58 | Genesis 22:8
8 Abra ham an swered , “ God him self will pro vide the lamb for the burnt of fer ing , my son .” And the two of them went on to gether .
9 When they reached the place God had told him about , Abra ham built an al tar there and ar ranged the wood on it . He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the al tar , k on top of the wood . 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son . 11 But the an gel of the Lord called out to him from heaven , “ Abra ham ! Abra ham !” “ Here I am ,” he re plied . 12 “ Do not lay a hand on the boy ,” he said . “ Do not do any thing to him . Now I know that you fear God , l be cause you have not with held from me your son , your only son . m ”
13 Abra ham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram a caught by its horns . He went over and took the ram and sac ri ficed it as a burnt of fer ing in stead of his son . n 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Pro vide . And to this day it is said , “ On the moun tain of the Lord it will be pro vided . o ”
15 The an gel of the Lord called to Abra ham from heaven a sec ond time 16 and said , “ I swear by myself , p de clares the Lord , that be cause you have done this and have not withheld your son , your only son , 17 I will surely bless you and make your de scen dants q as nu mer ous as the stars in the sky r and as the sand on the sea shore . s Your descendants will take pos ses sion of the cit ies of their en e mies , t 18 and through your offspring b all na tions on earth will be blessed , c u be cause you have obeyed me .” v 19 Then Abra ham re turned to his ser vants , and they set off to gether for Be er sheba . And
Abraham stayed in Beersheba .
22:9 k Heb 11:17-19 ; Jas 2:21
22:12 l 1Sa 15:22 ; Jas 2:21-22 m ver 2 ; Jn 3:16
22:13 n Ro 8:32 22:14 o ver 8
22:16 p Lk 1:73 ; Heb 6:13
22:17 q Heb 6:14 * r Ge 15:5 s Ge 26:24 ;
32:12 t Ge 24:60
22:18 u Ge 12:2 , 3 ; Ac 3:25 *; Gal 3:8 * v ver 10
22:20 w Ge 11:29 22:23 x Ge 24:15
23:2 y Jos 14:15 z ver 19 ; Ge 13:18
Nahor ’ s Sons
20 Some time later Abra ham was told , “ Mil kah is also a mother ; she has borne sons to your brother Na hor : w 21 Uz the first born , Buz his brother , Kem uel ( the fa ther of Aram ), 22 Ke sed , Hazo , Pil dash , Jid laph and Be thuel .” 23 Be thuel be came the fa ther of Re bekah . x Mil kah bore these eight sons to Abra ham ’ s brother Na hor . 24 His concubine , whose name was Reumah , also had sons : Tebah , Gaham , Tahash and Maakah .
The Death of Sarah Sarah lived to be a hun dred and twenty-seven years old . 2 She died at Kir i ath Arba y
23 ( that is , He bron ) z in the land of Ca naan , and Abra ham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her .
a 13 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text , Samaritan Pentateuch , Septuagint and Syriac ; most manuscripts of the |
Masoretic Text a ram behind him |
b 18 Or seed |
c 18 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in |
blessings ( see 48:20 ) |
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22:8 God himself will provide the lamb . Up to this point , Abraham has apparently not disclosed to Isaac the full details of God ’ s instructions . Abraham ’ s reply to Isaac reflects either a profound trust in God that he will intervene or an attempt to conceal from Isaac the fate that awaits him . 22:11 angel of the Lord . See note on 16:7 . 22:12 God intervenes because Abraham has shown through his obedience how much he reverences God . Previously , God reckoned Abraham righteous on the basis of his faith ( 15:6 ). That same faith is now made evident by what Abraham does ( Jas 2:21 – 23 ). 22:13 ram . God not only intervenes to prevent Abraham from sacrificing Isaac , but he also provides an alternative sacrifice . Burnt offerings atone for human wrongdoing and are a reminder that obedience alone is insufficient to restore humanity ’ s broken relationship with God . In this instance , the burnt offering precedes and prepares for a divine oath that confirms Abraham ’ s unique place in God ’ s plan for the redemption of humanity . The provision of the ram as a substitutionary offering in place of Isaac reflects a wider biblical understanding of sacrificial offerings . Animal sacrifice was commonly viewed as being substitutionary , i . e ., the animal dies in the place of the worshiper . Jesus Christ is the ultimate , divinely provided substitute ( Mark 10:45 ; John 1:29 ; Heb 7:27 ; 10:14 ; 1 Pet 3:18 ).
22:14 The Lord Will Provide . Echoing v . 8 , this name reflects God ’ s provision of a sacrifice . God later sends his Son to redeem humanity by dying sacrificially near the same location . to this day . Introduces a comment that probably comes from the time of the monarchy when the temple was functioning in Jerusalem . See Introduction to the Pentateuch , p . 9 . the mountain of the Lord . Alludes to the temple in Jerusalem ( Isa 2:3 ). 22:15 – 18 The oath God swears links back to the call of Abraham in 12:1 – 3 . The fulfillment of all that God promised Abraham in 12:1 – 3 was conditional upon the patriarch ’ s obedience . Having passed the ultimate test of submission to God , Abraham now receives a solemn guarantee confirming that God will bring to completion everything that he promised Abraham ( Heb 6:13 – 18 ). Whereas the first part of the divine oath affirms that Abraham will have many descendants , the final part indicates that through one of Abraham ’ s offspring all nations on earth will be blessed . While some interpret the second half of the oath as referring to all of Abraham descendants , the book of Genesis as a whole associates blessing with a unique lineage that it traces from Abraham via Isaac and Jacob to Joseph . This family line anticipates the coming of a divinely chosen king who will mediate God ’ s blessing to the nations . This divine oath to Abraham finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ ( Acts 3:25 – 26 ; Gal 3:16 ).
22:17 descendants . In the NIV , the final part of v . 17 refers to Abraham ’ s many descendants . But it is possible that the Hebrew word denotes a single individual who will be victorious over his enemies . This singular reading could help explain the apostle Paul ’ s claim that Jesus Christ is the ultimate descendant of Abraham ( Gal 3:16 ). 22:20 – 24 Nahor ’ s Sons . This short section lists the sons of Abraham ’ s brother Nahor . This information is placed here to separate the main account of Abraham ’ s life ( chs . 12 – 22 ) from three episodes that bring closure to what has been recorded : reports of the death and burial of Sarah ( 23:1 – 20 ) and of Abraham ( 25:1 – 11 ) frame the lengthy report of how Rebekah becomes Isaac ’ s wife ( 24:1 – 67 ). 22:23 Rebekah . A granddaughter of Nahor . This reference to her anticipates the events of ch . 24 .
23:1 – 20 The Death of Sarah . The account of Sarah ’ s death is significant because it results in Abraham buying a plot of land near the town of Hebron . As a burial site , the cave of Machpelah becomes the permanent property of Abraham ’ s descendants , a reminder that their future will be closely tied to the land of Canaan , in fulfillment of God ’ s promises ( 12:7 ; 13:14 – 17 ; 15:18 – 21 ; 17:8 ). 23:2 Kiriath Arba . This town was later renamed Hebron ( Josh 14:15 ; Judg 1:10 ).