Genesis 22:9-12

22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there ¹  and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up ²  his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter ³  his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel ⁴  called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ⁵  the angel said. ⁶  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ⁷  that you fear ⁸  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

Genesis 22:16-18

22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ ⁹  decrees the Lord, ¹⁰  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, ¹¹  and I will greatly multiply ¹²  your descendants ¹³  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ¹⁴  of the strongholds ¹⁵  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ¹⁶  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹⁷  using the name of your descendants.’”

[22:9]  ¹ sn Abraham built an altar there. The theme of Abraham’s altar building culminates here. He has been a faithful worshiper. Will he continue to worship when called upon to make such a radical sacrifice?

[22:9]  ² sn Then he tied up. This text has given rise to an important theme in Judaism known as the Aqedah, from the Hebrew word for “binding.” When sacrifices were made in the sanctuary, God remembered the binding of Isaac, for which a substitute was offered. See D. Polish, “The Binding of Isaac,” Jud 6 (1957): 17-21.

[22:10]  ³ tn Heb “in order to slaughter.”

[22:11]  ⁴ sn Heb “the messenger of the Lord” (also in v. 15). Some identify the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ because in some texts the angel is identified with the Lord himself. However, see the note on the phrase “the Lord’s angel” in Gen 16:7.

[22:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”

[22:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Do not extend…’”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the context for clarity. The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:12]  ⁷ sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).

[22:12]  ⁸ sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.

[22:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “By myself I swear.”

[22:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the oracle of the Lord.” The phrase refers to a formal oracle or decree from the Lord.

[22:17]  ¹¹ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.

[22:17]  ¹² tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[22:17]  ¹⁴ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).

[22:18]  ¹⁶ tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.

[22:18]  ¹⁷ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)