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.
Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac - х yachiyd (H3173), one alone, only.] It sometimes stands absolutely (Proverbs 4:3; Jeremiah 6:26; Zechariah 12:10); but here and elsewhere is accompanied by the word х been (H1121)] son. Isaac was not the only son. [The Septuagint translates only, ton (G3588) huion (G5207) sou (G4675) ton (G3588) agapapeeton (G25), 'thy beloved son.' Paul (Hebrews 11:17), ton (G3588) monogenee (G3439), "thine only-begotten son" - i:e., thine only legitimate son and heir (cf. Josephus, b. 1: ch. 13:3, sec. 1; also ch. 16:, sec. 3).] The command was issued in such terms as admitted of no entreaty and no evasion. Every circumstance mentioned in it was calculated to give a deeper stab to the parental bosom of Abraham. To lose his only son, in whom all his most cherished hopes were centered-to lose him by an act of his own hand; to be required to offer him as a sacrifice, and that not by the short process of immolation only, but by slowly consuming his body as a burnt offering on an altar-what a host of conflicting emotions must the order have raised! But Abraham heard, and obeyed without a complaint.
Get thee into the land of Moriah - i:e., the land in the vicinity of that mount at Jerusalem. [The name Moriah, which stands in this passage, Moriyaah (H4179), and in 2 Chronicles 3:1, Mowriyh (H4179), is a compound word, consisting of the Hophal participle of raa'aah (H7200), to see, and Yaah (H3050), the abbreviated form of Yahweh (H3068), Jehovah; and it signifies 'the shown of Yahweh' - i:e., the manifestation or appearance of Yahweh.] It has been objected, indeed, by Tuch and others, that the reading of this passage in the present Hebrew Bible is spurious, since the combination of the appellative Yahweh with Jewish proper names was a practice unknown until an advanced period in Jewish history; and that the original text, which is preserved in the Samaritan Pentateuch, had х Mowreh (H4176)], the place of Sichem, where Abraham erected his first altar in Canaan. But the objection is groundless, as there are various instances of the prevalence of that usage in the pre-Mosaic period-Jochebed (Exodus 6:20; Numbers 26:59), Abiah (1 Chronicles 7:8), and Bithiah (1 Chronicles 4:18), have Yaah (H3050), or Yahweh, in them; and Delitzsch, Knobel, and Gesenius maintain that the name Moriah is compounded in the same manner. Besides, the reading in the text is unchallengeable, being supported by the most ancient and independent manuscript authority; whereas the testimony of the Samaritans is open to suspicion, they having been naturally desirous to cluster around their temple on mount Gerizim all the sacred associations they could. The name Moriah in this verse must of course be considered, used proleptically, with reference to the event of Yahweh's appearance to Abraham, which rendered it famous. Wilton, indeed, maintains (in his 'Negeb,' p.
147) that it was already known by that name, from the presence of the mysterious Melchizedek, who, he supposes, might be the Son of God. But that is fanciful. This is the only Scripture passage in which the land of Moriah is mentioned. The Septuagint does not regard it as a proper name, translating it: teen geen teen hupseeleen-the lofty land, and therefore 'seen afar off' (see the note at Genesis 12:6).