Genesis 22:2
in Genesis 22“Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, 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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Genesis 22
Commentary
4 notes on this verse(Chapter 22, Verse 2.) And God said to him: Take your beloved son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the high land, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will tell you. It is difficult to translate the Hebrew language into Latin. Where it is now said, go to the high land, in Hebrew it has Moriah, which Aquila translated as 'the visible', that is, clear, and Symmachus, 'the vision', that is, sight.
This site's exposition
your only son Isaac, whom you love
The command names the cost three times over, your only son Isaac, whom you love. Clarke, following Warburton, marks how each clause raises the price. Love is named here for the first time in Scripture, and it is a father's love for the son he is told to offer. Moriah is where 2 Chronicles 3:1 puts Solomon's temple.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Take now thy son - Bishop Warburton’s observations on this passage are weighty and important. “The order in which the words are placed in the original gradually increases the sense, and raises the passions higher and higher: Take now thy son, (rather, take I beseech thee נא na), thine only son whom thou lovest, even Isaac. Jarchi imagines this minuteness was to preclude any doubt in Abraham.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Take now thy son, &c.--Every circumstance mentioned was calculated to give a deeper stab to the parental bosom. To lose his only son, and by an act of his own hand, too!--what a host of conflicting feelings must the order have raised!
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
After these events, Elohim tested Avraham and said to him, Avraham! and he [Avraham] said, Here I am.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
25 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֡אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| קַח־ | kach- | take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| נָ֠א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בִּנְךָ֨ | binkha | son your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְחִֽידְךָ֤ | yechidekha | only [son] your | H3173 → | 12 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָהַ֙בְתָּ֙ | ʾahavta | you love | H157 → | 211 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִצְחָ֔ק | yitzchak | Isaac | H3327 → | 108 times |
| וְלֶךְ־ | velekh- | and go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לְךָ֔ | lekha | for <the> yourself | ||
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶ֖רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַמֹּרִיָּ֑ה | hamoriyah | <the> Moriah | H4179 → | |
| וְהַעֲלֵ֤הוּ | vehaalehu | and offer up him | H5927 → | 890 times |
| שָׁם֙ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| לְעֹלָ֔ה | leolah | to a burnt offering | H5930 → | 287 times |
| עַ֚ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אַחַ֣ד | ʾachad | one of | H259 → | 971 times |
| הֶֽהָרִ֔ים | heharim | the mountains | H2022 → | 546 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֹמַ֥ר | ʾomar | I will tell | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלֶֽיךָ׃ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
וַיֹּ֡אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
קַח־take
kach-H3947 →966 times
נָ֠אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בִּנְךָ֨son your
binkhaH1121 →4930 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְחִֽידְךָ֤only [son] your
yechidekhaH3173 →12 times
אֲשֶׁר־whom
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אָהַ֙בְתָּ֙you love
ʾahavtaH157 →211 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִצְחָ֔קIsaac
yitzchakH3327 →108 times
וְלֶךְ־and go
velekh-H1980 →1546 times
לְךָ֔for <the> yourself
lekha
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֶ֖רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
הַמֹּרִיָּ֑ה<the> Moriah
hamoriyahH4179 →
וְהַעֲלֵ֤הוּand offer up him
vehaalehuH5927 →890 times
שָׁם֙there
shamH8033 →834 times
לְעֹלָ֔הto a burnt offering
leolahH5930 →287 times
עַ֚לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
אַחַ֣דone of
ʾachadH259 →971 times
הֶֽהָרִ֔יםthe mountains
heharimH2022 →546 times
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֹמַ֥רI will tell
ʾomarH559 →5305 times
אֵלֶֽיךָ׃to you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 3:16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
it leads to
- Romans 5:8
But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- 1 John 4:9–10
This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
- Romans 8:32
He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?
- John 3:15
that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.
- John 11:25–26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
- Romans 5:8
Through
Romans 8:32He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?
it leads to
- John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- Romans 8:28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Psalms 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- John 3:16
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis.