22:2 God3 said, “Take your son—your only son, whom you love, Isaac4—and go to the land of Moriah!5 Offer him up there as a burnt offering6 on one of the mountains which I will indicate to7 you.”
tnHeb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4
snTake your son … Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.
5
sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.
6
sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.