Genesis 22:1

CHAPTER XXII

The faith and obedience of Abraham put to a most extraordinary

test, 1.

He is commanded to offer his beloved son Isaac for a burnt-offering, 2.

He prepares, with the utmost promptitude, to accomplish the will

of God, 3-6.

Affecting speech of Isaac, 7;

and Abraham's answer, 8.

Having arrived at mount Moriah he prepares to sacrifice his son, 9, 10;

and is prevented by an angel of the Lord, 11, 12.

A ram is offered in the stead of Isaac, 13;

and the place is named Jehovah-jireh, 14.

The angel of the Lord calls to Abraham a second time, 15;

and, in the most solemn manner, he is assured of innumerable

blessings in the multiplication and prosperity of his seed, 16-18.

Abraham returns and dwells at Beer-sheba, 19;

hears that his brother Nahor has eight children by his wife Milcah, 20;

their names, 21-23;

and four by his concubine Reumah, 24.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXII

Verse Genesis 22:1. God did tempt Abraham] The original here is very emphatic: והאלהים נסה את אברהם vehaelohim nissah eth Abraham, "And the Elohim he tried this Abraham;" God brought him into such circumstances as exercised and discovered his faith, love, and obedience. Though the word tempt, from tento, signifies no more than to prove or try, yet as it is now generally used to imply a solicitation to evil, in which way God never tempts any man, it would be well to avoid it here. The Septuagint used the word επειρασε, which signifies tried, pierced through; and Symmachus translates the Hebrew nissah by εδοξαζες, God glorified Abraham, or rendered him illustrious, supposing the word to be the same with nas, which signifies to glister with light, whence nes, an ensign or banner displayed. Thus then, according to him, the words should be understood: "God put great honour on Abraham by giving him this opportunity of showing to all successive ages the nature and efficacy of an unshaken faith in the power, goodness, and truth of God." The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel paraphrases the place thus: "And it happened that Isaac and Ishmael contended, and Ishmael said, I ought to be my father's heir, because I am his first-born; but Isaac said, It is more proper that I should be my father's heir, because I am the son of Sarah his wife, and thou art only the son of Hagar, my mother's slave. Then Ishmael answered, I am more righteous than thou, because I was circumcised when I was thirteen years of age, and if I had chosen, I could have prevented my circumcision; but thou wert circumcised when thou wert but eight days old, and if thou hadst had knowledge, thou wouldst probably not have suffered thyself to be circumcised. Then Isaac answered and said, Behold, I am now thirty-six years old, and if the holy and blessed God should require all my members, I would freely surrender them. These words were immediately heard before the Lord of the universe, and מימרא דיי meimera daiya, the WORD of the LORD, did try Abraham." I wish once for all to remark, though the subject has been referred to before, that the Chaldee term מימרא meimera, which we translate word, is taken personally in some hundreds of places in the Targums. When the author, Jonathan, speaks of the Divine Being as doing or saying any thing, he generally represents him as performing the whole by his meimera, which he appears to consider, not as a speech or word spoken, but as a person quite distinct from the Most High. St. John uses the word λογος in precisely the same sense with the Targumists, John 1:1; see the notes there, and see before on Genesis 21:22, and Genesis 15:1.