Genesis 22:2-4

22:2 God ¹  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ²  – and go to the land of Moriah! ³  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ⁴  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ⁵  you.”

22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. ⁶  He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out ⁷  for the place God had spoken to him about.

22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of ⁸  the place in the distance.

[22:2]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ² sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.

[22:2]  ³ sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.

[22:2]  ⁴ sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.

[22:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “which I will say to.”

[22:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.”

[22:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “he arose and he went.”

[22:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.”