Genesis 22:5

‘And Abraham said to his young men, “You stay here with the ass and I and the lad will go yonder, and we will worship and come again to you.”

“We will come again to you”. Was this just camouflage to the young men? There is no reason to think so. They would soon find out the truth and would recognise that it was a custom of the land. Or did he want to hide the truth from Isaac until the last moment? But surely he should have prepared Isaac for his part in the sacrifice to make it more meaningful. It does suggest rather that Abraham believes that somehow God will give him his son back again. After all He had enabled Sarah to give birth, and has made His unbreakable promise in the covenant.

But there was nothing unusual about going up into a mountain to pray when on a journey, and at present it would not seem strange to the men, although they must have wondered why he was not taking a lamb.

The next section is given in full detail with every aspect emphasised, and when the actual moment comes, in even greater detail. The writer seeks to build up the suspense right to the end.