Footnotes

1. Genesis 22:1 sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.
2. Genesis 22:1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3. Genesis 22:2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4. Genesis 22:2 sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.
5. Genesis 22:2 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. Genesis 22:2 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.
7. Genesis 22:2 tn Heb “which I will say to.”