Genesis 22:11-13

11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.

12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram^[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Genesis 22:11-13 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.

Cross References

• 1. S Genesis 16:7
• 2. S Genesis 21:17
• 3. Genesis 46:2
• 4. S ver 1
• 5. S Genesis 18:19; Genesis 42:18; Exodus 18:21; 1 Samuel 15:22; Job 1:1; Job 37:24; Proverbs 8:13; James 2:21-22
• 6. S ver 2; John 3:16; 1 John 4:9
• 7. S ver 8
• 8. S Genesis 8:20; Romans 8:32

Footnotes

• [a]. Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text "a ram behind him"