Why Would God Tell a Man to Kill His Son? (Genesis 21-22)
Why would God command Abraham to kill his son Isaac? First, we should note that Genesis 22 is one of the most controversial and challenging passages in Scripture. A lot is going on in this passage.
Genesis 21-22
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
Why would God command Abraham to kill his son Isaac?
First, we should note that Genesis 22 is one of the most controversial and challenging passages in Scripture. A lot is going on in this passage. God instructs Abraham to kill his only son with his wife, Sarah, and from the outside, this feels like the end of God’s covenantal promise.
As Gordon Wenham notes, “In content and outline, the stories in chaps. 21 and 22 run parallel, with Abraham in a role like Hagar’s, and Isaac like Ishmael.”[1] Read both chapters together, and you notice God orders Ishmael to be expelled and Isaac to be sacrificed. Both go on a journey, both are about to die, and an angel from heaven steps in, the promises of God are reiterated to both of them, and Hagar opens her eyes to see a well while Abraham opens his eyes to see a ram. There are also striking similarities between Genesis 12 and Genesis 22.
These dramatic parallels tell us something bigger is going on than just a heinous command to murder one’s offspring. God is testing Abraham to reveal the state of his heart. Victor Hamilton notes,
The text clearly makes the point that what follows is a divine testing, not a demonic temptation. This particular verb, with God as the subject, does not occur again until Exod. 15:25…The wilderness period, after the departure from Egypt, is a testing experience. Will the Israelites take freedom with all the insecurities that freedom brings, or will they take incarceration and the guarantee of regular meals? That is the test. [2]
The Hebraic structure of God’s command to “take your son” in verse 3 is usually translated as “please” or “I beg you.”[3] This tells us God understands how great an ask this is. The literal reading of verse 2 says, “Take, pray, your son, your only one, whom you love,”[4]and this dramatic progression emphasizes how significant this is. Hamilton writes,
The intensity of the divine test is further demonstrated by the fact that Abraham is instructed to offer Isaac as a whole burnt offering (ꜥōlá). Later Levitical ritual (see Lev. 1) designated this particular offering as the only one to be completely consumed (except for the hide) on the altar, and hence the appropriate and normal Greek translation for Heb. ꜥōlá is holokáutōma, “holocaust.”[5]
