Genesis 22 Study Notes

The verb nissah describes testing that one gives oneself (Ec 2:1), other people (1Kg 10:1), or various aspects of life (Ec 7:23). Most OT usage depicts either God’s testing of man or the reverse. Man’s testing of God is almost always due to lack of faith. People forget what God has already done for them (Ps 95:9). They are complaining, rebellious, provocative, and full of excessive desires (Ex 17:2; Ps 78:17-18,41,56). God forbade Israel to test him this way (Dt 6:16). God, in contrast, tested Israel for the purpose of advancing its welfare (Dt 8:16). He tested the Israelites to see what was in their hearts (2Ch 32:31), whether they would obey (Ex 16:4) and love (Dt 13:3) him. So the psalmist invites God to test him (Ps 26:2). Passive-reflexive verbs mean attempt (Dt 4:34), try (Jb 4:2), venture (Dt 28:56), or be used to (1Sm 17:39).

22:13-14 Exactly as Abraham had predicted (v. 8), God had miraculously provided a sheep—and the most prized variety, a ram. To memorialize the event Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide. Jesus Christ is the ultimate Lamb provided by God as a substitutionary sacrifice in our place (Rm 5:6-8).

22:15-18 As the angel (meaning “messenger”) of the Lord who had the Lord’s authority, the divine emissary delivered a second message (v. 12), this one in the first person. Because Abraham had passed the “priorities test” by obeying God and not withholding his only son, the Lord would indeed bless him with offspring, victory, land, and goodwill. Since there is nothing greater, God swears by himself (cp. Ex 32:13; Is 45:23; Jr 22:5; 49:13). Ironically, since Abraham was willing to accept the loss of his covenant offspring, God would make those offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. They would possess the fortified city entrance gates—and thus the cities—of their enemies, a promise of both military victory and expanded territory. But more than being feared as conquerors, Abraham’s offspring would be recognized as a fountainhead of blessing for all the nations of the earth.

22:19 Went together echoes “the two of them walked on together” in vv. 6 and 8, showing that Isaac and his father were still together.

22:20-24 Genesis next presents the offspring of Abraham’s brother Nahor through his wife Milcah and his concubine Reumah. This brief section prepares the reader for the events of chap. 24 by introducing Bethuel and identifying him as the father of Rebekah, Isaac’s future wife.