Commentary: Genesis 22 Part One: "Setting the Stage"

(Please read "Disclaimer" March 27, 2007 for explanation of this article)

This is the first commentary that I will post and I have divided it into several parts. Please be sure to read all of Genesis 22 (I used the NASB) to understand the background of the story. It's the story of Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac.

Setting the Stage: The story opens with the following statement, “Now, it came about after these things…” In order for the reader to understand the initial setting of the text, he must first observe what “things” had taken place prior to the evolving drama. If one were to look back over Genesis 21, one would observe that God’s promise to Abraham had just been fulfilled; Isaac, the promised son, had been born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. Another key event in this chapter is that the “mistake” or “works of the flesh,” namely Hagar and Ishmael, have been sent away, and with them the contention and strife that had arisen between the two families. Following this, the reader learns that Abraham is prospering and has made a covenant of peace with the neighboring ruler, Abimelech. In other words, “after these things” tells the reader that “all is well” in the house of Abraham. His life has finally been put in order; God’s promise has been fulfilled, the strife of his mistake has been eliminated, and he is prospering peacefully in the land of God’s promise.

As the story continues, the reader watches Abraham take a journey with his son and two young men of his camp to a designated place on a mountain in the land of Moriah, a site that God had designated as the proper place for the offering. Hence, the readers can ascertain that this is a holy mountain, and the setting will be of a holy ritual, for worship. Moreover, this mountain is ascended away from the characters’ homes; the characters are forced to take a journey to reach this holy place. Though it is located in the Promised Land, this mountain will still be strange to the characters, rather than of a comfortable familiar setting. Other aspects of the setting to note are the times mentioned, early morning departure and the “third day sighting” of the place of worship, which are key elements that will prove revelatory of Abraham’s character as well as to the overall drama of the Biblical narrative in its entirety.

Characters: There are several characters mentioned throughout the chapter. The characters of primary focus are God, Abraham, and Isaac, the angel of the Lord, the ram, and the implied/absent lamb. The incidental characters are the young men, who accompanied Abraham and Isaac. Then, in the “following actions” section, the reader comes across a long list of characters that are not necessarily relevant to the initial drama of the story, but do play a part in connecting this drama to those following it. These names are Milcah, Nahor (Abraham’s brother), Nahor’s sons: Uz, Buz, Kemuel (and Kemuel’s son Aram), Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel; Bethuel’s daughter, Rebekah, Nahor’s concubine Reumah, and her children: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.


Conflict: The conflict occurs in the first sentence of the narrative, “Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham…” This conflict is a “test,” and the reader discovers the nature of the test in verse 2, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love…and offer him there as a burnt offering…” The conflict Abraham faces is twofold. First, God approaches him with a command that immediately disrupts the peace and order, which he had finally realized in his camp. God commands Abraham to slay his son as an offering to the Lord. Moreover, this son was the result of God’s promise to him, which indicated that he would indeed bear a son from Sarah in their old age, a miracle baby, and that he, Isaac, would be his heir and carry in his loins a great nation. Now, God was, in a sense, revoking this promise that He had made to Abraham concerning all of his descendents. Not only was Abraham being forced to choose between the God he served and the son he loved, he was tested on his faith in the very nature of the God he served: is this God of his, Who had proved Himself faithful in the provision of the miracle wonder of Isaac, about to show Himself false? Regardless of these questions or crises of belief, Abraham does as his God instructs.

Here the reader learns an element of the Abraham’s character, which God is testing, in verse 3, “Abraham rose early in the morning…” Abraham obeyed the command of the Lord quickly, without delay. He did not wait until he thought about the impending consequences of God’s instructions; he listened and obeyed. Moreover, the reader sees in verse 4 the inference of the third day. It can be argued that Abraham may have arrived at the destination of the mountain, but did not pursue to set up an altar for the offering until after the Lord showed him the place He desired for the worship service. These two depictions of time clearly identify Abraham’s devout loyalty and faith to his God.

Now, the tension develops. Abraham sees the place where he is supposed to slay his son; what does he do? He instructs his company to remain while he and his son go to this site where “we will worship and return to you…” He is implying that both of them will return after they have conducted the sacrifice. What is his motive for, in essence, deceiving his company? Abraham is not a stranger to deception; he had spoken lies before concerning Sarah to protect himself. So, it is natural to assume that Abraham is concealing his true intentions, his reasons being that did not wish to alarm the boy or his men. However, is it possible that he is so confident in the nature of his God that he believes that, even if he did slay Isaac, God had the power to raise his dead son to life again and His promise of descendents would be fulfilled. In any case, the tension builds as father and son, with all necessary tools in hand, proceed to the sacrifice site alone.

The tension rises even further when Isaac recognizes the apparent absence of the lamb for the sacrifice. “Father, where is the lamb?...” How does Abraham respond? “God will provide…” Is he deceiving his son, or is this answer another depiction of his firm conviction in the faithfulness of his God?