And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; —instinctively the mind reverts to the cross-bearing of Abraham's greater Son ( John 19:17 )— and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife (to him terribly suggestive weapons); and they went both of them together. Doubtless in silence on Abraham's part and wonder on Isaac's, since as yet no declaration had been made of the true purpose of their journey. read more
And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father ,—during the progress of the journey, after leaving the young men, solitude inviting him to give expression to thoughts which had been rising in his bosom, but which the presence of companions had constrained him to suppress— and said, My fathe r:—a term of filial reverence and endearment that must have lacerated Abraham's heart. As used by Isaac it signified a desire to interrogate his parent— and he said, Here am I, my son (literally, Behold me,... read more
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:— the utterance of heroic faith rather than the language of pious dissimulation ( vide on Genesis 22:5 )— so they went both of them together. To see in this twice-repeated expression a type of the concurrence of the Father and the Son in the work of redemption (Wordsworth) is not exegesis. read more
And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there ,— i.e. upon the mountain summit or slope ( Genesis 22:2 )— and laid the wood in order (it is scarcely likely that Isaac was permitted to assist in these affecting preparations), and bound Isaac his son, who must have acquiesced in his father's purpose, and thereby evinced his faith in the Divine commandment. The term "bound," though seeming to convey the idea of violence, derives its significance... read more
And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son —who even in the last moment offers no resistance, but behaves like a type of him who was led like a lamb to the slaughter ( Isaiah 53:7 ). read more
And the angel of the Lord —Maleach Jehovah ( vide Genesis 16:7 ); introduced into the narrative at this point not as a Jehovistic alteration (Bleek, Kalisch, et alii ) , but because the God of redemption now interposes for the deliverance of both Isaac and Abraham (Hengetenberg)— called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham (the repetition denotes urgency, as contrasted with Genesis 22:1 ): and he said, Here am I. read more
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him. Abraham's surrender of the son of his affections having been complete, there was no need to push the trial further. The voice from heaven has been accepted as evidence of God's rejection of human sacrifices (Lange, Murphy), only that is not assigned as the reason for Isaac's deliverance. For now I knew —literally, have known ; not caused thee to know, but caused others to know (Lange); or the words are... read more
Abraham's perfect fairly. "Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." "The word of God," says Coleridge, "speaks to man, and therefore it speaks the language of the children of men. This has to be kept in mind in studying the remarkable incident recorded in this chapter. When God is represented as "tempting" Abraham, it only means that he tried or tested him. I. THE TESTING OF FAITH . Abraham was to be the head of the... read more
And Abraham lifted up his eyes (in the direction of the voice), and looked, and behold behind him —either at his back (Furst, Keil, Lange, Murphy), or in the background of the altar, i.e. in front of him (Gesenius, Kalisch). The LXX ; Samaritan, Syriac, mistaking אַחַר for אֶחַר , read "one," which adds nothing to the sense or picturesqueness of the composition— a ram — אַיִל ; in the component letters of which cabalistic writers find the initial letters of אֱלהִים ... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye (for similar forms of expression cf. Genesis 12:1 ; Genesis 21:6 ; Genesis 22:2 ) here with the ass; —partly because the beast required watching, though chiefly because the contemplated sacrifice was too solemn for any eyes but God's to witness— and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. An act of dissimulation on the part of Abraham (Knobel, Kalisch, Murphy); an unconscious prophecy; the expression of a... read more