Genesis 22:3 - Exposition

And Abraham rose up early in the morning ,—a habit of the patriarch's after receiving a Divine communication (cf. Genesis 19:27 ; Genesis 20:8 ; Genesis 21:14 )— and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him (the ass for the wood, and the young men for the ass), and Isaac his son (explaining to him as yet only his intention to offer sacrifice upon a distant mountain), and clave the wood for the burnt offering (obviously with his own bands), and rose up (expressive of resolute determination), and went unto (or towards) the place of which God had told him —literally, the Elohim had spoken to him . The accumulation of brief, sententious clauses in this verse admirably represents the calm deliberation and unflinching heroism with which the patriarch proceeded to execute the Divine command.