Genesis 22:2

22:2 God ¹  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ²  – and go to the land of Moriah! ³  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ⁴  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ⁵  you.”

Genesis 22:12

22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ⁶  the angel said. ⁷  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ⁸  that you fear ⁹  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

---

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.

³ sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.

⁴ sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.

⁵ tn Heb “which I will say to.”

⁶ tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”

⁷ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁸ sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).

⁹ sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.