References (123)
God replied, "No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear a son, and you shall name him Isaac [Hebr. Yits-chak from the verb meaning to laugh], and I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for him and his seed (descendants, offspring) after him.
But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this appointed time next year."
And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. [Isaac (Hebr. Yits-chak) means "he laughs." Since Isaac is an important image of Jesus, it is worth noting the connection to his coming with joy.]
And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God (Elohim) had commanded him.
And Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
The child grew and was weaned. And Abraham arranged (held) a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. [Probably at the age of 4-5.]
Therefore, she said to Abraham, "Cast out this servant woman and her son, for the servant woman's son shall not be heir with my son, my Isaac."
And God (Elohim) said to Abraham, "Let this not be painful (sad, distressing) in your eyes because of the young man and because of your servant woman. In all that Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice (what she has said), for in (through) Isaac shall seed (descendants, future generations) be named after you.
He (God) said, "Now take (I beg you) your son, your only (precious – Hebr. jachid) son whom you love (Hebr. ahava) – Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering (Hebr. olah) to me, on a mountain that I will tell you about."
[In this verse, the word jachid is used for the first time. The word describes something that is precious. Abraham also had Ishmael, but Isaac is the only son born to Sarah. The word for love, ahava, is also used for the first time in the Old Testament here. Ahava means to love or love. It is significant that, just as Abraham loves Isaac, Jesus is God's beloved Son. This entire chapter is a picture of how God will sacrifice Jesus for all of humanity. In every detail, we see here many foreshadowings of what will happen later. God proved his love for us by giving his only Son. In fact, this is an important prerequisite for the continuation of the covenant that God made with Abraham in . If Abraham is willing to sacrifice his son, God is prepared to do the same, which also happens 2,000 years later. In a blood covenant, both parties must be willing to make the same sacrifices for each other.]
Abraham rose early the next morning and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young men (Hebr. naar) [servants] and Isaac, his son. He split wood for the burnt offering, got up, and went to the place God had told him about.
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. He took the fire in his hand and the knife, and they both went together.
Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, "My father," and he replied, "Here I am, my son." He said, "We have fire and wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" [This is the second time Abraham says "here I am" in this chapter, see also verses 1 and 11.]
And they came to the place that God (Elohim) had told him about, and Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood. Then he bound (Hebr. aqed) Isaac, his son, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. [In Judaism, this story has been given the name Akedah – "the binding" of Isaac.]
Instead, it shall be someone from my country and from my relatives, and you shall take (seek out, find) a wife for my son Isaac."
Let it be that the young woman to whom I say, 'Put down your pitcher so that I may drink,' and she replies, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels water,' let her be the one chosen for your servant, for Isaac, so that I may know that you have shown mercy (loving kindness) to my master."
Isaac came from Beer Lachai Roi, for he lived in the land of the Negev.
Toward the evening, Isaac went out into the field tinking (in deep thought), and he lifted up his eyes and saw—and behold [Hebr. vehinneh – a shift in perspective; we see through Isaac’s eyes]: There were camels coming!
Rebekah looked up and when she saw Isaac, she got off her came and
The servant recounted (listed – Hebr. safar) to Isaac everything he had done.
Isaac brought her [Rebekah] into his mother Sarah’s tent [welcomed her into their family, introduced her to the family traditions, etc.]. He married Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. Thus Isaac was comforted [in his grief] after his mother.
But Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac.
But to the sons of his concubines, whom Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts. And he sent them away from his son Isaac while he was still alive, eastward, to the eastern regions.
Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the cave in
Machpela in the field that lies before Mamre, which
(formerly) belonged to Ephron, the son of Zohar, the Hittite,
After Abraham's death, God (Elohim) blessed his son Isaac, and Isaac lived in Beer Lachai Roi.
[Here comes a new "toledot unit" (the ninth of twelve in Genesis). The creation story begins, and then there follow 11 units that begin with the Hebrew word toledot, see ; ; ; ; , ; , ; , ; . The story picks up from the chapter where Isaac gets his wife Rebekah. The new information the reader gets here is that Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebecca as his wife.]
This is the account of Isaac, Abraham's son (continued story – Hebr. ). Abraham became the father of Isaac.
And it came to pass
(Hebr. vajehi) that
Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah, daughter of the Aramean Bethuel from
Paddan-Aram and sister of the Aramean Laban, as his wife.[This was the area around Haran in Upper Mesopotamia.
Isaac lives to be 180 years old
(), which means that he still has 140 years left of his earthly life when he marries. In Jewish culture, men are around 18-20 and women are often 14-15 at the time of marriage, but life expectancy is 70-80 years.]
Isaac pleaded (prayed to – Hebr. atar) to the Lord (Yahweh) for his wife, because she was barren. The Lord (Yahweh) answered his prayer (Hebr. atar) and Rebekah became pregnant. Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah and 60 years old when his prayer was answered, see verses 20 and 26. It was a persistent prayer for nearly 20 years. The word for prayer here is unusual.
And then his brother came—and his hand held on to Esau's heel (Hebr. akev). And he was named Jacob (Hebr. Jaaqov). Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.
[Both sons' names are included in wordplay. Jacob's name alludes to him "holding the heel." The older brother is thus named after his appearance and the younger after his actions. Esau was born reddish, and Jacob was born to grab someone by the heel. The verb aqav has a negative meaning of pushing away, deceiving, and taking away, see ; .]
And Isaac loved Esau because he got to eat his game [literally: "for game in his mouth"], while Rebekah loved Jacob.
There was a famine in the land, a famine unlike the one in Abraham's days.
Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at
Gerar.
[Gerar marked the southern border of Canaan and was located near Gaza, see .]So Isaac stayed (Hebr. jashav) in Gerar.
It happened that after he had been there a long time, the Philistine king Avimelech looked out of a window and saw Isaac (Hebr. Yitzchak) laughing (fooling around, having fun, joking, "playfully fighting" – Hebr. tsachaq) with Rebekah, his wife.
[Hebrew tsachaq is similar to Isaac's name, which means laughter, see , . The same word is used by Potiphar's wife when she accuses Joseph of assaulting her, see , . The word is also used to describe how Ishmael mocked Isaac, see . All of this reinforces how Isaac ignored and "mocked" God's promise of protection, and lied to protect himself.]
Avimelech called Isaac and said, "Behold, she is indeed your wife; how could you say, 'She is my sister'?"
Isaac answered him, "Because I said to myself, 'Otherwise I will die because of her.
Isaac sowed in the land and reaped a hundredfold that same year [the greatest yield possible, see ], and the Lord (Yahweh) blessed him.
Avimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are much more powerful than we are."
Isaac left the area and camped in the valley of Gerar (wadi – Hebr. nachal) and settled there.
Isaac reopened the wells of water that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham's death. He gave them the same names his father had given them.
Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found a place with a spring of living (fresh) water.
The shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's shepherds and said, "The water is ours." He named the spring Esek [meaning argument, quarrel, or strife], because they quarreled with him.
He built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord (Yahweh) and pitched his tent in that place, and Isaac's servants dug a well there.
Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me, you who hate me and have sent me away from you?"
And they rose up in the morning and swore (made a covenant) to each other, and Isaac sent them away, and they left him in peace.
It happened that day that Isaac's servants came and told him about the wells they had dug and said to him, "We have found water."
These [two women] became a source of bitterness (a sorrow, the word can also mean rebellion) for Isaac and Rebekah.
[The fact that only the older brother Esau is mentioned, and that the parents are disappointed in him, leads the reader to suspect that this will be developed further in the next chapter. Rebekah uses Esau's marriage to the Hittites as a cover to send Jacob to Paddan-Aram to find a wife for him, see ; .]
When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim [probably from cataracts] so that he could not see, he called Esau, his older son, and said to him, "My son,"
and he replied, "Here I am." [Hebr. hineni – I am at your disposal, I am ready to take responsibility, see .]
Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. And Esau went out into the field to hunt a deer and bring it home.
But Isaac asked his son, "How did you find it so quickly, my son?"
He replied, "Because the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim) let me have good hunting luck (literally: 'sent me before his face')."
Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come closer, I beg you, so that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not."
And Jacob went close to his father Isaac, and he felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are Esau's hands."
And his father Isaac said to him, "Come near now and kiss me, my son."
And it came to pass, that as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing James, James went out the door of his father's house, and Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
And Isaac, his father, said to him, "Who are you?" He replied, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau."
And Isaac trembled violently and said, "Who then is the one who took the game and gave it to me, and I have eaten all of it before you came, and has blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed."
And Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Behold, I have made him a lord, and all his brothers I have given to him as servants, and with grain and wine I have provided for him. What else can I do for you, my son?"
And Isaac his father answered and said to him,
"Behold, your dwelling shall be far from the fat [rich/blessed] places of the earth
and without the dew of heaven above.
And Rebekah said to Isaac, "I loathe my life (am weary of life) because of the daughters of Heth [whom Esau married, see ]. If [now also] Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, one of these daughters of the land, why should I live?"
And Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and admonished him and said to him, "You shall not take a wife from among the daughters of Canaan.
And Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-Aram, to Laban the Aramean, the son of Bethuel and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-Aram to take a wife from there, and that he had blessed him and commanded him, saying, "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,"
and Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father,
Suddenly he saw the Lord (Yahweh) himself standing at the top and saying, "I am the Lord (Yahweh), the God of your father [ancestor] Abraham and [your father] Isaac. [Note that God has not yet become Jacob's God; that happens only after the wrestling match in .] The land on which you are now lying, I will give to you and your seed [descendants].
and took all his livestock and all the property he had acquired, the livestock he had acquired and acquired in Paddan-Aram, and went to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.
Had not the God of my father (Elohim) been with me—the God of Abraham (Elohim) whom Isaac also reveres—you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God saw my suffering and my toil, and he passed judgment last night."
The God of Abraham and Nahor shall be judge between us, he who was the God of their father." And Jacob swore by him whom his father Isaac revered.
And Jacob said, "O God (Elohim) of my father Abraham and God (Elohim) of my father Isaac, O Lord (Yahweh), you who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will deal well with you.
And the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you, and to your descendants after you I will give the land."
And Jacob came to Isaac his father at Mamre, to Kirjath-Arba, that is, Hebron (Hebr. Chevrón), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
And Isaac's days were 180 years.
And Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days (sated, fulfilled; literally: "sevenfold" – Hebr. savea), and Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him.
[The list of the twelve sons here follows the mothers (Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah) and the order of birth of each mother. Joseph and Benjamin are placed centrally. Below are the sons, also in order of birth:
Leah
1. Reuben
2. Simeon
3. Levi
4. Judah
9. Issachar
10. Zebulun
Rachel
11. Joseph
12. Benjamin
Bilhah (Rachel's maid)
5. Dan.
6. Naphtali
Zilpah (Leah's maid)
7. Gad
8. Asher
There are a total of 28 enumerations in the Old Testament, see also .]
Israel
[Jacob] made the journey with all that he owned and came to
Beer-Sheva. There he sacrificed to the God
(Elohim) of his father
Isaac.
He blessed Joseph and said:
"The God (Elohim – in the definite form: the God) before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God (Elohim – in the definite form: the God) who has been my shepherd ("has led me") [who has led me and brought me to pasture]
all my long life [from my birth] to this day,
the angel (the messenger) [the Lord himself] who redeemed (freed) me from all evil (all wickedness)
– may he bless the young men.
And let my name be mentioned in them
and the names of my fathers – Abraham and Isaac,
and let them grow in number (become many) in the midst of the land (over the earth)." []
[Here, the Hebrew verb gaal (to redeem) is used for the first time in the Bible. The noun with the same root – redeemer – is one of the names of Jesus. His mission on the cross was to redeem, see ; ; . Therefore, it is no coincidence that the expression "all evil" is included when gaal appears for the first time in Scripture. It prophetically points to what is in God's plan of salvation.]
There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah, his wife, and there I buried Leah.
Joseph said to his brothers, "I am dying, but God (Elohim) will surely visit you (Hebr. ) and bring you up out of this land, just as he swore (promised) to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
When God heard their cries, he remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
He continued, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
God also said to Moses, "This is what you shall say to the Israelites: 'The Lord (Yahweh), the God of your fathers (Elohim) – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is how I will be remembered from generation to generation.
Now go and gather the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The Lord (Yahweh), the God of your fathers (Elohim)—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Elohim)—has appeared to me and said, "I have seen what is happening to you in Egypt,
The Lord said, "This [sign] is so that the elders will believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to you."
I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty (El-Shaddai) [; ]. However, I did not make myself known (they did not experience me) by my name Yahweh.
I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
I will give it to you as an inheritance and property.
I am the Lord (Yahweh)."
[In , Hebr. gaal is used for the first time in Exodus. This entire story of how God frees the Israelites from slavery is the single greatest typology in the entire Old Testament of what Jesus does during Holy Week when he goes to the cross for us as our Redeemer (Hebr. goel; the noun form of the verb gaal), see also ; .]
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you promised (swore, gave your oath) by yourself and said to them, 'I will multiply your seed (so that it becomes) like the stars of heaven and all this land that I have said I will give to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.
The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses: "Go up, you and the people you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land that I promised (swore, gave my oath) to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants,'
then I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac, and my covenant with Abraham—I will remember them, and I will remember the land.
Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from 20 years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me,
Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord (Yahweh) swore (gave his oath) to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and their seed after them (descendants).' "
And it shall be when the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim) brings you into the land that he swore (promised) to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you, great and good cities that you did not build (yourself),
It is not for your righteousness and the uprightness of your heart (righteousness, integrity – Hebr. josher) that you are going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim) is driving them out before you and to confirm the word that the Lord (Yahweh) swore (promised) to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not look at the stubbornness of this people, nor at their wickedness, nor at their sin,
that he may make you his own people (his possession) today and he may be a God to you (your possession) as he has spoken to you, and as he has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. [; ]
To choose life is to:
love the Lord (Yahweh), your God (Elohim),
hear his voice (obey him),
cling to him.
He is your life, and he will let you live long in the land he promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. [; ]
[Loving God and following his commandments is the only way to a good life. Moses' tone is warm but clear; see also Paul's speech to the church leaders in Ephesus, see .]
The Lord (Yahweh) said to him, "This is the land that I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give to their descendants. I will let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross over there."
And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river and led him through all the lands of Canaan and multiplied his seed and gave him Isaac.
And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it, and Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
And it came to pass, when it was time for the sacrifice [the evening sacrifice], that the prophet Elijah came near and said, "Lord (Yahweh), God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Israel, let it be known today that you are God (Elohim) in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all this at your words (because of all you have said).
But the Lord (Yahweh) showed them mercy (undeserved mercy – Hebr. chanan) and was gracious to them and turned his face toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and did not want to destroy them, nor had he cast them away from his presence until now.
Abraham's sons were Isaac and Ishmael.
And Abraham became the father of Isaac. Isaac's sons were Esau and Israel.
The covenant he established (cut) with Abraham,
and the oath he gave to Isaac.
[The covenant is a blood covenant, ; ; and in Hebrew the expression is always that one cuts a covenant. This points to Jesus, who, when he gave us the renewed covenant, did so with his wounds and by shedding his blood for us.]
Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, let the hearts and minds of your people be ready for such things forever, and turn their hearts to you.
The messengers set out with the letters from the king and his princes, and they traveled throughout Israel and Judah according to the king's command. They said:
"O children of Israel, return to the Lord (Yahweh), the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Then he will return to the remnant of you who have been saved from the hand of the kings of Assyria.
The covenant he established (cut) with Abraham,
and the oath he gave to Isaac.
[The covenant is a blood covenant, ; ; and in Hebrew the expression is always that one "cuts a covenant," pointing to Jesus who, when he gave us the renewed covenant, did so with his wounds and by shedding his blood for us.]
then I will also reject the seed of Jacob and my servant David, so that I will not take his seed to reign over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for I will bring back their captives and will have mercy on them (eternal mercy and compassion – Hebr. rachamim).
and the high places of Isaac and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."
Therefore, hear now the word of the Lord (Yahweh), you who say, 'Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.
[The first part has fourteen links between Abraham and David. Thirty names are mentioned, including repetitions and Serach, see , who is not included in the family tree. Of these, 27 are men and three are women.]
Abraham begot Isaac,
Isaac begot Jacob,
Jacob begot Judah and his brothers,
I tell you: Many will come from the east and west [Gentiles from all corners of the earth] and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (the kingdom of the heavens).
'I am [not was] the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living!"
But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read in the book of Moses [, which was the part of the Bible they believed in] about [the burning] bush, how God said to Moses, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
son to Jacob,
son of Isaac,
son of Abraham,
son of Terah (Terach),
son of Nahor (Nachor),
There you will weep and gnash your teeth (there will be anguish, hatred, and evil), when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, while you yourselves are cast out. [Many Jews considered themselves to belong to the kingdom of God because they were born Jude, while Jesus teaches that one must be born again.]
Moses has clearly shown (he has revealed something that is hidden) that the dead are resurrected in the story of the burning bush []. Here Moses calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob [even though they were not living here on earth when Moses said this].
No [it was not us who performed the miracle], the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – the God of our fathers – has glorified his servant (son) Jesus. [It is through Jesus that the man has been healed.] You handed him over and denied him before Pilate when he had decided to release him.
He gave him the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
[The circumcision of Jewish boys is a sign of God's eternal covenant with Abraham, see . Already in Moses' time, God made it clear that the physical sign was not enough – the heart also needed to be circumcised, see ; ; . The ceremony is performed on the eighth day and is called brit mila, see also .]
'I am the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' [] Then Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.
and not all of Abraham's descendants are his children. "No, it is through Isaac that your descendants will be counted." [Quote from . Abraham first had Ishmael with Hagar and later more children with Keturah, but the promise applied to Sarah and her son Isaac.]
[Some may object that the promise applied to Isaac, since he was Sarah's child. In the next example, he therefore mentions Rebekah, who was Isaac's only wife. Here, God chooses the younger twin before they are even born and have done neither good nor evil.]
But not only that, Rebekah also had two sons by one and the same man, our father Isaac.
Siblings (brothers and sisters in faith), we are now children [not natural children like Ishmael, but] like Isaac, children of promise.
By faith he settled in the promised land as in a foreign country. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were co-heirs to the same promise,
In faith, Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when he was tested []. He offered his only son, even though he had received the promises
and God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your descendants will be counted."
In faith, Isaac gave his blessing to Jacob and Esau for the times to come [].
[Two examples of how faith and deeds are connected are taken from the Old Testament. Abraham – a jew, and Rahab – a pagan.]
Was not our father Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? [Abraham was the forefather of the Israelites, see . He was willing to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, see .]
