Genesis 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.”

Ge 17:19; Ge 21:12; Jud 11:31,39; 2Ki 3:27; 2Ch 3:1; Mic 6:7; Joh 3:16; Ro 5:8; Ro 8:32; Heb 11:17; 1Jo 4:9,10

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.”