Discovery BoxGenesis 22:11-17
Context22:11 But the Lord’s angel 1 called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” 2 the angel said. 3 “Do not do anything to him, for now I know 4 that you fear 5 God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
22:13 Abraham looked up 6 and saw 7 behind him 8 a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 9 went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” 10 It is said to this day, 11 “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” 12
22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ 13 decrees the Lord, 14 ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, 15 and I will greatly multiply 16 your descendants 17 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 18 of the strongholds 19 of their enemies.
[22:11] 1 sn Heb “the messenger of the
[22:12] 2 tn Heb “Do not extend your hand toward the boy.”
[22:12] 3 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] 4 sn For now I know. The test was designed to see if Abraham would be obedient (see v. 1).
[22:12] 5 sn In this context fear refers by metonymy to obedience that grows from faith.
[22:13] 6 tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”
[22:13] 7 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.
[22:13] 8 tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew
[22:13] 9 tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:14] 10 tn Heb “the Lord sees” (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, yÿhvah yir’eh, traditionally transliterated “Jehovah Jireh”; see the note on the word “provide” in v. 8). By so naming the place Abraham preserved in the memory of God’s people the amazing event that took place there.
[22:14] 11 sn On the expression to this day see B. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until this Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.
[22:14] 12 sn The saying connected with these events has some ambiguity, which was probably intended. The Niphal verb could be translated (1) “in the mountain of the Lord it will be seen/provided” or (2) “in the mountain the Lord will appear.” If the temple later stood here (see the note on “Moriah” in Gen 22:2), the latter interpretation might find support, for the people went to the temple to appear before the Lord, who “appeared” to them by providing for them his power and blessings. See S. R. Driver, Genesis, 219.
[22:16] 13 tn Heb “By myself I swear.”
[22:16] 14 tn Heb “the oracle of the
[22:17] 15 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] 16 tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).
[22:17] 17 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] 19 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”).
