Discovery BoxGenesis 22:6-12 
Context22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, 1 and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, 2 “My father?” “What is it, 3 my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, 4 “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide 5 for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.
22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there 6 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 7 his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter 8 his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel 9 called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” 10 the angel said. 11 “Do not do anything to him, for now I know 12 that you fear 13 God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
1 sn He took the fire and the knife in his hand. These details anticipate the sacrifice that lies ahead.
2 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This is redundant and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “Here I am” (cf. Gen 22:1).
4 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here is the fire and the wood.’” The referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here and in the following verse the order of the introductory clauses and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”
sn God will provide is the central theme of the passage and the turning point in the story. Note Paul’s allusion to the story in Rom 8:32 (“how shall he not freely give us all things?”) as well as H. J. Schoeps, “The Sacrifice of Isaac in Paul’s Theology,” JBL 65 (1946): 385-92.
6 sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?
7 sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.
8 tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”
9 sn Heb “the messenger of the
10 tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”
11 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.
12 sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).
13 sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.
