NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible | Page 53

Genesis 22:7  | 57
21:25 z   Ge  26:15, ​18,
20‑22
21:27 a  Ge  26:28, ​31
21:30 b   Ge  31:44, ​47,
48, ​50, ​52
21:31 c  Ge  26:33
21:33 d  Ge  4:26
e  Dt  33:27
22:1 f  Dt  8:2, ​16;
Heb 11:17; Jas 1:12‑13
22:2 g   ver  12, ​16;
Jn 3:16; Heb 11:17;
1Jn 4:9 h  2Ch  3:1
22:6 i  Jn  19:17
22:7 j  Lev  1:10
deal falsely with me or my chil­dren or my de­sc en­dants. Show to me and the coun­try ­where
you now re­side as a for­eigner the same kind­ness I have ­shown to ­you.”
24 Abra­ham said, “I ­swear it.”
25  Then Abra­ham com­plained to Abim­e­lek ­about a well of wa­ter that Abim­e­lek’s ser­
vants had ­seized.  z 26 But Abim­e­lek said, “I ­don’t know who has done this. You did not tell
me, and I ­heard ­about it only ­to­day.”
27 So Abra­ham ­brought ­sheep and cat­tle and gave them to Abim­e­lek, and the two men
made a treaty.  a 28 Abra­ham set ­apart seven ewe ­lambs from the ­flock, 29  and Abim­e­lek
asked Abra­ham, “What is the mean­ing of ­these seven ewe l ­ ambs you have set a
­ part by
them­selves?”
30 He re­plied, “Ac­cept ­these seven ­lambs from my hand as a wit­ness  b that I dug this
well.”
31  So that ­place was ­called Be­er­sheba,  a   c be­cause the two men ­swore an oath ­there.
32 Af­ter the treaty had been made at Be­er­sheba, Abim­e­lek and Phi­col the com­mander of
his forces re­turned to the land of the Phi­lis­tines. 33 Abra­ham planted a tam­a­risk tree in Be­
er­sheba, and t ­ here he c ­ alled on the name of the Lord,  d the Eter­nal God.  e 34  And Abra­ham
stayed in the land of the Phi­lis­tines for a long ­time.
Abraham Tested
22
Some time later God tested  f Abra­ham. He said to him, ­“Abra­ham!”
“Here I am,” he ­re­plied.
2 Then God said, “Take your son  g , your only son, whom you love — ​­Isaac — ​and go to
the re­gion of Mo­riah.  h Sac­ri­fice him ­there as a ­burnt of­fer­ing on a moun­tain I will show
­you.”
3 Early the next morn­ing Abra­ham got up and loaded his don­key. He took with him two
of his ser­vants and his son ­Isaac. When he had cut ­enough wood for the ­burnt of­fer­ing, he
set out for the ­place God had told him ­about. 4 On the ­third day Abra­ham ­looked up and
saw the ­place in the dis­tance. 5 He said to his ser­vants, “Stay here with the don­key ­while I
and the boy go over ­there. We will wor­ship and then we will come back to ­you.”
6 Abra­ham took the wood for the b
­ urnt of­fer­ing and p
­ laced it on his son I ­ saac,  i and he
him­self car­ried the fire and the ­knife. As the two of them went on to­gether, 7  Isaac ­spoke
up and said to his fa­ther Abra­ham, ­“Fa­ther?”
“Yes, my son?” Abra­ham ­re­plied.
“The fire and wood are here,” I ­ saac said, “but ­where is the lamb  j for the ­burnt ­of­fer­ing?”
a  31 
Beersheba can mean well of seven and well of the oath.   
21:25 – 26  Since the treaty about to be sealed
is designed to ensure harmony between the
two men, Abraham seizes the opportunity to
resolve a dispute over ownership of a well.
Without Abimelek’s knowledge, some of his
servants took possession of a well Abraham
had dug (26:18).
21:30  as a witness. In the process of ratify-
ing the treaty, Abraham gives Abimelek seven
lambs to confirm that he was responsible for
digging the well.
21:31 Beersheba. The name of the well is as-
sociated with the covenant ceremony (see
NIV text note). The Genesis narrative implies
that in Abraham’s time no permanent settle-
ment existed at Beersheba. Later, when a
town was established there, it became fa-
mous as the southern boundary of Israel
(2 Sam 3:10; 17:11).
21:32 Philistines. The name usually denotes
people from territories bordering the Ae-
gean Sea who invaded southwest Canaan
around 1180 BC. Since Abraham lived much
earlier, some argue that this reference to
Philistines is anachronistic. If this is so, “Phi-
listines” may replace an older, less-known
term so that readers of Genesis would eas-
ily understand the geographic detail. Such
updating of names occurs elsewhere in
Genesis (e.g., “Dan” in 14:14; see note there).
It is also possible that even in Abraham’s
time some of the population in southwest
Canaan may have originated from Crete and
Cyprus. Aegean pottery from the first half of
the second millennium BC has been found in
the region of Beersheba. Later writers might
well have considered these people to be
Philistines, given their links with the Aegean
region. See Introduction to the Pentateuch,
p. 9.
21:34 The treaty with Abimelek may explain
Abraham’s prolonged stay in the region of
Beersheba.
22:1 – 19  Abraham Tested. God’s request that
Abraham sacrifice Isaac is highly remarkable,
especially given the importance attached to
Isaac’s birth. This test of Abraham’s obedi-
ence results, however, in a divine oath that
guarantees the fulfillment of the promises
God first gave to Abraham in 12:1 – 3. The
events of ch. 22 form a fitting climax to the
story of Abraham’s relationship with God.
While Abraham’s faith in God has been evi-
dent from the time he left his family in Harran
(12:1) and later led to God’s crediting it to
him as righteousness (15:6), this same faith,
shown through obedience, brings to a spe-
cial fulfillment Abraham’s journey with God
(Jas 2:21).
22:1 God tested Abraham. Faith in God, to be
genuine, must be tested. On this occasion
God seeks to determine Abraham’s willing-
ness to obey him by placing on him the ulti-
mate challenge: he must kill his own son. This
request is highly ironic given the importance
placed upon the birth of Isaac in ch. 21 and
the expectation that through him God will
establish the covenant of circumcision (17:19).
While God may test the obedience of people
(e.g., Exod 15:25; 16:4), he never tempts any-
one to do something wrong (Jas 1:13).
22:2 your son, your only son, whom you love.
God’s words underscore Abraham’s special
relationship with his son Isaac, especially
given the departure of Ishmael (21:8 – 21).
Moriah. The author of Chronicles places the
later construction of the temple by Solomon
at Mount Moriah (2 Chr 3:1). Although Gen 22
does not specifically identify the mountain, it
is possible that it was located where Solomon
constructed the temple. Sacrif ice him there
as a burnt offering. Although God demands
that Abraham sacrifice Isaac, the outcome
reveals that God never intended Abraham
to fulfill this request. Rather, as the narra-
tor highlights in his opening words, God in-
tended to test Abraham’s trust in him. God
could have placed no greater demand on
Abraham.
22:3 – 4  From Beersheba to the region of
Moriah is about 45 miles (72 kilometers), a
journey that would have taken several days.
22:5 we will come back to you. In spite of his
mission, Abraham is confident that Isaac will
return with him. According to the author of
Hebrews, Abraham obeyed God, believing
that in these circumstances God would re-
store Isaac to life again (Heb 11:17 – 19).