Section 39 of 10422:1–19Genesis

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King James VersionGenesis 22:1–19

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

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.

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Genesis 22:1–19

God Tests Abraham With Isaac

The promised son placed on the altar

God tests Abraham by commanding him to offer Isaac, the beloved son through whom the promise is named. After Isaac's birth, the promise itself under threat: the son who carries the oath appears to be placed on the altar. Abraham goes, and Isaac asks about the lamb. Abraham says God will provide. He binds Isaac and reaches for the knife.

The messenger stops the killing. A ram is offered instead. Abraham's fear of God is demonstrated, and the LORD swears by himself to bless the nations through preserved offspring. The narrator calls this a test. It does not authorize harm to children in response to a private voice.

How this should shape us

Entrust what is precious to God without inventing certainty about unstated thoughts. A claimed command to harm a child must not be obeyed; seek immediate safety and qualified help.

Teach it back

Explain why Genesis 22 identifies the event as a test, how Isaac's relationship to Abraham and the promise intensifies the command, what the interruption and ram establish, how the oath relates to earlier promises, and at least three conclusions the passage does not authorize.

Explain the section in your own words

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Go deeper

The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Best judgment:

How certain? strong

Best judgment:

How certain? probable

Best judgment:

How certain? probable

Best judgment:

How certain? probable

Best judgment:

How certain? strong

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Displayed wording, narrative sequence, promise context, later Moriah identification, child-sacrifice rejection, and Christian canonical reception.

Genesis 22:1–19 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 12:1–3; 17:15–21; 21:1–34; 22:20–24; 2 Chronicles 3:1; Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5; Hebrews 11:17–19; and James 2:21–23

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis

Supports: Test frame, repeated response, command echo, Isaac's status, seeing/providing wordplay, age restraint, binding, fear, substitution, offspring, and enemy-gate language.

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 22:1–19; lemmas and morphology for nissah, hinneni, lekh-lekha, yachid, ra'ah, na'ar, aqad, yare, tachat, zera, yarash, and shaar

NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes

Supports: Testing, intensified son language, Moriah, plural return statement, provide idiom, binding, fear, ram variant, place-name wordplay, oath, offspring, enemy gate, and nations blessing.

NET Bible, Genesis 22 and translator notes on 22:1–19

Genesis

Supports: Final-form placement, Abraham cycle, promise, testing, Isaac, and transition to Rebekah genealogy.

Genesis commentary, Abraham-and-Isaac discussion of Genesis 22

Genesis 16 and 22: Abraham and Isaac — Study Guide

Supports: Critical and ethical framing of the Abraham cycle and sacrifice narrative.

Genesis 16 and 22: Abraham and Isaac study guide

Genesis

Supports: Literary placement, source and composition caution, and passage navigation only.

Genesis, official Cambridge contents and introduction; commentary locator for Genesis 22:1–19

The Book of Job and its Paradoxical Relationship with the Akedah

Supports: Jewish literary and ethical reception; not used to invent Genesis dialogue or settle original meaning.

Judy Klitsner, The Book of Job and Its Paradoxical Relationship with the Akedah, complete article

‘The’ Message of the Akedah?

Supports: Ethical ambiguity, limits of single-message readings, Isaac age and agency restraint, anti-child-sacrifice interpretation, and reception cautions.

Kenneth Seeskin, 'The' Message of the Akedah?, complete article and notes, 2023; updated 2026

The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity

Supports: Child-sacrifice transformation and Jewish-Christian beloved-son reception at book-scope only; no unseen page-specific claim.

Jon D. Levenson, The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son, Yale University Press official description and bibliographic record

Child Sacrifice in Ancient Israel

Supports: Historical evidence scope, varieties of child-sacrifice practice, and biblical condemnation context; no Genesis-specific claim beyond inspected scope.

Heath D. Dewrell, Child Sacrifice in Ancient Israel, Eisenbrauns official record, contents, and frontmatter scope

The Surety of God's Promises: A Theological Interpretation of Genesis 22

Supports: Promise-test relationship and theological framing at abstract scope only.

Stephen D. Campbell, The Surety of God's Promises: A Theological Interpretation of Genesis 22, Biblical Theology Bulletin 49.3 (2019), official abstract

Sacrifice and Islamic Identity

Supports: Qur'an 37:100–113, unnamed son, varied Islamic reception, and later prominence of Ishmael identification.

Abdelilah Ljamai, Sacrifice and Islamic Identity, in Sacrifice in Modernity, Brill 2020, pp. 221–229

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Displayed wording, narrative sequence, promise context, later Moriah identification, child-sacrifice rejection, and Christian canonical reception.

Exact location: Genesis 22:1–19 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 12:1–3; 17:15–21; 21:1–34; 22:20–24; 2 Chronicles 3:1; Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5; Hebrews 11:17–19; and James 2:21–23

Open source ↗

hebrew text morphology and lemma data

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project

Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026

Supports: Test frame, repeated response, command echo, Isaac's status, seeing/providing wordplay, age restraint, binding, fear, substitution, offspring, and enemy-gate language.

Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 22:1–19; lemmas and morphology for nissah, hinneni, lekh-lekha, yachid, ra'ah, na'ar, aqad, yare, tachat, zera, yarash, and shaar

Open source ↗

Translation and textual notes

NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026

Supports: Testing, intensified son language, Moriah, plural return statement, provide idiom, binding, fear, ram variant, place-name wordplay, oath, offspring, enemy gate, and nations blessing.

Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 22 and translator notes on 22:1–19

Open NET Genesis 22 ↗

modern open whole book commentary

Genesis

T. Desmond Alexander

The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023

Supports: Final-form placement, Abraham cycle, promise, testing, Isaac, and transition to Rebekah genealogy.

Exact location: Genesis commentary, Abraham-and-Isaac discussion of Genesis 22

Open source ↗

modern critical open study guide

Genesis 16 and 22: Abraham and Isaac — Study Guide

Joel S. Baden and Yale Bible Study

Yale Divinity School, 2021 course; page inspected 2026

Supports: Critical and ethical framing of the Abraham cycle and sacrifice narrative.

Exact location: Genesis 16 and 22: Abraham and Isaac study guide

Open source ↗

modern scholarly commentary publisher material

Genesis

Bill T. Arnold

Cambridge University Press, 2009

Supports: Literary placement, source and composition caution, and passage navigation only.

Exact location: Genesis, official Cambridge contents and introduction; commentary locator for Genesis 22:1–19

Open source ↗

modern jewish literary and reception study

The Book of Job and its Paradoxical Relationship with the Akedah

Judy Klitsner

TheTorah.com, 2015; page inspected 2026

Supports: Jewish literary and ethical reception; not used to invent Genesis dialogue or settle original meaning.

Exact location: Judy Klitsner, The Book of Job and Its Paradoxical Relationship with the Akedah, complete article

Open source ↗

current Jewish philosophical and literary study

‘The’ Message of the Akedah?

Kenneth Seeskin

TheTorah.com, 2023; updated 2026

Supports: Ethical ambiguity, limits of single-message readings, Isaac age and agency restraint, anti-child-sacrifice interpretation, and reception cautions.

Exact location: Kenneth Seeskin, 'The' Message of the Akedah?, complete article and notes, 2023; updated 2026

Open source ↗

modern Jewish biblical theology and reception monograph

The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity

Jon D. Levenson

Yale University Press, 1995

Supports: Child-sacrifice transformation and Jewish-Christian beloved-son reception at book-scope only; no unseen page-specific claim.

Exact location: Jon D. Levenson, The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son, Yale University Press official description and bibliographic record

Open source ↗

modern specialist historical and textual monograph

Child Sacrifice in Ancient Israel

Heath D. Dewrell

Eisenbrauns / Penn State University Press, 2017

Supports: Historical evidence scope, varieties of child-sacrifice practice, and biblical condemnation context; no Genesis-specific claim beyond inspected scope.

Exact location: Heath D. Dewrell, Child Sacrifice in Ancient Israel, Eisenbrauns official record, contents, and frontmatter scope

Open source ↗

peer reviewed theological interpretation abstract limited

The Surety of God's Promises: A Theological Interpretation of Genesis 22

Stephen D. Campbell

Biblical Theology Bulletin 49(3), 2019

Supports: Promise-test relationship and theological framing at abstract scope only.

Exact location: Stephen D. Campbell, The Surety of God's Promises: A Theological Interpretation of Genesis 22, Biblical Theology Bulletin 49.3 (2019), official abstract

Open source ↗

open peer reviewed Islamic reception history chapter

Sacrifice and Islamic Identity

Abdelilah Ljamai

Brill, in Sacrifice in Modernity: Community, Ritual, Identity, pages 221–229, 2020

Supports: Qur'an 37:100–113, unnamed son, varied Islamic reception, and later prominence of Ishmael identification.

Exact location: Abdelilah Ljamai, Sacrifice and Islamic Identity, in Sacrifice in Modernity, Brill 2020, pp. 221–229

Open source ↗

Genesis 22:1–19, King James Version

The promised son placed on the altar

How this should shape us

Teach it back

Go deeper

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis

NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes

Genesis

Genesis 16 and 22: Abraham and Isaac — Study Guide

Genesis

The Book of Job and its Paradoxical Relationship with the Akedah

‘The’ Message of the Akedah?

The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity

Child Sacrifice in Ancient Israel

The Surety of God's Promises: A Theological Interpretation of Genesis 22

Sacrifice and Islamic Identity