And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
2. thy son ] Observe the cumulative force of the successive words, “thy son,” “only son,” “whom thou lovest,” “Isaac,” indicating the severity of the test about to be applied to Abraham’s faith.
only son ] Ishmael is here disregarded, as in Gen 22:12 ; Gen 22:16. He is no longer considered one of the true family. The LXX (Lat. unigenitum) is, however, perhaps due to the thought of Ishmael.
into the land of Moriah ] Moriah is here the name of a country, containing mountains on one of which Abraham is to offer Isaac. The proper name “Moriah” is found elsewhere only in 2Ch 3:1, “in Mount Moriah,” i.e. the hill in Jerusalem, on which was the threshing-floor of Ornan, the Jebusite, where the Angel appeared to David. This was the site of the Temple of Solomon. Obviously the expression, “the land of Moriah,” and the reference to the mountains in it, cannot here denote Jerusalem. Jerusalem was a town in the days of the patriarchs (see Gen 14:18). More probably the Chronicler, in 2Ch 3:1, has recorded the popular tradition of his own time, according to which the scene of the appearance to David and the site of the temple at Jerusalem were identified with the place of Isaac’s sacrifice; and the name “Moriah,” occurring in this passage of Genesis was therefore popularly, although inaccurately, assigned to the Temple hill.
What “the land of Moriah” was, we can no longer determine. Possibly the word “Moriah” is the Heb. adaptation of some earlier name, which was lost in the transmission of the story. The name Moriah probably contains a play upon the words meaning “to see” and “Jehovah,” cf. Gen 22:14. It provided a puzzle to the versions. Lat. terra visionis, Sym. , Aq. , LXX .
The Syriac Peshitto renders, “the land of the Amorites,” with which agrees the conjecture of Dillmann and Ball. Tuch and Bleek conjectured “the land of Moreh,” cf. Gen 12:6; but the Hebron district of “the land of Moreh” would be much too close to Beer-sheba to suit the description in Gen 22:4. Hence Wellhausen’s conjecture “the land of the Hamorites” (i.e. Shechem: cf. Genesis 34 and Jdg 9:28). Probably the name is irrecoverable by conjecture. Rabbinic interpretations called it “the place of fear,” or “of worship.” Joseph. Ant. i. 13, .
for a burnt offering ] A whole burnt-offering, viz. an offering of complete dedication to God. It was wholly consumed in the fire, as distinct from an offering in which the offerers themselves participated: see note on Gen 8:20. It was a propitiatory offering: cf. Lev 1:4.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 2. Take now thy son] Bishop Warburton’s observations on this passage are weighty and important. “The order in which the words are placed in the original gradually increases the sense, and raises the passions higher and higher: Take now thy son, (rather, take I beseech thee na,) thine only son whom thou lovest, even Isaac. Jarchi imagines this minuteness was to preclude any doubt in Abraham. Abraham desired earnestly to be let into the mystery of redemption; and God, to instruct him in the infinite extent of the Divine goodness to mankind, who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, let Abraham feel by experience what it was to lose a beloved son, the son born miraculously when Sarah was past child-bearing, as Jesus was miraculously born of a virgin. The duration, too, of the action, Ge 22:4, was the same as that between Christ’s death and resurrection, both which are designed to be represented in it; and still farther not only the final archetypical sacrifice of the Son of God was figured in the command to offer Isaac, but the intermediate typical sacrifice in the Mosaic economy was represented by the permitted sacrifice of the ram offered up, Ge 22:13, instead of Isaac.” See Dodd.
Only son] All that he had by Sarah his legal wife.
The land of Moriah] This is supposed to mean all the mountains of Jerusalem, comprehending Mount Gihon or Calvary, the mount of Sion and of Acra. As Mount Calvary is the highest ground to the west, and the mount of the temple is the lowest of the mounts, Mr. Mann conjectures that it was upon this mount Abraham offered up Isaac, which is well known to be the same mount on which our blessed Lord was crucified. Beer-sheba, where Abraham dwelt, is about forty-two miles distant from Jerusalem, and it is not to be wondered at that Abraham, Isaac, the two servants, and the ass laden with wood for the burnt-offering, did not reach this place till the third day; see Ge 22:4.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Not a word here but might pierce a heart of stone, much more so tender a father as Abraham was.
Take now, without demurring or delay, I allow thee no time for thy consideration, own proper
son; not a beast, not an enemy, not a stranger, though that had been very difficult to one so kind to all strangers; not a dear servant, not a friend or familiar:
thine only son, not by birth, for so he had another, Ishmael; but this was his only son by Sarah, his first and legitimate wife; who only had the right of succession both to his inheritance, and to his covenant and promises; and this only was now left to him, for Ishmael was abandoned and gone from him: and this must be such a son as Isaac, once matter of laughter and great joy, now cause of inexpressible sorrow; thy Benoni; a son of the promise, of so great hopes, and such pregnant virtue and piety as this story shows;
whom thou lovest, peculiarly and superlatively, even as thy own soul:
and get thee into the land of Moriah; a place at a great distance, and to which thou shalt go but leisurely, Gen 22:4, that thou mayst have thy mind all that while fixed upon that bloody act, which other mens minds can scarce once think of without horror; and so thou mayst offer him in a sort ten thousand times over before thou givest the fatal blow;
and offer him there with thine own hands, and cruelly take away the life which thou hast in some sort given him;
for a burnt-offering, wherein by the law of the burnt-offering then known to Abraham, afterwards published to all Israel, his throat was to be cut, his body dissected into quarters, his bowels taken out, as if he had been some notorious traitor, and vile malefactor and miscreant, and afterwards he was to be burnt to ashes, that if possible there might be nothing left of him: and this must be done
upon one of the mountains, which I shall tell thee of; not secretly in a corner, as if it were a work of darkness, and thou wert ashamed or afraid to own it; but in a public and open place, in the view of heaven, earth, God, angels, and men. Which horrid and stupendous act it may be easily conjectured what reproach and blasphemy it would have occasioned against the name and worship of God and the true religion, and what shame and torment to Abraham, from his own self-accusing mind, from the clamours of his wife, and all his friends and allies, and what a dangerous and mischievous example this would have been to all future generations. That faith that could surmount these and many more difficulties, and could readily and cheerfully rest upon God in the discharge of such a duty, no wonder it is so honoured by God, and celebrated by all men, yea, even by the heathens, who have translated this history into their fables. Moriah signifies the vision of God, the place where God would be seen and manifested. And so it is here called by way of anticipation, because it was so called afterwards, Gen 22:14, in regard of Gods eminent appearance there for Isaacs deliverance; though it may also have a further respect unto Christ, because in that place God was manifested in the flesh. There were divers mountains there, as is evident from Psa 125:2; and particularly there were two eminent hills, or rather tops or parts of the same mountain; Sion, where Davids palace was; and Moriah, where the temple was built, and whence the adjoining country afterwards received its name.
Which I will tell thee of, by some visible sign, or secret admonition which I shall give thee.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. Take now thy son, c.Everycircumstance mentioned was calculated to give a deeper stab to theparental bosom. To lose his only son, and by an act of his own hand,too!what a host of conflicting feelings must the order haveraised! But he heard and obeyed without a murmur (Gal 1:16Luk 14:26).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he said, take now thy son,…. Directly, immediately; not thine ox, nor thy sheep, nor thy ram, nor thy lamb, nor thy servant, but thy son:
thine only [son] Isaac; for, though Ishmael was his son, he was a son by his maid, by his concubine, and not by his wife; Isaac was his only legitimate son, his only son by his lawful wife Sarah; the only son of the promise, his only son, in whom his seed was to be called:
whom thou lovest; on whom his affections were strongly set, being a lovely youth, a dutiful son, and the child of promise; on whom all his hope and expectation of a numerous offspring promised him was built, and in whose line the Messiah was to spring from him; even Isaac, which stands last in the original text: so that, if what had been said was not sufficient to describe him, he is expressed by name, and the description is gradually given, and the name of his son reserved to the last, that he might be by degrees prepared to receive the shocking order; every word is emphatic and striking, and enough to pierce any tender heart, and especially when told what was to be done to him. The Jews i represent God and Abraham in a discourse together upon this head: God said, take now thy son; says Abraham, I have two sons; take thine only son; says he, they are both only sons to their mothers; take him whom thou lovest; I love them both, replied he; then take Isaac; thus ended the debate:
and get thee into the land of Moriah; so called by anticipation, from a mountain of that name in it; the Septuagint render it, “the high land”, the hill country of the land of Canaan, particularly that part of it where Jerusalem afterwards stood, which was surrounded with hills: hence Aquila, another Greek interpreter, renders it, “conspicuous”, as hills and mountains are, and a mountainous country is; Onkelos and Jonathan paraphrase it, “a land of worship”, of religious worship; for in this country afterwards the people of God dwelt, the city of the living God was built, and in it the temple for divine service, and that upon Mount Moriah; and the Targum of Jerusalem has it here,
“to Mount Moriah;”
the Jews are divided about the reason of this name, some deriving it from a word k which signifies to “teach”, and think it is so called, because doctrine or instruction came forth from thence to Israel; others from a word l which signifies “fear”, and so had its name because fear or terror went from thence to the nations of the world m; but its derivation is from another word n, which signifies to “see”, and which is confirmed by what is said Ge 22:14:
and offer him there for a burnt offering; this was dreadful work he was called to, and must be exceeding trying to him as a man, and much more as a parent, and a professor of the true religion, to commit such an action; for by this order he was to cut the throat of his son, then to rip him up, and cut up his quarters, and then to lay every piece in order upon the wood, and then burn all to ashes; and this he was to do as a religious action, with deliberation, seriousness, and devotion:
upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of; for there were several of them adjoining to, or pretty near each other, which afterwards went by different names, as Mount Sion, De 4:48; the hill Acra; Mount Calvary, Lu 23:33; and Mount Moriah, 2Ch 3:1; supposed to be the mount intended; and so Aben Ezra says it was the place where the temple was built, and where was the threshing floor of Araunah, 2Ch 3:1. Some learned men are of opinion, that the account which Sanchoniatho o gives of Cronus or Saturn sacrificing his own son, refers to this affair of Abraham’s; his words are,
“there being a pestilence and a mortality, Cronus offered up his only son a whole burnt offering to his father Ouranus;”
which Porphyry p, from the same historian, thus relates; Cronus, whom the Phoenicians call Israel, (a grandson of Abraham’s, thought, through mistake, to be put for Abraham himself,) having an only son of a nymph of that country called Anobret, (which according to Bochart q signifies one that conceived by grace, see Heb 11:11😉 whom therefore they called Jeoud (the same with Jehid here, an only once); so an only one is called by the Phoenicians; when the country was in great danger through war, this son, dressed in a royal habit, he offered up on an altar he had prepared. But others r are of a different sentiment, and cannot perceive any likeness between the two cases: however, Isaac may well be thought, in the whole of this, to be a type of the Messiah, the true and proper Son of God, his only begotten Son, the dear Son of his love, in whom all the promises are yea and amen; whom God out of his great love to men gave to be an offering and a sacrifice for their sins, and who suffered near Jerusalem, on Mount Calvary, which very probably was a part of Mount Moriah; and which, with other mountains joining in their root, though having different tops, went by that common name.
i T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 89. 2. Pirke Eliezer, c. 31. Jarchi in loc. k “docuit”. l “timuit”. m T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 16. 1. n “vidit”. o Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praeparat. p. 38. p Apud ib. p. 40. & l. 4. c. 15. p. 156. q Canaan, l. 2. c. 2. col. 711, 712. r See Cumberland’s Sanchoniatho, p. 37, 38, 134, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
2. Take now thy son. Abraham is commanded to immolate his son. If God had said nothing more than that his son should die, even this message would have most grievously wounded his mind; because, whatever favor he could hope for from God, was included in this single promise, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. Whence he necessarily inferred, that his own salvation, and that of the whole human race, would perish, unless Isaac remained in safety. For he was taught, by that word, that God would not be propitious to man without a Mediator. For although the declaration of Paul, that ‘all the promises of God in Christ are yea and Amen,’ was not yet written, (2Co 1:20,) it was nevertheless engraven on the heart of Abraham. Whence, however, could he have had this hope, but from Isaac? The matter had come to this; that God would appear to have done nothing but mock him. Yet not only is the death of his son announced to him, but he is commanded with his own hand to slay him, as if he were required, not only to throw aside, but to cut in pieces, or cast into the fire, the charter of his salvation, and to have nothing left for himself, but death and hell. But it may be asked, how, under the guidance of faith, he could be brought to sacrifice his son, seeing that what was proposed to him, was in opposition to that word of God, on which it is necessary for faith to rely? To this question the Apostle answers, that his confidence in the word of God remained unshaken; because he hoped that God would be able to cause the promised benediction to spring up, even out of the dead ashes of his son. (Heb 11:19.) His mind, however, must of necessity have been severely crushed, and violently agitated, when the command and the promise of God were conflicting within him. But when he had come to the conclusion, that the God with whom he knew he had to do, could not be his adversary; although he did not immediately discover how the contradiction might be removed, he nevertheless, by hope, reconciled the command with the promise; because, being indubitably persuaded that God was faithful, he left the unknown issue to Divine Providence. Meanwhile, as with closed eyes, he goes whither he is directed. The truth of God deserves this honor; not only that it should far transcend all human means, or that it alone, even without means, should suffice us, but also that it should surmount all obstacles. Here, then, we perceive, more clearly, the nature of the temptation which Moses has pointed out. It was difficult and painful to Abraham to forget that he was a father and a husband; to cast off all human affections; and to endure, before the world, the disgrace of shameful cruelty, by becoming the executioner of his son. But the other was a far more severe and horrible thing; namely, that he conceives God to contradict Himself and His own word; and then, that he supposes the hope of the promised blessing to be cut off from him, when Isaac is torn away from his embrace. For what more could he have to do with God, when the only pledge of grace is taken away? But as before, when he expected seed from his own dead body, he, by hope, rose above what it seemed possible to hope for; so now, when, in the death of his son, he apprehends the quickening power of God, in such a manner, as to promise himself a blessing out of the ashes of his son, he emerges from the labyrinth of temptation; for, in order that he might obey God, it was necessary that he should tenaciously hold the promise, which, had it failed, faith must have perished. But with him the promise always flourished; because he both firmly retained the love with which God had once embraced him, and subjected to the power of God everything which Satan raised up to disturb his mind. But he was unwilling to measure, by his own understanding, the method of fulfilling the promise, which he knew depended on the incomprehensible power of God. It remains for every one of us to apply this example to himself. The Lord, indeed, is so indulgent to our infirmity, that he does not thus severely and sharply try our faith: yet he intended, in the father of all the faithful, to propose an example by which he might call us to a general trial of faith. For the faith, which is more precious than gold and silver, ought not to lie idle, without trial; and experience teaches, that each will be tried by God, according to the measure of his faith. At the same time, also, we may observe, that God tempts his servants, not only when he subdues the affections of the flesh, but when he reduces all their senses to nothing, that he may lead them to a complete renunciation of themselves.
Thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest. As if it were not enough to command in one word the sacrifice of his son, he pierces, as with fresh strokes, the mind of the holy man. By calling him his only son, he again irritates the wound recently indicted, by the banishment of the other son; he then looks forward into futurity, because no hope of offspring would remain. If the death of a firstborn son is wont to be grievous, what must the mourning of Abraham be? Each word which follows is emphatical, and serves to aggravate his grief. ‘Slay’ (he says) ‘him whom alone thou lowest.’ And he does not here refer merely to his paternal love, but to that which sprung from faith. Abraham loved his son, not only as nature dictates, and as parents commonly do, who take delight in their children, but as beholding the paternal love of God in him: lastly, Isaac was the mirror of eternal life, and the pledge of all good things. Wherefore God seems not so much to assail the paternal love of Abraham, as to trample upon His own benevolence. There is equal emphasis in the name Isaac by which Abraham was taught, that nowhere besides did any joy remain for him. Certainly, when he who had been given as the occasion of joy, was taken away, it was just as if God should condemn Abraham to eternal torment. We must always remember that Isaac was not a son of the common order, but one in whose person the Mediator was promised.
Get thee into the land of Moriah. The bitterness of grief is not a little increased by this circumstance. For God does not require him to put his son immediately to death, but compels him to revolve this execution in his mind during three whole days, that in preparing himself to sacrifice his son, he may still more severely torture all his own senses. Besides, he does not even name the place where he requires that dire sacrifice to be offered, Upon one of the mountains, (he says,) that I will tell thee of. So before, when he, commanded him to leave his country he held his mind in suspense. But in this affair, the delay which most cruelly tormented the holy man, as if he had been stretched upon the rack, was still less tolerable. There was, however, a twofold use of this suspense. For there is nothing to which we are more prone than to be wise beyond our measure. Therefore, in order that we may become docile and obedient to God, it is profitable for us that we should be deprived of our own wisdom, and that nothing should be left us, but to resign ourselves to be led according to his will. Secondly, this tended also to make him persevere, so that he should not obey God by a merely sudden impulse. For, as he does not turn back in his journey, nor revolve conflicting counsels; it hence appears, that his love to God was confirmed by such constancy, that it could not be affected by any change of circumstances. Jerome explains the land of Moriah to be ‘the land of vision,’ as if the name had been derived from ראה ( rahah.) But all who are skilled in the Hebrew language condemn this opinion. Nor am I better satisfied with those who interpret it the myrrh of God. (447) It is certainly acknowledged by the consent of the greater part, that it is derived from the word ירה ( yarah,) which signifies to teach or from ירא ( yarai,) which signifies to fear. There is, however, even at this time, a difference among interpreters, some thinking that the doctrine of God is here specially inculcated. Let us follow the most probable opinion; namely, that it is called the land of divine worship, either because God had appointed it for the offering of the sacrifice, in order that Abraham might not dispute whether some other place should not rather be chosen; or because the place for the temple was already fixed there; and I rather adopt this second explanation; that God there required a present worship from his servant Abraham, because already in his secret counsel, he had determined in that place to fix his ordinary worship. And sacrifices properly receive their name from the word which signifies fear, because they give proof of reverence to God. Moreover, it is by no means doubtful that this is the place where the temple was. afterwards built. (448)
(447) This extraordinary interpretation is supposed to be sanctioned by Son 4:6, “I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.” — Vide Poli Syn. in loc. — Ed.
(448) It may be doubted whether the interpretation of Jerome, which Calvin rejects, is not preferable to that which he adopts. From the subsequent explanation in verse 14, it seems highly probable, that ‘the land of vision’ is the true explanation of the term in question. But even this admits of a double construction. The Septuagint calls it ‘the high land,’ as if it were merely conspicuous on account of its elevation — the land that might be seen afar off. But a more suitable interpretation seems to be, that it was the land favored by the vision of divine glory, the spot on which the angel of Jehovah appeared to David, and on which the temple was built by Solomon. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(2) Take now.Now is not an adverb of time, but an interjection of entreaty, usually coupled with requests, and intended to soften them. It thus makes the words more an exhortation than a command.
Thine only son Isaac.The words in the original are more emphatic, being, Take, I pray, thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac. If childlessness was so unendurable in old time to Abraham (Gen. 15:2), what would it be now, after so many years of enjoyment of a son, and after giving up Ishmael for his sake (Gen. 17:18)?
The land of Moriah.Moriah may either mean Jah is teacher (see Note on Gen. 12:6), or Jah is provider. The first is supported by Isa. 2:3, where the verb is rendered will teach; but the second agrees best with Gen. 22:8; Gen. 22:14. If this be the meaning, the name would be derived from this event, and would signify the place where Jehovah will Himself provide the sacrifice. It has been suggested by many able commentators, that the place meant was Moreh in Sichem, and that the site of the sacrifice was, as the Samaritans affirmed, the natural altar upon the summit of Mount Gerizim. But as Abraham and Isaac reached the spot on the third day, and evidently at an early hour, Gerizim is too remote from Beer-sheba for this to be possible Even Jerusalem is distant enough, as the journey from Beer-sheba takes twenty and a half hours; and travellers in those days had to cook their own food, and prepare their own sleeping accommodation. We may notice also, that Moriah is described as a land, in some part of which Abraham was to be shown the special mountain intended for the sacrifice; Moreh, on the contrary, was a place where Abraham had lived, and which was therefore well known to him.
Offer him there for a burnt offering.Hengstenberg and others have argued that Abraham was not to kill Isaac, but to surrender him spiritually to God, and sanctify him by a burnt offering. But this is contradicted by the narrative itself (Gen. 22:10), and by the passage in the Epistle to the Hebrews referred to above, where the victory of Abrahams faith is described as consisting in the belief, that even though Isaac were killed, nevertheless the promise would still in some Divine manner be fulfilled in him.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. He said Doubtless in some open and positive way . There is no evidence that this word came by a vision of the night . Least of all should we give countenance to the strange fancy that Abraham was imposed upon by Satan, and tempted, by observing human sacrifices among the heathen, to suppose that the sacrifice of Isaac would be acceptable to God.
If such were the fact, the sacred writer fell into a most unfortunate style of recording the truth.
Take now thy son This command is peculiarly touching. Hebrews, Take now thy son, thy only one, whom thou lovest, even Isaac. Various conjectures have been held as to Isaac’s age at this time. Josephus says twenty-five, and other numbers have been mentioned ranging from ten to thirty-seven. But all is conjecture. He was a young lad, but old and large enough to carry the wood for the burnt offering. Gen 22:6.
Land of Moriah On the origin of this name, see on Gen 22:14. The Samaritans read land of Moreh, and so identify this Moriah with the Moreh of Gen 12:6, and Stanley and others argue that the place of Abraham’s sacrifice was on the summit of Mount Gerizim, which, after a journey of two days from Beer-sheba by way of the Philistine plain, can be seen “afar off.” Gen 22:4. But the Jewish tradition identifies this Moriah with the mountain on which the Temple was afterwards builded, (2Ch 3:1,) and there seems no sufficient reason to abandon this view. Thomson says, “It is almost absurd to maintain that Abraham could come on his loaded ass from Beer-sheba to Nablus in the time specified. On the third day he arrived early enough to leave the servants afar off, and walk with Isaac bearing the sacrificial wood to the mountain, which God had shown him; there build the altar, arrange the wood, bind his son, and stretch forth his hand to slay him; and there was time, too, to take and offer up the ram in Isaac’s place. That all this could have been done at Nablus on the third day of their journey is incredible. It has always appeared to me, since I first traveled over the country myself, that even Jerusalem was too far off from Beer-sheba for the tenor of the narrative, but Nablus is two days farther north.” Land and Book, vol. ii, p. 212.
Offer him there for a burnt offering There is no possibility of mistaking the plain import of these words. It is not, consecrate or dedicate him there in connexion with a burnt offering, but offer him there. Though God’s command seems to be contrary to all hope and promise and prophecy, Abraham obeys.
One of the mountains which I will tell Was there not a divine plan and purpose, in selecting the spot for this most wonderful event, to make it identical with the place where afterwards Jehovah would record his name, and set forth his son to be a propitiation for the sins of the whole world?
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, even Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah (LXX has ‘land of the height’ – ‘upsele’; the Syriac translation of the Old Testament has ‘land of the Amorites’) and offer him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”
The land of ‘Moriah’ is not known elsewhere although a Mount ‘Moriah’ (slightly different etymologically) is later found in the vicinity of Jerusalem (2Ch 3:1-2) as the Mount on which the Temple was built. But the latter passage does not mention this incident (as we would have expected if they were identical), and here it is not the name of a mountain. It is significant in this regard that Abraham does not name the site as ‘Moriah’ but as ‘Yahweh yir’eh’ (Gen 22:14).
In view of the fact that Jerusalem was at this stage a city occupied by the Jebusites it is not likely that Mount Moriah is in view.
It was a ‘three day journey’ i.e not very far, in contrast with a ‘seven day journey’, for they arrived within sight of it ‘on the third day’ (within one and a half to two and a half days).
The emphasis by God that He is asking for the ultimate sacrifice – ‘your son, your only son, whom you love ’ – demonstrates already that it is a test, but so far as Abraham is concerned it is a very real one. The stress is interesting. It is not on the fact that he is the covenant son, but that he is the ‘only beloved’ son. It cannot help but remind us of another ‘Only Beloved Son’ of later times Who was sacrificed on our behalf. So the sacrifice requested was deeply personal, his most treasured possession.
Isaac is of course not literally his ‘only son’, and the phrase must rather mean ‘the heir’, the one on whom everything is centred, the only son of the primary marriage. Thus the phrase links directly with the covenant. He is not only called on to offer the one dearest to his heart, but the one through whom all the covenant promises are to be fulfilled. He is called on to sacrifice everything he has ever lived for.
We are not told what passed through his mind. Sacrifice the one through whom the covenant would be fulfilled (Gen 17:19; Gen 17:21)? He did not even stop to question. He obeyed unquestioningly. Yahweh would see to the rest. He had trusted Him so far, he would trust Him to the end.
He does not even question the morality of it. As a prophet of God he knows when God has spoken, and if it is His command it can only be right. (Only one who has had unique experiences of God and actually hears the voice of God can have such certainty. For such it was not an issue that required consideration for ‘God had spoken’). The final consequence, of course, is that God finally demonstrates to His people once and for all that He does not want such sacrifices.
This episode compares very specifically with that in Genesis 12. There he was called to go to a country that Yahweh had chosen for him, here he is called to go to a mountain that God has chosen for him. Yet the second contradicts the first because of its purpose. We cannot doubt that this is the greater test of faith. As Abraham grows in obedience the tests become harder.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 22:2. Take now thy son, &c. The order in which the words are placed in the original, gradually increases the sense, and raises the passions higher and higher: take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac. Jarchi imagines this minuteness was to exclude any doubt in Abraham. Abraham desired earnestly to be let into the mystery of redemption; and God, to instruct him (in the best manner humanity is capable of receiving instruction) in the infinite extent of the Divine goodness to man, who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, let Abraham feel, by experience, what it was to lose a beloved son; the son born miraculously, when Sarah was part child-bearing, as Jesus was miraculously born of a virgin. The duration too of the action, Gen 22:4 was the same as that between Christ’s death and resurrection, both which were designed to be represented in it; and still farther, not only the final architypical sacrifice of the Son of God was figured in the command to offer Isaac, but the intermediate typical sacrifice in the Mosaic oeconomy was represented by the permitted sacrifice of the ram offered up, Gen 22:13 instead of Isaac.
Land of Moriah Conformable to the interpretation given of this command, Abraham calls the land to which he was sent with Isaac, the Land of vision, according to Jerom’s interpretation, which shews, that the words of the Lord Jesus, Abraham saw my day, allude to this extraordinary circumstance. In a word, Jesus says, Abraham saw my day; and Abraham, by the name he imposed on the scene of action, declared the same thing. Abraham earnestly desired to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.
It is agreed among almost all the Jews, that this is the place where Cain and Abel offered sacrifice, as well as Noah afterwards. It was here also, I doubt not, where Christ was crucified, as Solomon’s temple was built upon one of the same mountains of Moriah. But Mr. Mann’s observations best deserve notice on this head: he remarks, that this narrative of that signal trial of Abraham’s faith and the issue of it, upon God’s command to him to sacrifice his most beloved son, in which all agree the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to have been prefigured; in one circumstance of it, namely, the place of the sacrifice, has not been sufficiently considered; perhaps, thought not to be of any significancy, though it is to be observed, that the choice of the place was not left to Abraham as indifferent; but he was directed to make a journey of three days to a particular spot in the land of Moriah; which God would point out to him. Moriah is mentioned once more in 2Ch 3:1 where Solomon is said to have begun to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, in Mount Moriah. It might be better rendered, on a mount of Moriah: accordingly, Maundrell, and other judicious observers, have justly applied Moriah to the whole mountain of Jerusalem, comprehending all those mounts of Gihon without the walls (of which Mount Calvary was once a part) of Sion, of Acra, or Jerusalem Proper, and of the temple within the walls. Of these, Mount Gihon or Calvary was, and still is, notwithstanding the alterations of three thousand years, the highest ground to the west; and the Mount of the Temple, the lowest of them all on the east side of the city. Of this lowness of the Mount of the Temple, one mark was the brook Siloam, springing out of the side of Mount Gihon or Calvary, near the western walls where it entered, and by its channel divided the city of Jerusalem from the city of Sion, passing out to the east near the Mount of the Temple: and Josephus confirms it, with observing how much pains had been taken, during the reign of the Asmonean princes, to lower the ground of Jerusalem, that it might not so much overtop that of the temple, as it naturally did. Beer-sheba, the place of Abraham’s residence, was in or near the road from AEgypt to Jerusalem, and from that city forty-two miles distant to the south-west. Conducted in that way probably by an angel, he came not till the third day to the sight of the destined Mount of Moriah, which appeared to him afar off; yet probably was within a few miles, as he was to ascend it on foot with Isaac heavy-loaden. In this position to the west, or south-west, it was impossible but that that Mount of Moriah, which was highest and nearest to him eastward, should meet his eye, which in after-ages was called Mount Calvary, and not that which was beyond it, and much lower, on which afterwards the temple stood. It was therefore on this Mount Calvary, that Abraham offered his only son; as on this same Mount Calvary, about two thousand years after, the Almighty Father ordained that his only Son Jesus should be sacrificed for the redemption of mankind.
Offer him, &c. The command was only the conveyance of an information by action instead of words, in conformity to a common mode of conversing in former times: and as it was only the grant of an earnest request, and known by Abraham at the time of imposing to be such a grant, he could not possibly have any doubt concerning the Author of it.
REFLECTIONS.While we are in the body, we must be kept in the exercise of faith and obedience. There is no rest, till the body rest in death. Abraham had weathered his storms, and began to enjoy repose in the comfort of those blessings God had bestowed on him. But now a greater storm overtakes him than ever he felt before. He had left his home, and expelled his son Ishmael; but now the very hope and joy of his life is called, and Isaac must bleed. Observe,
1. The author of this fiery trial, God; who cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man, i.e.. to sin: but his temptations are to prove the truth, and increase the strength of the faith of his servants. Note; If a man have severe trials, it is to make him a burning light to God’s glory.
2. The command given. When Abraham expects some message of peace, as usual, from his Covenant-God, how surprised must he be to hear the dreadful word, Take now thy son, make no delay, I call for thy son, take him, thine only son, in whom thou art so wrapped up, that the other is as nothing in thine eyes. This Isaac, the child of thine age, the staff of thy hopes; this darling, whom thou lovest so tenderly, I call for: Isaac must be offered up to me, not as my servant, but as my sacrifice. Thy hands must slay him: thou must kindle the fire, and lay him thereon. Moriah is the distant place; and when thou comest, I will shew thee that mountain where he must be offered a whole burnt-sacrifice unto me. Did ever parent’s heart hear so afflictive a command, where every word is torture, and pointed as a dagger to the heart!
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Ver. 2. Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, &c. ] This was the last of Abraham’s ten trials, and the sorest. All our troubles to this are but as the stivers and chips of that cross upon which this good patriarch was crucified. Origen hence persuades parents to bear patiently the loss of their children. Laetus offer filium Deo, esto sacerdos animae filii tui ,& c. Abraham was not only to kill his only son (which yet was more than to have torn out his own heart with his own hands), but to cut him in pieces, to lay him orderly on the altar, after the manner of a sacrifice, and to burn him to ashes; himself making and tending the fire, and putting him in, piece after piece, when any was out. A hard and heavy task: especially since it directly crossed the promise, that “in Isaac all nations of the earth should be blessed”; and seemed to involve the utter ruin of all mankind. Here, reason was at a stand. It was faith only that could extricate the perplexed patriarch, by giving him to know “that God was able to raise him up even from the dead”. Heb 11:19 Hoc Abrahamum fecit . This was it that kept him from tripping.
Get thee into the land of Moriah.
a Bain’s Letters.
lovest. Note the reference to the Antitype.
Moriah. Hebrew = shown or provided by Jah. Compare 1Ch 21:22; 1Ch 22:1. 2Ch 3:1. Christ crucified also on one of these mountains. Mat 27:33.
offer. Hebrew. ‘alah. See App-43.
burnt offering. Hebrew. ‘olah.
Take: Gen 17:19, Gen 21:12, Joh 3:16, Rom 5:8, Rom 8:32, Heb 11:17, 1Jo 4:9, 1Jo 4:10
Moriah: 2Ch 3:1
and offer: Jdg 11:31, Jdg 11:39, 2Ki 3:27, Mic 6:7
Reciprocal: Gen 21:3 – General Gen 21:11 – because Gen 22:9 – place Exo 4:4 – put forth Exo 29:18 – a burnt offering Lev 1:3 – a burnt Lev 17:5 – in the open Num 23:3 – burnt 1Ki 17:13 – make me thereof 1Ki 17:17 – the son of the woman 2Ki 4:20 – and then died Mat 1:24 – did Mar 12:6 – his Luk 7:12 – the only Joh 11:3 – he
Gen 22:2. And he said, Take thy son Not thy bullocks and thy lambs; how willingly would Abraham have parted with them by thousands to redeem Isaac! Not thy servant, no, not the steward of thy house. Thine only son Thine only son by Sarah. Ishmael was lately cast out, to the grief of Abraham, and now Isaac only was left; and must he go too? Yes: take Isaac, him by name, thy laughter, that son indeed. Yea, that son whom thou lovest The trial was of Abrahams love to God, and therefore it must be in a beloved son: in the Hebrew it is expressed more emphatically, and might very well be rendered, Take now that son of thine, that only son of thine, whom thou lovest, that Isaac. And get thee into the land of Moriah Distant three days journey, that he might have time to consider it, and if he do it, might do it deliberately. And offer him for a burnt- offering He must not only slay his son, but slay him as a sacrifice, with all that sedateness and composedness of mind, with which he used to offer his burnt-offering.
22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of {a} Moriah; and {b} offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
(a) Signifying the fear of God, in which place he was also honoured, Solomon later building the temple there.
(b) This was the main point of his temptation, seeing that he was commanded to offer up him in whom God had promised to bless all the nations of the world.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes