Genesis 22 Study Notes

22:1-2 Abraham’s ultimate test of obedience to God is described in 22:1-19, a section known in the Hebrew tradition as the Akedah (lit “the binding,” v. 9). The Hebrew verb nissah, translated as tested, means “to prove the quality of,” not “to entice to do wrong.” God used this event to affirm the sterling character of Abraham’s faith by giving him the incredibly difficult task of sacrificing his son Isaac in the land of Moriah, i.e., the Jerusalem area (2Ch 3:1). Pagans in Canaan during the OT period regularly practiced child sacrifice by making them pass through the fire (2Kg 16:3) to give them as food to their gods (Ezk 23:37). With this command God was asking Abraham to demonstrate that he was as committed to the Lord God as pagans were to their gods. God refers to Isaac as Abraham’s only son because Ishmael has been sent away, Isaac is the son of the promise, and Isaac has become the one Abraham most loves.

22:3-4 Confirmation of Abraham’s amazing trust in God is found first in the fact that he was up before sunrise (early in the morning) the next day to begin the journey. His diligence in going to the place God had told him about contrasts sharply with Jonah’s actions (Jnh 1:3). Traveling from Beer-sheba, it was not until the third day that Abraham reached the Jerusalem area.

22:5-8 Evidence that Abraham believed God could raise Isaac from the dead (Heb 11:17-18) is found in his comment, we’ll come back. Abraham carried the most dangerous elements of the sacrifice—the fire and the knife—himself, perhaps as a sign of his protective love for Isaac. Ignorant of God’s command and surprised that his father would forget the most important element in an animal sacrifice, Isaac asked Abraham where the lamb (Hb seh also means “sheep”) was. Abraham’s faith-filled response was that God himself would provide the lamb (“sheep”).

22:9-10 Abraham followed the standard procedure for a burnt offering involving a living being. In describing his preparation, the Bible emphasizes only Abraham’s systematic acts of obedience, omitting any mention of Abraham’s or Isaac’s feelings.

22:11-12 Just before the knife was put to Isaac’s neck, the angel of the Lord spared him. The patriarch had passed the test, providing experiential evidence that he feared God more than he loved his only son. Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac foreshadows in a small way God’s sacrifice of his only Son, Jesus.

22:13-14 Exactly as Abraham had predicted (v. 8), God had miraculously provided a sheep—and the most prized variety, a ram. To memorialize the event Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide. Jesus Christ is the ultimate Lamb provided by God as a substitutionary sacrifice in our place (Rm 5:6-8).

22:15-18 As the angel (meaning “messenger”) of the Lord who had the Lord’s authority, the divine emissary delivered a second message (v. 12), this one in the first person. Because Abraham had passed the “priorities test” by obeying God and not withholding his only son, the Lord would indeed bless him with offspring, victory, land, and goodwill. Since there is nothing greater, God swears by himself (cp. Ex 32:13; Is 45:23; Jr 22:5; 49:13). Ironically, since Abraham was willing to accept the loss of his covenant offspring, God would make those offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. They would possess the fortified city entrance gates—and thus the cities—of their enemies, a promise of both military victory and expanded territory. But more than being feared as conquerors, Abraham’s offspring would be recognized as a fountainhead of blessing for all the nations of the earth.

22:19 Went together echoes “the two of them walked on together” in vv. 6 and 8, showing that Isaac and his father were still together.

22:20-24 Genesis next presents the offspring of Abraham’s brother Nahor through his wife Milcah and his concubine Reumah. This brief section prepares the reader for the events of chap. 24 by introducing Bethuel and identifying him as the father of Rebekah, Isaac’s future wife.