Genesis 22:1-19

The Sacrifice of Isaac

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he answered.

2 "Take your son," He said, "your only [son] Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

3 So early in the morning Abraham got up, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about.

4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

5 Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we'll come back to you."

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the sacrificial knife,^[a] and the two of them walked on together.

7 Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, "My father." And he replied, "Here I am, my son." Isaac said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

8 Abraham answered, "God Himself will provide^{[b] [c]} the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." Then the two of them walked on together.

9 When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac^[d] and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood.

10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" He replied, "Here I am."

12 Then He said, "Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me."

13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram^[e] caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

14 And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide,^[f] so today it is said: "It will be provided^[g] on the Lord's mountain."

15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven

16 and said, "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son,^{[h] [i]}

17 I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies.

18 And all the nations of the earth will be blessed^[j] by your offspring^[k] because you have obeyed My command."

19 Abraham went back to his young men, and they got up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham settled in Beer-sheba.

Genesis 22:1-19 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 22

In this chapter we have an account of an order given by God to Abraham to sacrifice his son, Ge 22:1,2; of his readiness to obey the will of God, he immediately preparing everything for that purpose, Ge 22:3-10, of the order being reversed, and another sacrifice substituted in its room, which occasioned the giving a new name to the place where it was done, Ge 22:11-14; upon which the promise of special blessings, of a numerous offspring, and of the seed in whom all nations should be blessed, is renewed, Ge 22:15-18; after this Abraham returns to Beersheba, where he is informed of the increase of his brother Nahor's family, Ge 22:19-24.

Footnotes

• [a]. The same word is used in Jdg 19:29 and Pr 30:14.
• [b]. Lit see
• [c]. Gn 22:14
• [d]. Or perhaps Isaac hand and foot
• [e]. Some Hb mss, Sam, LXX, Syr, Tg; other Hb mss read saw behind [him] a ram
• [f]. Hb Yahweh-yireh
• [g]. Or He will be seen
• [h]. Sam, LXX, Syr, Vg add from Me
• [i]. Rm 8:32
• [j]. Or will bless themselves, or will find blessing
• [k]. Gn 12:3