Isaac

Lore & Background

Isaac is the child of divine promise, born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age (Genesis 17:19, Genesis 21:3). His life is marked by obedience and testing: Abraham was commanded to offer Isaac as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah, and Isaac willingly carried the wood for the sacrifice, asking where the lamb was (Genesis 22:2, Genesis 22:6-7). Abraham bound Isaac and laid him on the altar, but God provided a substitute (Genesis 22:9). Later, Abraham sent a servant to find a wife for Isaac from his kindred, and Rebekah was chosen through a sign at a well (Genesis 24:4, Genesis 24:14). Isaac married Rebekah and loved her, finding comfort after his mother's death (Genesis 24:67).

Reader's Guide

The passages portray Isaac primarily as the son through whom God's covenant with Abraham continues. He is the heir of all Abraham's possessions (Genesis 25:5), and God blesses him after Abraham's death (Genesis 25:11). Isaac's role is passive in key events: he is the object of God's promise, the child of Sarah's insistence that Ishmael be cast out (Genesis 21:10), and the son whom Abraham is told to sacrifice (Genesis 22:2). Yet he also acts: he prays for his barren wife Rebekah, and the Lord answers (Genesis 25:21). He is the father of Esau and Jacob, born when he was sixty (Genesis 25:26). Isaac's life is woven into the patriarchal narrative as the link between Abraham and Jacob, the one through whom the seed is called (Genesis 21:12).

Did You Know?

• Isaac was 40 when he married Rebekah (Genesis 25:20).
• Isaac prayed for his wife because she was barren, and she conceived (Genesis 25:21).
• Isaac was 60 years old when his twin sons Esau and Jacob were born (Genesis 25:26).