Genesis 22 · Verse 2

Genesis 22:2

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.
Genesis 22:2, King James Version

Genesis 22:2 in other translations

BSB“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.”
WEBHe said, “Now take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of.”
ASVAnd 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.
YLTAnd He saith, ‘Take, I pray thee, thy son, thine only one, whom thou hast loved, even Isaac, and go for thyself unto the land of Moriah, and cause him to ascend there for a burnt-offering on one of the mountains of which I speak unto thee.'
DARBYAnd he said, Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and there offer him up for a burnt-offering on one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
BBEAnd he said to him, Take your son, your dearly loved only son Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and give him as a burned offering on one of the mountains of which I will give you knowledge.
WebsterAnd he said, Take now thy son, thy only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will name to thee.

What does Genesis 22:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. 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! But he heard and obeyed without a murmur (Ga 1:16; Lu 14:26).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 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. Abraham desired earnestly to be let into the mystery of redemption; and God, to instruct him in the infinite extent of the Divine goodness to mankind, who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, let Abraham feel by experience what it was to lose a beloved son, the son born miraculously when Sarah was past child-bearing, as Jesus was miraculously born of a virgin. The duration, too, of the action, Gen 22:4, was the same as that between Christ's death and resurrection, both which are designed to be represented in it; and still farther not only the final archetypical sacrifice of the Son of God was figured in the command to offer Isaac, but the intermediate typical sacrifice in the Mosaic economy was represented by the permitted sacrifice of the ram offered up, Gen 22:13, instead of Isaac." See Dodd. Only son - All that he had by Sarah his legal wife. The land of Moriah - This is supposed to mean all the mountains of Jerusalem, comprehending Mount Gihon or Calvary, the mount of Sion and of Acra. As Mount Calvary is the highest ground to the west, and the mount of the temple is the lowest of the mounts, Mr. Mann conjectures that it was upon this mount Abraham offered up Isaac, which is well known to be the same mount on which our blessed Lord was crucified. Beer-sheba, where Abraham dwelt, is about forty-two miles distant from Jerusalem, and it is not to be wondered at that Abraham, Isaac, the two servants, and the ass laden with wood for the burnt-offering, did not reach this place till the third day; see Gen 22:4.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 22:1-2

We never are secure from trials In Hebrew, to tempt, and to try, or to prove, are expressed by the same word. Every trial is indeed a temptation, and tends to show the dispositions of the heart, whether holy or unholy. But God proved Abraham, not to draw him to sin, as Satan tempts. Strong faith is often exercised with strong trials, and put upon hard services. The command to offer up his son, is given in such…

Read the full comment on Genesis 22:1-2 →

Genesis 22:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֡אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
קַח\־kach-takeH3947
נָ֠אna'pleaseH4994
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
בִּנְךָ֨bin.Khason yourH1121
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יְחִֽידְךָ֤ye.chi.de.Khaonly [son] yourH3173
אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whomH834
אָהַ֙בְתָּ֙'a.Hav.tayou loveH157
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יִצְחָ֔קyitz.ChakIsaacH3327
וְלֶךְ\־ve.lekh-and goH1980
לְךָ֔le.Khafor <the> yourself
אֶל\־'el-toH413
אֶ֖רֶץ'E.retz[the] land ofH776
הַמֹּרִיָּ֑הha.mo.ri.Yah<the> MoriahH4179
וְהַעֲלֵ֤הוּve.ha.'a.Le.huand offer up himH5927
שָׁם֙shamthereH8033
לְעֹלָ֔הle.'o.Lahto a burnt offeringH5930
עַ֚ל'alonH5921
אַחַ֣ד'a.Chadone ofH259
הֶֽהָרִ֔יםhe.ha.Rimthe mountainsH2022
אֲשֶׁ֖ר'a.SherwhichH834
אֹמַ֥ר'o.MarI will tellH559
אֵלֶֽיךָ\׃'e.Lei.khato youH413

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 22:2

  • John 3:16

    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

  • Romans 8:32

    He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

  • Hebrews 11:17

    By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

  • 1 John 4:9-10

    In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

  • Genesis 17:19

    And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

  • Genesis 22:12

    And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

  • Genesis 22:16

    And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

  • 2 Kings 3:27

    Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

  • Judges 11:39

    And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

  • Genesis 21:12

    And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

  • Judges 11:31

    Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

  • 2 Chronicles 3:1

    Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Take.
17:19; 21:12; Joh 3:16; Ro 5:8; 8:32; Heb 11:17; 1Jo 4:9,10
Moriah.
2Ch 3:1
and offer.
Jud 11:31,39; 2Ki 3:27; Mic 6:7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 22:1

    And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

  • Genesis 22:2

    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.

  • Genesis 22:3

    And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Read all of Genesis 22

Genesis 22:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y dijo: Toma ahora tu hijo, tu único, Isaac, á quien amas, y vete á tierra de Moriah, y ofrécelo allí en holocausto sobre uno de los montes que yo te diré.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Dieu dit: Prends ton fils, ton unique, celui que tu aimes, Isaac, et va-t’en au pays de Morija, et là offre-le en holocauste, sur une des montagnes que je te dirai.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und er sprach: Nimm deinen Sohn, deinen einzigen, den du lieb hast, den Isaak, und ziehe hin in das Land Morija, und opfere ihn daselbst als Brandopfer auf einem der Berge, den ich dir sagen werde.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Ait illi: Tolle filium tuum unigenitum, quem diligis, Isaac, et vade in terram visionis, atque ibi offeres eum in holocaustum super unum montium quem monstravero tibi.