22:1 Later God tested Abraham
saying
to Abraham:
I
am here.
22:2 Then He said:
Bring
your son
your
only son
Isaac
whom you love
and
go to the
Bring
him up to the mountain
where
I will guide you.
22:3 So Abraham rose
early
in the morning
and
saddled up his donkey.
He
brought two young men
and
his son Isaac.
After
cutting some brush
he
went to the place God spoke of.
22:4 After three days Abraham looked up
and
saw the place ahead.
22:5 Abraham told the young men:
Stay
with the donkey while the boy and I
go
up there and worship.
We
will come back soon.
22:6 Abraham brought the kindling
and
went up with Isaac his son
where
they lit the fire together.
22:7 Isaac then questioned his father.
Abraham
replied:
We
have the kindling for fire.
Isaac
asked:
But
where is the offering?
22:8 Abraham replied:
God
himself will provide
the
offering my son.
They
continued on together.
22:9 When they came to the place
God
had told him about
Abraham
built an altar there
and
arranged the kindling on it.
He
pulled his son Isaac down
and
prostrated him before the altar
topped
with the kindling.(B)
22:10 Then he reached out his hand
with
the blade
and
made an offering
together
with his son.
22:11 Just then the angel of Yahweh
called
out from heaven:
Abraham!
Abraham!
Abraham
replied:
Yes
here I am.
22:12 The angel said:
Do
not push the boy.
Let
him do it for himself.
I
know you revere God
because
you have not
left
out your son
your
only son.
22:13 Abraham looked up
and
there among the bushes
he
saw a large tree behind him.
He
grabbed hold of the tree
and
offered it in the fire
with
his son.
22:14 Then Abraham named that place
Yahweh
provides.
And
to this day this is considered
the
22:15 The angel of Yahweh spoke
from
heaven to Abraham again.
22:16 He said:
Yahweh
declares
that
you have done this
with
your son
and
not abandoned your son
your
only son.
22:17 My blessings will be upon you
and
your followers shall number
as
the stars in the sky
and
as the sand on the shore.
Your
followers will gain heaven
and
conquer their enemies.
22:18 And through your followers
all
peoples of the earth
will
receive blessings
because
you have obeyed Me.
22:19 Then Abraham returned
to
the young men with him.
They
traveled together to
Then
Abraham remained in
22:20 Later on Abraham was told:
Milkah
is now a mother
she
has conceived sons
to
your brother Nahor.
22:21 Uz is the firstborn
Buz
is his brother
and
Kemuel became
the
leader of
22:22 Kesed, Hazo and Pildash
Jidlaph
and Bethuel:
22:23 Bethuel fathered Rebekah.
Milkah
conceived these eight sons
to
Abraham's brother Nahor.
22:24 His mistress named Reumah
also
had sons:
Tebah,
Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.
(B) Some translations suggest that God had instructed Abraham to burn his son in the offering fire to test Abraham’s devotion. This would suggest God would command someone to commit a violent and provocative act against his own family to prove their devotion to Him. It also suggests that God would be unaware of the extent of Abraham’s devotion to Him. It suggests that God could not understand Abraham’s heart and needed to test Abraham. This portrays God as unknowing, insecure and jealous. And because intending to kill one’s own son is a violent act that contradicts the notion of love, such a translation contradicts the very principle of an all-knowing, loving, omniscient Supreme Being. The above translation portrays the likely origin of the story – that Abraham pushed his son to worship with him, but God and His angel taught Abraham to allow his son to freely develop his own devotion by himself. This is consistent with the statements in the text, and the very heart of God, which gives each of us the freedom to love Him and worship Him or not.
