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Chapter 21
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Genesis, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
God, Humanity, and Creation
Mistrust, Disobedience, and Death
Covenants and Faith in God’s Promises
The Role of Women
Summary
Analysis
After this, God tests Abraham. He summons Abraham and commands him to take his beloved son, Isaac, to the land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt sacrifice on a mountain there. So Abraham cuts wood for the offering, loads his donkey, and sets off with Isaac and two servants. After three days’ journey, they see the mountain in the distance. Abraham takes Isaac off alone to worship; Isaac carries the wood for the burnt offering. Isaac asks Abraham why they don’t have a lamb for the offering. Abraham tells Isaac that God will provide the lamb.
Genesis doesn’t reveal exactly how much time has passed since Isaac’s birth. It’s clear, however, that having just sent Ishmael into the wilderness, Abraham is now being asked to give up Isaac as well. This is a profound test of his faith in what God has promised to him, especially considering that child sacrifice doesn’t seem to have been a normal part of his culture. Abraham’s comment to Isaac suggests that he still trusts God to fulfill his promise somehow.
Themes
On the mountain, Abraham builds an altar. Then he binds Isaac and places his son on the wood of the altar. As Abraham is drawing his knife to kill Isaac, the angel of the LORD calls Abraham, telling him not to harm his son—now God knows that Abraham fears him. When Abraham looks up, he sees a ram caught in a nearby thicket. Abraham offers the ram as a sacrifice instead. The angel of the LORD addresses Abraham again, affirming that because Abraham has not withheld his only son, God will bless him, making his offspring as numerous as the stars or the sand on the seashore. After returning home to Beer-sheba, Abraham hears that his brother, Nahor, has eight children by his wife Milcah. Nahor’s son Bethuel has a daughter named Rebekah.
At the last possible moment, God stops Abraham from following through on the sacrifice, and Abraham sees that God has indeed provided an alternative sacrifice. God then reaffirms his covenant with Abraham that he will provide many offspring. Some Christian interpreters have viewed Isaac as a prefiguring of Christ. Meanwhile, back home, the news of Nahor’s offspring likewise hints at the future expansion of Abraham’s family, as Rebekah will marry Isaac.
Themes
