The Bible Book

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also mean reverence and respect.

Abraham’s trust and obedience

shows he respects God’s will.

Earlier, Abraham told Isaac that

God would provide a lamb for their

burnt offering. The Hebrew for

“provide” is the same as the word

for “see.” When Abraham looks up,

he sees a ram in a nearby thicket.

Abraham takes the ram and offers it

in place of his son. Genesis tells us

that he named the place “The Lord

will provide” (22:14)—suggesting a

place where God revealed himself,

or let himself be seen.

Multitude of blessings

So far, God has blessed Abraham

six times in Genesis. The voice

from heaven now pronounces God’s

seventh and final blessing upon

him: “I swear by myself, declares

the Lord, that because you have

done this and have not withheld

your son, your only son, I will

surely bless you.” The covenant

contained in the blessing is

threefold. Yet again, God swears

to make Abraham’s offspring

numerous, “as numerous as the

stars in the sky and as the sand on

the seashore” (22:17). God promises

to give Abraham’s descendants

victory in the face of their enemies.

In addition, God promises to bless

GENESIS

the entire world through them. After

receiving the blessing, Abraham

rejoins his followers and they make

their way home.

A symbolic death

Some commentators view the

ordeal of Isaac as an initiation

rite involving a symbolic process

of death and rebirth. In many

cultures across the world, young

men are put through an ordeal in

which it seems, for a while, they

will die. The purpose of the shock

and terror of this experience is to

prepare them for real death when

it comes. It also creates a rupture

with childhood. Through their

symbolic death and rebirth, the

young men leave their parents

and infancy behind to take on

the responsibilities of adulthood.

In many ways, the story of

Isaac’s near-sacrifice fits this

pattern. Father and son both

undergo an ordeal. For Abraham

it is the last test in a life of faith

and obedience to God, leading to

a culminating blessing or covenant.

After this, his life’s journey is nearly

done. The blessing passes to Isaac,

the next link in the patriarchal and

covenantal chain. ■

Hands decorated with henna bid

people Eid Mubarak (blessed Eid)

on Eid al-Adha in India. On this

day, Muslims sacrifice a lamb to

commemorate Abraham’s

willingness to obey God’s

command and sacrifice his son.

Festivals of

remembrance

Both Jews and Muslims

celebrate annual festivals

that remember Abraham’s

willingness to sacrifice his

son: for Jews, it is Rosh

Hashanah, the Jewish New

Year, and for Muslims, the

festival of Eid al-Adha. At

Rosh Hashanah, the Akedah,

or Binding of Isaac, in Genesis

22, is one of the key Torah

readings for the feast. It is

also invoked in one of the

feast’s special prayers. In this,

God is asked to remember the

“merciful promise” he made

to Abraham on Mount Moriah

where Abraham “suppressed

his fatherly love in order to do

Your will.” The ritual blowing

of the shofar, or ram’s-horn

trumpet, is linked to the ram.

For Muslims, Eid al-Adha

(“Festival of the Sacrifice”)

commemorates Abraham’s

unconditional submission to

God, but in Islam it is Ishmael,

ancestor of the Arabs, rather

than Isaac whom Abraham

must sacrifice.

And the scripture was

fulfilled that says, “Abraham

believed God, and it

was credited to him as

righteousness,” and he was

called God’s friend.

James 2:23

Through your offspring

all nations on earth will

be blessed, because

you have obeyed me.

Genesis 22:18

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