "Abraham took Isaac's hand/ And led him to the lonesome hill" - The reaping, during which the tributes land in the arena, where each will fight for their lives, mostly alone. "While his daughter hid and watched/ She dared not breath; she was so still" - the rebels, which firstly stay silent, only angrily watch the fight. "Just as the angel cried for the slaughter/ Abraham's daughter raised her voice" - the rebels had enoguh of watching, and while the ones who enjoyed the Hunger Games, hungry for death, the rebels loudly protested. "Then the angel asked what her name was/ she said I have none." - the ones who enjoy the 'show' question who the rebels are - but they had no acknowledgment from the Capitol, so they are Nameless. "Then he asked how can this be?/My father never gave me one." - once again, the one who apparently looks after the well being of its districts, the Capitol, defied the rebels' presence. "And with his sword up raised for the slaughter/ Abraham's daughter raised her bow." - The Capitol continues to try and slaughter the tributes, but the rebels keep firm. "How darest you child defy your father/ you better let young Isaac go." - The ones who enjoy it question the rebellion, the rebels give a clear message to both the Capitol and the people who enjoy the Hunger Games: let the tributes go, stop this.

I don't know what the more general meaning could be, but the explanation soonerbob gives is very probable.