Introduction:
 
The events of the Akeidah now concluded, Avraham returns to find that his beloved wife Sarah has passed away. Imagine the turmoil and anguish he must have suffered. The joy of receiving his son back from the dead, figuratively speaking, is now met with the continuing reality, albeit temporary, of the wages of sin. The death of Sarah illuminates the truth that the promised resurrection is prefigured in Yitzchak and yet to come in Yeshua.
 
The Targum Yonatan explains that Satan had told Sarah that Avraham had slaughtered Isaac and upon hearing this she cried out in grief and died. This would explain why Avraham and Isaac were not present at her death:
 
“Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and bewail her” (Genesis 23:2.)
 
The Rabbis suggest that this is the reason that the account of Sarah’s death follows directly after Ha-Akeidah (The Binding of Isaac). The sages remind us however, that Sarah’s appointed time had come regardless of Satan’s role in her demise, and that her last breathe came with the knowledge that she had raised a son who was willing to give up even his life in the service of Hashem.
 
We should also note that this Torah portion is titled, “Chayei Sarah” which translates to, “The Life of Sarah” as opposed to, “The Death of Sarah.” God is the God of the living.
 
Yeshua the King Messiah says:
 
“But concerning the dead being raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moshe about the burning bush? How Elohim said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He’s not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
 
–Mark 12:26-27 
 
וַיִּהְיוּ֙ חַיֵּ֣י שָׂרָ֔ה מֵאָ֥ה שָׁנָ֛ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה וְשֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֑ים שְׁנֵ֖י חַיֵּ֥י שָׂרָֽה׃
 
Gen 23:1 And the life of Sarah (Princess/Queen/Matriarch) was a hundred years and twenty years and seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.
 
The years of Sarah’s life are intentionally divided by the author of the Torah and His scribe. In Hebrew the text reads, “וַיִּהְיוּ֙ חַיֵּ֣י שָׂרָ֔ה מֵאָ֥ה שָׁנָ֛ה Vayi-h’yu chayeiy Sarah meiah (100) shanah (years) וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה v’esriym (20) shanah (years) וְשֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֑ים v’sheva (seven) shaniym (years)...”
 
Rashi suggests that the division of years reflects the progression of Sarah’s spiritual innocence and natural beauty.
 
In Biblical Hebrew thought the number 100 reflects the tenfold completion of the number 10, signifying a fulfilled promise or purpose. The number 20, being twice the completion of 10, may convey the birth and resurrection of Yitzchak, or the first and second fulfilments of the ram’s sacrifice, and the number 7, known by even the Torah novice as a number reflecting creation and the present and perfect manifest kavod (glory) of God (a.k.a Shekhinah), conveys a sense of the perfected purpose of God and His constant presence in Sarah’s life to this point in her story, with the promise of eternal life in the presence of HaShem in the Olam Haba (World to come).
 
By all accounts, this is the passing on of Israel’s first Queen, and prior to this we have already received news of Israel’s second Queen, Rivkah (Rebecca), the one in whom the purposes of God are tightly bound.
 
וַתָּ֣מָת שָׂרָ֗ה בְּקִרְיַ֥ת אַרְבַּ֛ע הִ֥וא חֶבְר֖וֹן בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן וַיָּבֹא֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם לִסְפֹּ֥ד לְשָׂרָ֖ה וְלִבְכֹּתָֽהּ׃
 
Gen 23:2 And Sarah died in קִרְיַ֥ת אַרְבַּ֛ע Kiriat-arba (City of four) - the same is חֶבְר֖וֹן Chevron (Company, Shared, Magician) - in the land of כְּנָ֑עַן C’naan (lowland); and Avraham (Father of many nations) came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
 
"And Avraham came from the mount of worship (Moriah), and found that she (Sarah) was dead, and he sat down to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.''
 
–Targum Yonatan
 
Hebron is situated in the hill country of Judah approximately 32 km south of Jerusalem. The Torah records it as the burial place of each of the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel (Genesis 23:19; 35:27; 49:29-32; 50:13).
 
In laying their bones to rest at Hebron, the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel left a testimony of their faith in what God had promised would come. So too Joseph had instructed the sons of Israel with the prophetic words:
 
“And Yosef (YHVH: Mercy adds) said to his brothers, “I die: and Elohiym (Judge) God will attend, number, appoint, care for and visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which He swore to Avraham (Father of many people), to Yitzchaak (He laughs), and to Yaakov (Follower). And Yosef required an oath of the children of Yisrael (Overcome in God) saying, “Elohiym (Judge) God will attend, number, appoint, care for and visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.””
 
–Bereishit (Genesis) 50:24-25 [Author’s translation]
 
“And Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him; for he had required an oath from b’nai Yisrael (the children of Israel), saying: 'God will surely remember you; and you will carry up my bones away from here with you.'”
 
–Shemot (Exodus) 13:19 [Author’s translation]
 
Hebron was also the first seat of David’s kingdom (2 Samuel 2:1-4; 5:1-5).
 
Sarah died in a city named for a hero (Arba) of the Anakim (Long necked, giants) much later in Israel’s history (Joshua 14:15). It is also considered by Rashi to be a prophetic name in honour of the four (arba) great couples who were buried there: Adam and Eve (Pirke Eliezer, c. 20. & 36), Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah.
 
וַיָּ֙קָם֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם מֵעַ֖ל פְּנֵ֣י מֵת֑וֹ וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֶל־בְּנֵי־חֵ֖ת לֵאמֹֽר׃
 
Gen 23:3 And Avraham rose up from before his dead, and spoke unto the children of חֵ֖ת Chet (Terror), saying:
 
We know from the latter verses that this was taking place at the city gate where business and legal matters were determined in the ancient eastern culture of Avraham’s time.
 
Sadly, today, Avraham’s children continue to rise up from before our dead in order to speak to the children of terror. Though the Historical Biblical record clearly testifies to Israel’s legal ownership of Sarah’s tomb and the surrounding land, Hebron remains under the tacit control of Israel’s enemies (Palestinian Authority).
 
Chet was the son of C’naan, meaning lowland (Genesis 10:15). Thus we read, “The children of Terror from the lowland.”
 
 גֵּר־וְתוֹשָׁ֥ב אָנֹכִ֖י עִמָּכֶ֑ם תְּנ֨וּ לִ֤י אֲחֻזַּת־קֶ֙בֶר֙ עִמָּכֶ֔ם וְאֶקְבְּרָ֥ה מֵתִ֖י מִלְּפָנָֽי׃
 
Gen 23:4 “I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may inter my dead from before my face.”
 
In modern terms we would equate Avraham’s words with a resident immigrant, one who has come from another land but has made his new home among us.
 
Avraham shows tremendous humility in pleading for a tomb for his wife. After all, the land he is asking for has already been promised to him by God.
 
The Midrash illuminates further both the promise of God and the humility of His servant Avraham:
 
“You humiliated yourself before them; by your life, I shall make you a lord and prince over them”
 
-Midrash HaGadol
 
Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik notes that Avraham expresses the two roles a Jew must play. On one hand, a resident and advocate for his country, who prays for the wellbeing of the nation where he lives (Jeremiah 29:7). While on the other hand, a Jew in this world is always an alien, his allegiance is to God and his goal is set out in the Torah [The goal of the Torah being Messiah (Romans 10:4)]. Rav Yosef concludes that a Jew must always be ready to be a lonely alien, resisting the culture that surrounds him and maintaining his unique identity and responsibility.
 
The book of Leviticus describes the people of Israel as resident aliens living on land owned by God (Leviticus 25:23). These same words are also used to convey the transience of human life and the unworthiness of humanity in the face of God’s holiness and provision (2 Chronicles 29:15).
 
וַיַּעֲנ֧וּ בְנֵי־חֵ֛ת אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֥ר לֽוֹ׃
שְׁמָעֵ֣נוּ׀ אֲדֹנִ֗י נְשִׂ֨יא אֱלֹהִ֤ים אַתָּה֙ בְּתוֹכֵ֔נוּ בְּמִבְחַ֣ר קְבָרֵ֔ינוּ קְבֹ֖ר אֶת־מֵתֶ֑ךָ אִ֣ישׁ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ אֶת־קִבְר֛וֹ לֹֽא־יִכְלֶ֥ה מִמְּךָ֖ מִקְּבֹ֥ר מֵתֶֽךָ׃
 
Gen 23:5 And the children of Chet answered Avraham, saying to him: Gen 23:6 “Hear us, my lord (Adoniy): you are a mighty prince among us; choose from our tombs, inter your dead; none of us shall withhold from you his tomb, so that you may inter your dead.”
 
The answer given by the children of Chet is blatant flattery. In fact, the subsequent bartering and the exorbitant asking price shows how little respect they had for Avraham, whom they saw as an immigrant usurper rather than an assimilated member of their society. The social and legal structure of the time saw this first verbal interaction as the initiation of a bargaining protocol. The niceties are simply that, cultural etiquette rather than genuine sentiment.
 
וַיָּ֧קָם אַבְרָהָ֛ם וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּ לְעַם־הָאָ֖רֶץ לִבְנֵי־חֵֽת׃
 וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אִתָּ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר אִם־יֵ֣שׁ אֶֽת־נַפְשְׁכֶ֗ם לִקְבֹּ֤ר אֶת־מֵתִי֙ מִלְּפָנַ֔י שְׁמָע֕וּנִי וּפִגְעוּ־לִ֖י בְּעֶפְר֥וֹן בֶּן־צֹֽחַר׃
 
Gen 23:7 And Avraham rose up, and bowed down to the people of the land, even to the children of Chet. Gen 23:8 And he spoke with them, saying: “If it be your mind that I should inter my dead from before my face, hear me, and petition Ephron (Calf-like, dust man, stag diving) the son of Zochar (Tawny, reddish grey, whiteness, sheen) on my behalf,
 
Avraham bows down out of respect and in humility. Though Ephron was present (v.10), Avraham follows the local custom and seeks out the approval of the elders of the city gate in order to broker a negotiation with Ephron.
 
The phrase, “inter my dead from before my face” infers that Avraham is aware that his wife Sarah, while no longer before his face, is none the less in the presence of HaShem and before His face. That Avraham and Sarah believed in the Olam Haba (World to come) is affirmed by the Jewish writer of the book to the Hebrews:
 
“8 In faith, trust, assurance, belief Avraham (Father of a great people), when he was called, to go to the land which he was to receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he left, not knowing where he was going. 9 In faith, trust, assurance, belief he sojourned, lived as a foreigner in the land of the promise, message, as if in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Yitzchak [Isaac] and Yaakov [Jacob], fellow heirs of the same promise, message; 10 for he was looking, expecting, waiting for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is the God. 11 In faith, trust, assurance, belief even Sarah herself received strength, ability, miraculous power to conceive, make the foundation of a child being seeded brought forth when she was past age, because she considered Him faithful Who had promised, messaged. 12 Therefore even from one man, and one who was as good as dead, there were birthed descendants who were as the stars of heavens in multitudes, and as the sand by the seashore, uncountable. 13 All these died in faith, trust, assurance, belief, without receiving the promises, but having seen, known, understood from a distance, and were persuaded, had confidence, trusted, and embraced, welcomed, greeted them, having professed that they were strangers and exiles, resident foreigners in the land. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a native land. 15 And certainly if they had been remembering the land which they left, they would have had a season, opportunity, an affinity for returning. 16 But now, they desire a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore the God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. ”
 
–Hebrews 11:8-16 [Author’s translation]
 
וְיִתֶּן־לִ֗י אֶת־מְעָרַ֤ת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה֙ אֲשֶׁר־ל֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בִּקְצֵ֣ה שָׂדֵ֑הוּ בְּכֶ֨סֶף מָלֵ֜א יִתְּנֶ֥נָּה לִ֛י בְּתוֹכְכֶ֖ם לַאֲחֻזַּת־קָֽבֶר׃
 
Gen 23:9 that he may give me the cave of Machpeilah (Double, folding), which he has, which is within the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in the midst of you for a possession of a burying-place.”
 
The name Machpeilah (Double) infers that either there may have been two caves in the location or that the place would one day be home to the bodies of both Sarah and Avraham.
 
The petition for gifting the cave is qualified by the offer to pay a fair price, thus, “give” should be understood as the literal act of giving something over, rather than as a present, or gift that is given entirely at the expense of the giver.
 
The phrase, “let him give it to me in the midst of you as a possession” seeks to establish a rhythm of testimony that sees this transaction firmly attested to by witnesses as a form of security for the future generations of Avraham’s family line.
 
 וְעֶפְר֥וֹן יֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּת֣וֹךְ בְּנֵי־חֵ֑ת וַיַּעַן֩ עֶפְר֨וֹן הַחִתִּ֤י אֶת־אַבְרָהָם֙ בְּאָזְנֵ֣י בְנֵי־חֵ֔ת לְכֹ֛ל בָּאֵ֥י שַֽׁעַר־עִיר֖וֹ לֵאמֹֽר׃
 לֹֽא־אֲדֹנִ֣י שְׁמָעֵ֔נִי הַשָּׂדֶה֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לָ֔ךְ וְהַמְּעָרָ֥ה אֲשֶׁר־בּ֖וֹ לְךָ֣ נְתַתִּ֑יהָ לְעֵינֵ֧י בְנֵי־עַמִּ֛י נְתַתִּ֥יהָ לָּ֖ךְ קְבֹ֥ר מֵתֶֽךָ׃
 
Gen 23:10  Now Ephron (Calf-like, dust man, stag diving) was sitting in the midst of the children of Chet (Terror); and Ephron the Cheeti (Descendant of terror) answered Avraham (Father of many nations) in the hearing of the children of Chet (Terror), even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying: Gen 23:11 “No, my lord (Adoniy), hear me: I give you the field, and the cave that is within it, I give it to you; in the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; inter your dead.”
 
Ephron’s use of the honorific, “My lord” is equally as disingenuous as the general response of his clansmen. Again, he is either offering to give over the field with a price in mind, or he intends to gift it without a legal transaction taking place so that Avraham would become his tenant and the land would remain in Ephron’s family following Avraham’s death. This is not a genuine offer.
 
Ephron, realizing Avraham is intent on purchasing the cave and fields, calls on the witness of his clansmen in order to seek compensation for the cave and adds the field in order to glean a greater price. Anyone who has experienced the Jerusalem, Carmel or the Old Yafo shukim  (markets) will have come across similar types of bartering protocol, a culture of wheeling and dealing. Ironically, the proclaiming of this deal before the witnesses at the city gate strengthens Avraham’s descendants’ perpetual legal claim to the cave and its surrounding land.
 
We should keep in mind that Avraham is negotiating for his wife’s burial place, he is recently bereaved and is surely in great turmoil and under weighty emotional stress due to the loss of his life-long partner and friend.
 
Anyone who would take advantage of a man during a time of grief is the very personification of unrighteousness.
​
וַיִּשְׁתַּ֙חוּ֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י עַ֥ם הָאָֽרֶץ׃
 וַיְדַבֵּ֨ר אֶל־עֶפְר֜וֹן בְּאָזְנֵ֤י עַם־הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אַ֛ךְ אִם־אַתָּ֥ה ל֖וּ שְׁמָעֵ֑נִי נָתַ֜תִּי כֶּ֤סֶף הַשָּׂדֶה֙ קַ֣ח מִמֶּ֔נִּי וְאֶקְבְּרָ֥ה אֶת־מֵתִ֖י שָֽׁמָּה׃
 
Gen 23:12 And Avraham bowed down before the people of the land. Gen 23:13 And he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying: “But if you will, I plead with you, hear me: I will give the price of the field; take it from me, and I will bury my dead there.”
 
Yet again the phrase, “in the hearing of the people of the land” reinforces the legal status of the land and those who possess it. Avraham continues as he has intended from the beginning, offering a fair price for the field, which also contains the caves.
 
 וַיַּ֧עַן עֶפְר֛וֹן אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֥ר לֽוֹ׃
 אֲדֹנִ֣י שְׁמָעֵ֔נִי אֶרֶץ֩ אַרְבַּ֨ע מֵאֹ֧ת שֶֽׁקֶל־כֶּ֛סֶף בֵּינִ֥י וּבֵֽינְךָ֖ מַה־הִ֑וא וְאֶת־מֵתְךָ֖ קְבֹֽר׃
 
Gen 23:14 And Ephron answered Avraham, saying unto him: Gen 23:15 “My lord (Adoniy), listen unto me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? Therefore, inter your dead.”
 
This is where the true character of Ephron is exposed. He offers a price that is at least 20 times the value of the land according to the standard shekel. Rashi notes that it was a price great enough to purchase a huge estate. There is no question that Ephron is using the urgency of Avraham’s situation against him, and that he is taking advantage of a grieving man and his retinue. By way of qualification, Jeremiah the prophet redeems an entire ancestral land plot several times greater than this one for 17 shekels (Jeremiah 32:9), and on Mt Moriah, David purchases the threshing floor and oxen for 50 shekels (2 Samuel 24:24).
 
Those who wish to contest this conclusion site the 600 shekels David paid for the entire Temple mount (1 Chronicles 21:25). However, the Temple mount is not comparable to the plot at Hebron, either in area or in significance. They also note that Omri paid 6000 shekels for the virgin hill of Samaria (1 Kings 16:24) but fail to take into account the context of this act and the evil intent and money flaunting of the wicked king Omri. Even if one were to concede the point of these two higher costings, it becomes redundant when the identification of the common trade currency (referred to in the next verse as, “current money”) is made.
 
וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע אַבְרָהָם֮ אֶל־עֶפְרוֹן֒ וַיִּשְׁקֹ֤ל אַבְרָהָם֙ לְעֶפְרֹ֔ן אֶת־הַכֶּ֕סֶף אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֶּ֖ר בְּאָזְנֵ֣י בְנֵי־חֵ֑ת אַרְבַּ֤ע מֵאוֹת֙ שֶׁ֣קֶל כֶּ֔סֶף עֹבֵ֖ר לַסֹּחֵֽר׃
 
Gen 23:16 And Avraham listened to Ephron; and Avraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the hearing of the children of Chet, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.
 
Avraham agreed to the amount, not out of desperation but with the knowledge that he was setting a legal precedent for his progeny. Though the price was exorbitant, Avraham considered this a physical representation of the greater future benefits that God had promised to his offspring.
 
The Hebrew, “עֹבֵ֖ר לַסֹּחֵֽר oveir lasocheir” translated as, “current money” is a description of a larger trading silver shekel that became known later in history as a centenaries. The Talmud (Bava Metzia 87a) explains, each shekel used to pay for the plot was worth 2,500 standard shekels (Rashi). Thus, in the end, Avraham paid a total of one million standard shekels for the plot and caves.
 
Further to my notes on the previous verse, this means that in reality the full price paid for Hebron is a least 166 times the amount of the highest price paid for land by a Jewish leader (of a different size and for different reasons) in the Torah (Omri). To put it into today’s terms, “Ephron ripped Avraham off in a big way!”
 
This transaction serves to illuminate the character of the Father of Trust Avraham, while bringing into the light the true character of the Dust Man Ephron, a Child of Terror (Chet). The former is a son of the heavens (God, life eternal), while the latter remains a son of the dust (death).
 
 וַיָּ֣קָם׀ שְׂדֵ֣ה עֶפְר֗וֹן אֲשֶׁר֙ בַּמַּכְפֵּלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר לִפְנֵ֣י מַמְרֵ֑א הַשָּׂדֶה֙ וְהַמְּעָרָ֣ה אֲשֶׁר־בּ֔וֹ וְכָל־הָעֵץ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּכָל־גְּבֻל֖וֹ סָבִֽיב׃
 לְאַבְרָהָ֥ם לְמִקְנָ֖ה לְעֵינֵ֣י בְנֵי־חֵ֑ת בְּכֹ֖ל בָּאֵ֥י שַֽׁעַר־עִירֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 23:17 So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpeilah, which was before Mamre (Strength), the field, and the cave which was within it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the border thereof round about, were secured (yakam: rose, elevated) Gen 23:18 unto Avraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Chet, before all that went in at the gate of his city.
 
Finally the land and its caves are secured legally before Ephron, the people of Chet and the elders of the gate and are recognized as belonging to Avraham and his offspring for a possession. No longer is it land upon which Avraham sojourns, it is now his lawful homeland. This historical record which is over 4000 years old is irrefutable proof of Israel’s ancestral claim to the caves and surrounding land in the city of Hebron.
 
This location is one of modern Judaism’s four holiest sites and is currently part of the Palestinian authority controlled land of southern Judea and Samaria. The 400 Jewish settlers who live there have need of the constant protection of up to 3,000 IDF (Israeli Defence Force) soldiers and this holy place has two separate worship areas, one for Jews and one for Muslims, kept separated by a bullet proof glass wall. Access for the average Jew is difficult at best and at worst, life threatening. The irony of calling the Jews who live in Hebron “settlers” is not lost on this Jew.
 
The Midrash states that the caves and surrounding land in Hebron are one of the three places that Scripture identifies as being testimony of the Jews’ irrefutable right to the possession of the land of Israel. The Midrash goes on to say that the cave of Machpeilah, the site of the Temple and the tomb of Joseph were all purchased without counter offers being made and with legal currency.
 
The phrase, “were confirmed/secured” uses the Hebrew, “yakam” literally, “rose”. Thus the Midrash interprets it to mean that through Avraham’s purchasing of the land it became elevated because it passed from the hands of the commoner Ephron into the hands of the king Avraham.
 
 וְאַחֲרֵי־כֵן֩ קָבַ֨ר אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶת־שָׂרָ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ אֶל־מְעָרַ֞ת שְׂדֵ֧ה הַמַּכְפֵּלָ֛ה עַל־פְּנֵ֥י מַמְרֵ֖א הִ֣וא חֶבְר֑וֹן בְּאֶ֖רֶץ כְּנָֽעַן׃
 וַיָּ֨קָם הַשָּׂדֶ֜ה וְהַמְּעָרָ֧ה אֲשֶׁר־בּ֛וֹ לְאַבְרָהָ֖ם לַאֲחֻזַּת־קָ֑בֶר מֵאֵ֖ת בְּנֵי־חֵֽת׃
 
Gen 23:19 And after this, Avraham interred Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpeilah before Mamre - the same is Chevron - in the land of C’naan. Gen 23:20 And the field, and the cave that is within, were made secure (yakam: rose, elevated) unto Avraham for a possession as a burying-place by the children of Chet.
 
© 2025 Yaakov Ben Yehoshua

​Introduction:
 
Following the birth and weaning of the promised son Isaac and the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael, Avraham had acquired the well of באר שבע Beer-sheva (Sevenfold Covenant), planted a grove of shady trees as a memorial of what ה" HaShem had done and remained in the land of the פְּלִשְׁתִּים P’lishtim (Greek immigrants to Canaan from the Aegean. This people group ceased to exist long before the second century C.E. renaming of the land of Israel by her Roman oppressors)  [Canaan]. There Avraham worships and gives glory to HaShem יהוה (YHVH) אל El (God) of מלך העולם (King of the Universe).
 
Now Avraham will face his final (Tenth) trial. All his former trials have been completed and the promise of their fulfilment has come to fruition. This trial is different, the ultimate fulfilment of it will not come to fruition at this time in history, and certainly not through the death of Isaac, although it will come to fruition as a result of Isaac’s bloodline. In fact, rather than lose his son, Avraham receives him back and a substitute (the Ram of God) takes his place.
 
This trial also differs from the former trials in its perceived morality. Avraham, who exhibits great concern for justice elsewhere, is now faced with the enigma of a just God’s request for the death of an innocent (Isaac).
 
It’s interesting to note that while Rashi and the Rambam differ on the order and specifics of a number of Avraham’s trials, they both list הָעֲקֵידָה‎ the Akeidah (The Binding of Isaac) as the final and most important of the trials of Avraham.
 
The chronology of the Biblical text shows us that Isaac was thirty seven years of age at the time of הָעֲקֵידָה‎ the Akeidah. Sarah was ninety (Gen. 17:17) at his birth and 127 at her death (Gen. 23:1). The Targum Yonatan explains that Satan told Sarah that Avraham had slaughtered Isaac and she cried out in grief and died. This would explain why Avraham and Isaac were not present at her death: “Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and bewail her” (Genesis 23:2). The Rabbis suggest that this is the reason that the account of Sarah’s death follows directly after הָעֲקֵידָה‎ the Akeidah (The Binding of Isaac).
 
The Pesikta Rabbati teaches that הָעֲקֵידָה‎ the Akeidah took place on Rosh Hashanah. Hence it has become the Torah reading for the second day of Rosh Hashanah in modern Rabbinic Judaism.
 
Before we begin to study the text we should take time to reflect on the nature of trial as understood in the ancient Hebrew text (נסה - nasah). In the context of this passage the English translation, “tempt” is entirely inappropriate. Likewise the English, “test.” God does not tempt, nor does He have any need of testing in order to find out something, to the contrary, He knows all, past, present and future because time and space are subject to Him, existing in Him. The trial or proving of Avraham is intended to reveal to Avraham the fruit of the faith he has received from God, and establish that faith in the substitutionary atonement of God.
 
“Let no one say when tempted, ‘I am tempted of God’: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither does He tempt any one: But every person is tempted, when they are drawn away of their own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is fully realized, brings forth death.”
 
– Yaakov (James) 1:13-15
 
Given that God already knows the outcome of this trial, we cannot conclude that God is advocating human sacrifice as a common practice. To the contrary, He is foreshadowing the future manifestation of His own sacrificial love through Messiah Yeshua HaMelekh. Not a human sacrifice but the self-sacrificial act of the fully God and fully human Messiah Who gives Himself up for the sake of the repentant, having the authority and power to lay down His life and raise Himself from death (John 10:18).
 
The fact that this portion of the Torah is as central to Jewish theology as the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9, 11:13-21; Num. 15:37-41), shows that it is understood as the ultimate example of God’s relationship to Israel and her devotion to Him. Add to this that הָעֲקֵידָה‎ the Akeidah is a clear and irrefutable picture of the substitutionary sacrifice of עמנו - אל Imanu – El (God with us) as Messiah, and we have a connection that binds (pun intended) together both the ethnic Jewish people and the believing nations of the world.
 
This may well be one of the most important studies you ever engage in. Read carefully, listen well, qualify your conclusions, and above all else, trust God.
 
 וַיְהִ֗י אַחַר֙ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה וְהָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים נִסָּ֖ה אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֔יו אַבְרָהָ֖ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃
 
Gen 22:1 And it came to pass after הַדְּבָרִים ha-d’varim (the words) these things, that הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים Ha-Elohim (the God, Judge) did נִסָּה nesah prove Avraham (Father of many nations), and said to him, “Avraham”: and he said, “הִנֵּנִי Hineiniy (I’m here, ready, prepared, willing), here I am.”
 
These events take place following the words (הַדְּבָרִים ha-d’varim), “And Avraham planted a grove in באר שבע Beer-sheva, and called there on the name of HaShem, the everlasting God. And Avraham sojourned in the land of Philistines' many days.” (Gen 21:33:34)
 
The text says, “Ha-Elohim” (The God) for good reason. There must be no misunderstanding regarding the use of Elohim here. This generic name for God, also used to name gods and judges, is pretexted here by the definite article, “the.”
 
The Midrash renders the word נִסָּה nesah as, “elevated” like a banner/miracle (נס - neis). Thus we could read, “The God elevated Avraham.” Following the events of הָעֲקֵידָה‎ the Akeidah God doesn’t speak directly to Avraham again except in the Angel/Messenger. This fact further illuminates the importance of these events. There is something in the story of the binding that acts as a catalyst for the perfecting of faith. We are reminded that, “the life is in the blood” which is given on the מִזבֵּחַ mizbeach (altar) for the remission of sin (Lev. 17:11). It makes sense therefore, that the substitutionary sacrifice in this account is symbolic of something much greater than the simple death of a ram.
 
Avraham’s response to God affirms the true character of the father of trust. The Hebrew הִנֵּנִי Hineiniy has no English equivalent. It denotes humility, readiness, willingness, obedience, receipt, openness etc.
 
 וַיֹּ֡אמֶר קַח־נָ֠א אֶת־בִּנְךָ֨ אֶת־יְחִֽידְךָ֤ אֲשֶׁר־אָהַ֙בְתָּ֙ אֶת־יִצְחָ֔ק וְלֶךְ־לְךָ֔ אֶל־אֶ֖רֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּ֑ה וְהַעֲלֵ֤הוּ שָׁם֙ לְעֹלָ֔ה עַ֚ל אַחַ֣ד הֶֽהָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֹמַ֥ר אֵלֶֽיךָ׃
 
Gen 22:2 And He (God) said, “fetch now your son, your only son Yitzchak (He laughs), whom you love, and וְלֶךְ־לְךָ lech lecha (walk, go forth) into the land of הַמֹּרִיָּה the Moriyah (seen by YHVH: ראה ra’ah & יה Yah); and ascend there, offering him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you of.
 
We should keep in mind that Avraham is 137 years old and Isaac 37, meaning that none of this could be forced upon Isaac. He must choose to accept every instruction of his father willingly. This is both an echo and prophetic ripple that reveals the Mashiach and Only Son of HaShem, Who is slain before the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8).
 
The words, “your son, your only son Yitzchak (He laughs), whom you love” are a glimpse into the future, when God would speak over His Son Yeshua saying, “This is my Son whom I love, in Him I am delighted!” (Matt. 3:17).
 
The unique identity of the Son Yeshua is further clarified in Yochanan (John) 1:14:
 
“And הדבר Ha-Davar the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We looked upon His כָּבוֹד kavod (glory), the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of חֶסֶד chesed (grace, loving kindness) and אֶמֶת emet (truth).”
 
- Yochanan (John) 1:14
 
The phrase, “lech lecha” (walk and go forth) occurs only here and in 12:1, the initial instruction of God to Avraham, thus tying the two narratives together to show the completeness of Avraham’s call and purpose in God. This instruction to go up to sacrifice requires courage equal to the instruction to give up everything and follow God. We should pause a moment to consider the fact that התלמידים the Talmidim (Disciples) of Yeshua responded to the call to follow God’s Messiah, but with the exception of Yochanan (John) and the women closest to Yeshua, they were not able to muster the courage to go up to the sacrifice with Him.
 
Mt Moriyah (seen by YHVH: ראה ra’ah & יה Yah), is the Temple Mount (2 Chronicles 3:1). Onkelos renders, “go forth into the land of Divine service.” It’s thought that he takes Moriyah to be derived from מוֹר mor (myrrh), which is one of the spices of the Temple service (Rashi). This connects the Akeidah to the Temple Mount and the foundation stone האבן, which tradition identifies as the stone on which Isaac was laid.
 
 וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם אַבְרָהָ֜ם בַּבֹּ֗קֶר וַֽיַּחֲבֹשׁ֙ אֶת־חֲמֹר֔וֹ וַיִּקַּ֞ח אֶת־שְׁנֵ֤י נְעָרָיו֙ אִתּ֔וֹ וְאֵ֖ת יִצְחָ֣ק בְּנ֑וֹ וַיְבַקַּע֙ עֲצֵ֣י עֹלָ֔ה וַיָּ֣קָם וַיֵּ֔לֶךְ אֶל־הַמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁר־אָֽמַר־ל֥וֹ הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃
 
Gen 22:3 And Avraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his male donkey, and took two of נְעָרָיו֙ nearayv his young men with him, and Yitzchak his son, and chopped the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went toward the place of which God had spoken.
 
The phrase, “rose up early,” indicates Avraham’s immediate obedience to God’s instruction.
 
The fact that Avraham saddled his own donkey is noteworthy. This was the job of a servant. Avraham was so intent on obedience to God that he ignored his personal dignity. The text also infers that it was Avraham who chopped the wood.
 
It is important to understand that the Hebrew נְעָרָיו֙ nearayv refers to a young man between the ages of 12 and 40 years. The same word used here to refer to Avraham’s servants is also used to refer to Isaac later in the text.
 
The Midrash says that the two young men Avraham took with him were Eliezer and Ishmael, who was visiting his father, having now lived in Paran for some time. It is an endearing thought, an illumination of reconciliation and the help of God. The names of these two, “God helps” and “Heard by God” are both beautiful representations of the character of God as it unfolds in the remainder of this historical account.
 
There are those who see contradiction and even hypocrisy in the actions of Avraham. They say that he pleaded for the innocent when God was about to destroy Sodom but here he is blindly obedient to God’s command to kill his innocent son Isaac. However, there is an important distinction between these two events. First, there were in the end, no innocent ones in Sodom. In fact, it is true to say that even those God spared were not innocent. Second, the destruction of Sodom was a judgement against sin, whereas the present instruction is related to sacrifice. God is not commanding a judgement, He is initiating a sacrifice. In order for sacrifice to be understood within the framework of redemptive substitution, that which is offered must be blameless and without blemish. Therefore, Isaac’s comparative innocence is essential to this sacrificial instruction and helps to explain Avraham’s willing obedience.
 
 בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֗י וַיִּשָּׂ֨א אַבְרָהָ֧ם אֶת־עֵינָ֛יו וַיַּ֥רְא אֶת־הַמָּק֖וֹם מֵרָחֹֽק׃
 
Gen 22:4 Then on the third day Avraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place far off.
 
The third day is an obvious foreshadowing to the death and resurrection of both Yonah (Jonah) and Yeshua (Jesus). It is not, as some erroneously suggest, an idiom. Third day in Hebrew means three days have passed, just as it does in English. There is not one example so far as I’m aware, of and idiomatic use of the phrases, “third day” or “three days,” within the meta narrative of Scripture. Those who say that the historical story of Jonah is simply a myth must also call Yeshua a deluded liar (Matt. 12:39-40). In short, they are blasphemers.
 
The phrase, “lifted up his eyes,” is connected to Avraham’s receiving God’s previous promise of land, and to the provision of God through sight. The mountain which is already seen by God is now being seen by Avraham. The Hebrew ראה ra’ah (see) is the same root being used in verse 8 where it is usually translated as, “provide.” Provision and sight are synonymous terms in this context.
 
Avraham saw the cloud of God’s presence over the mountain, thus recognizing that it was the destination he was seeking (Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer).
 
 וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶל־נְעָרָ֗יו שְׁבוּ־לָכֶ֥ם פֹּה֙ עִֽם־הַחֲמ֔וֹר וַאֲנִ֣י וְהַנַּ֔עַר נֵלְכָ֖ה עַד־כֹּ֑ה וְנִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֖ה וְנָשׁ֥וּבָה אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃
 
Gen 22:5 And Avraham said to his נְעָרָ֗יו nearayv young men, “Stay here with the donkey; and I and וְהַנַּ֔עַר ha-na’ar the young man will go yonder and bow down, and then we will return to you.
 
We should take special note of the term, נַּעַר “Na’ar” which is used here of both Avraham’s young men (servants) and the young man Isaac. This noun can refer to a young man between the ages of 12 and 40, and should not be presumed to refer to a young child as is inferred by numerous English translations which use, “lad” or “boy” to translate this complex Hebrew noun. In some cases this translation seems intentionally misleading, as in the KJV translation, which translates the same term, “young men” when referring to Avraham’s servants but, “lad” when referring to Isaac. This is at best inconsistent.
 
“And then we will return,” is plural. Avraham did not say, “and then I will return.” This shows the trust that Avraham had in the promise of God (Gen. 21:12). Avraham believed he would return with Isaac in tow. The Jewish writer of the book of Hebrews affirms Avraham’s core belief:
 
“In trust Avraham, when he was being proved, offered up Yitzchak. Yes, he who had received the promises was offering up his one and only son— the one about whom it was said, “Through Yitzchak your offspring shall be named.” He reasoned that God was able to raise Yitzchak up even from the dead—and in a sense, he did receive him back from there.”
 
 – Hebrews 11:17-19 [Author’s translation]
 
 וַיִּקַּ֨ח אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶת־עֲצֵ֣י הָעֹלָ֗ה וַיָּ֙שֶׂם֙ עַל־יִצְחָ֣ק בְּנ֔וֹ וַיִּקַּ֣ח בְּיָד֔וֹ אֶת־הָאֵ֖שׁ וְאֶת־הַֽמַּאֲכֶ֑לֶת וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם יַחְדָּֽו׃
 
Gen 22:6 And Avraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Yitzchak his son; and he took הָאֵשׁ haeish the fire (holy fire, altar fire) in his hand, and a knife; and they walked on together.
 
The Midrash compares Isaac’s burden of wood to the Roman practice of crucifixion:
 
“It is like a person who carries his cross on his own shoulder”
 
–Bereishit Rabbah 56:3
 
There is an undeniable link to the Messiah Yeshua:
 
“They (Roman soldiers) took Yeshua, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Skull, which is called in a language of the Hebrews, Golgotha (Skull).”
 
–Yochanan (John) 19:17 [Author’s translation]
 
The phrase, “And they walked on together,” denotes harmony of purpose. The same phrase is repeated in verse 8, by which time Isaac knew that he was to be the sacrifice.
 
Father and son going together is a figurative allusion to the cross of Messiah, Who says, “I and the Father are One!” Yeshua, and the Father are equally present on the cross. The pseudo-Christian nonsense “the Father turned His face away” is an indictment on the poor theology of so many, so called worship songs.
 
The following portion of Yeshayahu (Isaiah) is conveniently left out of the Haf-Tarah (filling/completing/illumination of the Torah) readings in the modern rabbinical Torah reading cycle. However, it was part of the triannual Torah cycle of the first century. It conveys a sense of the intimate agreement between Father and Son, and the willingness of the sacrificial appointee.
 
“He was oppressed (tormented), and he was afflicted, and did not open his mouth; kaseh like a lamb latevach led to the slaughter, ucheracheil and like a ewe lifneiy before the face of its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Yet HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) chafeitz 
desired to bruise (crush) him; hecheliy He has put him to grief; im-tasiym with his appointment as an offering for guilt nafsho by his soul (life, being), yireh he will see his zera offspring; ya’ariych he will prolong his yamiym days; ve’cheifetz and the desire of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) beyado in his hand yitzlach will advance, rush, succeed, progress, prosper.”
 
–Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 53:7, 10 [Author’s translation]
 
 וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יִצְחָ֜ק אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֤ם אָבִיו֙ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אָבִ֔י וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֶּ֣נִּֽי בְנִ֑י וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנֵּ֤ה הָאֵשׁ֙ וְהָ֣עֵצִ֔ים וְאַיֵּ֥ה הַשֶּׂ֖ה לְעֹלָֽה׃
 
Gen 22:7 And Yitzchak said, “Avraham my father,” and continued saying, “My father”: and he (Avraham) responded, “הִנֶּנִּי Hineniy Here I am, my son.” And he (Yitzchak) said, “Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
 
Up to this point Isaac believed that they were going to make a sacrifice to God and would thus find a lamb for this purpose while on their journey.
 
 וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם אֱלֹהִ֞ים יִרְאֶה־לּ֥וֹ הַשֶּׂ֛ה לְעֹלָ֖ה בְּנִ֑י וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם יַחְדָּֽו׃
 
Gen 22:8 And Avraham said, “אֱלֹהִים Elohim (God) יִרְאֶה־לּוֹ (yireh lo root: ראה ra’ah) will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:” so they walked on together.
 
Avraham’s trust, as illuminated in Hebrews 11:17, remains. He firmly believes that God will bring about a miracle. Once again, the phrase, “so they walked on together,” conveys a unity of purpose.
 
The phrase, “אֱלֹהִים יִרְאֶה Elohim yireh” (God provides) links the seeing (ra’ah) of God to His provision (יִרְאֶה yireh). Thus we can also read, “Elohim sees the lamb for the burnt offering.”
 
Additionally, one could read, “Elohim will provide himself, a lamb for a burnt offering.”
 
True love and sacrifice are intrinsically linked. If your love for another doesn’t include a willingness to sacrifice your own needs, even yourself for their good, then it’s not love.
 
 וַיָּבֹ֗אוּ אֶֽל־הַמָּקוֹם֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אָֽמַר־ל֣וֹ הָאֱלֹהִים֒ וַיִּ֨בֶן שָׁ֤ם אַבְרָהָם֙ אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ וַֽיַּעֲרֹ֖ךְ אֶת־הָעֵצִ֑ים וַֽיַּעֲקֹד֙ אֶת־יִצְחָ֣ק בְּנ֔וֹ וַיָּ֤שֶׂם אֹתוֹ֙ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ מִמַּ֖עַל לָעֵצִֽים׃
 
Gen 22:9 And they came to the place which הָאֱלֹהִים Ha-Elohim (the God) had told him of; and Avraham built אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ the specific altar (et ha-mizbeach: Root, זבח zabach – slaughter, kill) there, and laid the wood in order, וַֽיַּעֲקֹד֙ vaya’akod and bound Yitzchak his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
 
It’s from this verse that the Hebrew title for this passage, “הָעֲקֵידָה‎ Ha-Akeidah” (The Binding) is derived.
 
The altar, הַמִּזְבֵּחַ ha-mizbeach, is intended for the shedding of blood. On every occasion that this term is used in the Torah without qualifying terms, it refers to an altar of slaughter. It is fitting that on the Mountain that would later become the site of the daily Temple offerings, this pivotal sacrifice is about to take place.
 
At the age of 137, Avraham could not have bound Isaac (37) without his consent.
 
“Father, I am a strong young man and you are old. I’m afraid that when I see the slaughtering knife in your hand I might flinch and possibly do you harm. I may also injure myself and become unfit for sacrifice. Or an involuntary movement by me might prevent you from performing the ritual slaughter properly. Therefore, bind me well, so that at the final moment I will not fail in my filial honour and respect, thereby not fulfilling the commandment properly.”
 
–Midrash
 
The prophet Yeshayahu (Isaiah) speaks of Yeshua in the following way:
 
“He was oppressed, though he humbled himself and opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; yea, he opened not his mouth.”
 
– Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 53:7
 
 וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח אַבְרָהָם֙ אֶת־יָד֔וֹ וַיִּקַּ֖ח אֶת־הַֽמַּאֲכֶ֑לֶת לִשְׁחֹ֖ט אֶת־בְּנֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 22:10 And Avraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
 
The Midrash says that as Avraham reached for the knife, tears feel from his eyes into Isaac’s eyes.
 
The Targum Yonatan records that Isaac looked up to see the Angels on high, while Avraham was yet unable to see them.
 
Rashi notes that the Angels also wept and their tears fell into Isaac’s eyes.
 
In this moving account there is an intimate, intrinsic grief which is shared by The Father God, the Angel/Messenger of Hashem, Avraham and Isaac.
 
 וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֵלָ֜יו מַלְאַ֤ךְ יְהוָה֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֣ם׀ אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃
 
Gen 22:11 And Malakh (Messenger) HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) called to him (Avraham) from the heavens, and said, “Avraham, Avraham:” and he responded, “Hineiniy (I’m here, ready, prepared, willing), here I am.”
 
The Hebrew text can be read literally as, “And calling toward (Avraham), Messenger HaShem.” This should be understood to mean that the Messenger (Angel) is a manifest representation of HaShem Himself.
 
The Angel of Hashem is the manifestation of the post resurrection, transcendent (unbound by time and space,) trans-locational Messiah Yeshua, Who is witnessing here the living symbolism of His own sacrificial death.
 
 וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אַל־תִּשְׁלַ֤ח יָֽדְךָ֙ אֶל־הַנַּ֔עַר וְאַל־תַּ֥עַשׂ ל֖וֹ מְא֑וּמָּה כִּ֣י׀ עַתָּ֣ה יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּֽי־יְרֵ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ אַ֔תָּה וְלֹ֥א חָשַׂ֛כְתָּ אֶת־בִּנְךָ֥ אֶת־יְחִידְךָ֖ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃
 
Gen 22:12 And He (HaMalakh HaShem) said, “Don’t lay your hand upon ha-na’ar the young man, neither do anything to him: for atah until this time yada’tiy I have known, that you are in awe of Elohim (God), seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from Me.
 
Not even a hair of Isaac’s head was harmed. God speaks in a timely fashion and Avraham responds in the same manner with which he began this journey of obedience, thus answering the question of faith.
 
The Angel of Hashem, Who is speaking to Avraham repeats the phrase, “your son, your only one.”
 
I believe the traditional English translation, “for now I know that you fear me” is misleading. The phrase, “now I know” infers that at one time He did not know. This contradicts the essence of God’s character, His omniscience (Isaiah 46:9-10, 40:13-14; Psalm 33:13-15, 139:1-3, 139:4, 139:15-16, 147:4-5; Job 21:22, 37:16; 1 Chronicles 28:9; Romans 11:33; Hebrews 4:13; Luke 12:7;  1 John 3:20; Matthew 10:29-30). In fact, God need learn nothing from these events. He has already seen them concluded. If we read, “For until this time I have known” we are more inclined to interpret the statement as an assurance to Avraham rather than a declaration of discovery on the part of HaShem and His Angel.
 
 וַיִּשָּׂ֨א אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶת־עֵינָ֗יו וַיַּרְא֙ וְהִנֵּה־אַ֔יִל אַחַ֕ר נֶאֱחַ֥ז בַּסְּבַ֖ךְ בְּקַרְנָ֑יו וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ אַבְרָהָם֙ וַיִּקַּ֣ח אֶת־הָאַ֔יִל וַיַּעֲלֵ֥הוּ לְעֹלָ֖ה תַּ֥חַת בְּנֽוֹ׃
 
Gen 22:13 And Avraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Avraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering tachat instead, for the sake, as a substitute of his son.
 
Once again, the phrase, “lifted up his eyes” is connected to Avraham’s receiving God’s previous promise of land and to the provision of God through sight. The mountain which is already seen by God is now being seen by Avraham. The Hebrew ראה ra’ah (see) is the same root being used in verse 8 where it is usually translated as, “provide.” Provision and sight are synonymous terms in this context.
 
A ram caught in a thicket may be without obvious signs of blemish, such as discoloured wool or bodily deformity, and thus qualifies for the sacrifice as ritually clean. However, it is unlikely that the ram was without scratches and bleeding from the time spent in the thicket. Nor does cutting from without disqualify the sacrificial animal as being without blemish. This is a picture of the crown of thorns which was pressed down onto the head of our Messiah Yeshua.
 
The importance of a ram over a lamb here, is to make clear that the future substitutionary sacrifice would be made by a male.
 
 וַיִּקְרָ֧א אַבְרָהָ֛ם שֵֽׁם־הַמָּק֥וֹם הַה֖וּא יְהוָ֣ה׀ יִרְאֶ֑ה אֲשֶׁר֙ יֵאָמֵ֣ר הַיּ֔וֹם בְּהַ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה יֵרָאֶֽה׃
 
Gen 22:14 And Avraham called the name of that place YHVH Yir’eh: as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the HaShem (Mercy) it shall be provided/seen (yeiraeh).
 
The original name of this place was Shalem, the name given to it by Shem, son of Noach (whom the sages identify as Melkiy-tzedek [King of Righteousness], the king of Shalem). The Midrash says that following the Akeidah, when Avraham named the place Adonay Yireh, HaShem in deference to both Shem and Avraham, named the place Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).
 
 וַיִּקְרָ֛א מַלְאַ֥ךְ יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֑ם שֵׁנִ֖ית מִן־הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
 וַיֹּ֕אמֶר בִּ֥י נִשְׁבַּ֖עְתִּי נְאֻם־יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֗י יַ֚עַן אֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשִׂ֙יתָ֙ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה וְלֹ֥א חָשַׂ֖כְתָּ אֶת־בִּנְךָ֥ אֶת־יְחִידֶֽךָ
 
Gen 22:15 And the Malakh (Messenger, Angel) HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) called to Avraham out of the heavens the second time, Gen 22:16 And said, “By myself have I sworn, says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), because you have done ha-davar this thing, according to the word, and have not withheld your son, your only son:”
 
The Angel of Hashem speaks a second time after the sacrifice of the ram has been performed. The familiar reprise, “your son, your only son,” rings out again in affirmation of the faith that Avraham has exhibited and as a prophetic foreshadowing of the Messiah.
 
“16 For indeed people swear an oath by one greater, and taking an oath serves as confirmation to them, an end of all strife, dispute, contradiction between them. 17 In the same way God, desiring more abundantly to demonstrate to the heirs of the promise the fact that His purpose is immutable, unchangeable, confirmed it with an oath, 18 so that by two immutable, unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong comfort who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us.”
 
–Hebrews 6:16-18 [Author’s translation]
 
 כִּֽי־בָרֵ֣ךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ֗ וְהַרְבָּ֨ה אַרְבֶּ֤ה אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ כְּכוֹכְבֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְכַח֕וֹל אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־שְׂפַ֣ת הַיָּ֑ם וְיִרַ֣שׁ זַרְעֲךָ֔ אֵ֖ת שַׁ֥עַר אֹיְבָֽיו׃
 
Gen 22:17 “In blessing I will bless you, and in making great (multiplying) I will make great (multiply) your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemy;
 
The language of this blessing mirrors that of several previous addresses (Gen. 12:3, 13:16, 15:5). Here it is said in confirmation of the promise which God saw completed in Avraham, before Avraham had come to the place of completing his trust through the action of bringing his son and heir as a sacrifice before HaShem.
 
Notice that the seed is singular, he will possess the gate (singular) of his enemy.
 
What is different about this blessing is that it adds the clause, “and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemy.” It seems that this clause has not been added until now because the symbolism of the sacrificial act of the Akeidah had to take place in order to reveal the nature of the future seed (Messiah), Who would possess the gate of humanity’s greatest enemy, death.
 
 וְהִתְבָּרֲכ֣וּ בְזַרְעֲךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל גּוֹיֵ֣י הָאָ֑רֶץ עֵ֕קֶב אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׁמַ֖עְתָּ בְּקֹלִֽי׃
 
Gen 22:18 And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have heard שָׁמַ֖עְתָּ Shamata in My voice בְּקֹלִֽי bekoliy.
 
It is through Yeshua, the greater son of Avraham and of David, the Messiah and sacrificial lamb of God, that all the nations will be blessed.
 
Avraham, Shamata (listened, received, understood, comprehended) and welcomed the kol (voice) of HaShem. Thus, he became the father of all who would trust God and the first Hebrew, the one who received the promise of Israel’s coming redemption.
 
 וַיָּ֤שָׁב אַבְרָהָם֙ אֶל־נְעָרָ֔יו וַיָּקֻ֛מוּ וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ יַחְדָּ֖ו אֶל־בְּאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב אַבְרָהָ֖ם בִּבְאֵ֥ר שָֽׁבַע׃
 
Gen 22:19 So Avraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheva (Well of Seven, Well of Rest, Covenant of Seven); and Avraham dwelt at Beer-sheva.
 
All four men, “rose up” in immediate obedience and “went together” with harmony of purpose, to the well of sevenfold blessing, the mayim chayim (living waters) of covenant promise.
 
 וַיְהִ֗י אַחֲרֵי֙ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה וַיֻּגַּ֥ד לְאַבְרָהָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר הִ֠נֵּה יָלְדָ֨ה מִלְכָּ֥ה גַם־הִ֛וא בָּנִ֖ים לְנָח֥וֹר אָחִֽיךָ׃
 
Gen 22:20 And it came to pass after ha-d’avriym (these words, these things), that it was told Avraham, saying, “Behold, Milcah (Queen), she has also born children to your brother (uncle, male relative etc.) Nachor (Snorting);
 
The promise of multiplying and the prospering of Avraham’s progeny is immediately supported by the news of a bride for Isaac.
 
The genealogy of Nachor’s family has been kept till now in order to coincide with the events of the Akeidah. Thus showing God’s providence in the birth of Isaac’s future wife and the maintaining of the godly bloodline.
 
It is fitting that Rivkah (captivating, knotted cord, tied up, secured, bound), Isaac’s future bride is born to Milcah (Queen). Just as Sarah (Princess, Queen) had become the Queen of the promise, Rivkah, who has been born to a queen, will become the binding (Akeidah) of the promise, securing it through the birth of Yaakov/Israel.
 
 אֶת־ע֥וּץ בְּכֹר֖וֹ וְאֶת־בּ֣וּז אָחִ֑יו וְאֶת־קְמוּאֵ֖ל אֲבִ֥י אֲרָֽם׃
 וְאֶת־כֶּ֣שֶׂד וְאֶת־חֲז֔וֹ וְאֶת־פִּלְדָּ֖שׁ וְאֶת־יִדְלָ֑ף וְאֵ֖ת בְּתוּאֵֽל׃
 וּבְתוּאֵ֖ל יָלַ֣ד אֶת־רִבְקָ֑ה שְׁמֹנָ֥ה אֵ֙לֶּה֙ יָלְדָ֣ה מִלְכָּ֔ה לְנָח֖וֹר אֲחִ֥י אַבְרָהָֽם׃
וּפִֽילַגְשׁ֖וֹ וּשְׁמָ֣הּ רְאוּמָ֑ה וַתֵּ֤לֶד גַּם־הִוא֙ אֶת־טֶ֣בַח וְאֶת־גַּ֔חַם וְאֶת־תַּ֖חַשׁ וְאֶֽת־מַעֲכָֽה׃ 
 
Gen 22:21 Uz (Wooded, counsel) his firstborn, and Buz (contempt) his brother, and Kemuel (Kum – El: Risen in God, Raised by God) the father of Aram (exalted), Gen 22:22 And Kesed (increase), and Chazo (vision), and Pildash (flame of fire), and Yidlaf (weeping), and Betuel (Bet-El: Dwells in God). Gen 22:23 And Betuel (Dwells in God) produced Rivkah (captivating, knotted cord, tied up, secured): these eight Milcah (Queen) did bear to Nachor (snorting), Avraham's brother (uncle, male relative etc.). Gen 22:24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah (elevated, arise), she bore also Tevah (slaughter), and Gacham (burning), and Tachash (animal hide), and Maachah (Pressure, squeezed, crushed: lit. She has pressed).
 
Rivkah, in addition to being the daughter of a queen (Milcah) is also the daughter of one who dwells in God (Betuel).
 
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