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NASB | Genesis 22:12 He said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 22:12 The LORD said, "Do not reach out [with the knife in] your hand against the boy, and do nothing to [harm] him; for now I know that you fear God [with reverence and profound respect], since you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son [of promise]." |
Subject: Who was the one to be sacrificed? |
Bible Note: Greetings Mist! Allow me to touch on your points individually! 1) What word is used in Gen. 22:2? The same word as is used in Gen. 22:12. To be clear, the word can mean 'only child'. However, it also has the possible meaning of 'beloved child'. This is obviously the case here since Genesis itself tells us of Ishmael's birth. The LXX translates this word as 'beloved'. 2) Ishmael and Isaac: You have selectively quoted from Gen. 17. Verses 17-21 specifically state that God will make His covenant with Isaac, not with Ishmael. Here is the text: "17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” 18 And Abraham said to God, ‘‘If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” 19 Then God said, ‘‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.”" Further, Gen. 21:12-13 states that Abraham's offspring will be reckoned through Isaac, not Ishmael. This same point is made in the New Testament. Rom. 9:6-9 says, " It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, ‘‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: ‘‘At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”" Thus, even though Ishmael was a son of Abraham, he, nor his descendents, were considered Israel. The covenant was established with Isaac and his descendents. Now, my question is this: "Are you honestly seeking answers to this question, or are you on the forum to simply attempt to promote the teachings of Islam?" To me, it sounds like the latter! Because the Old Testment is very clear this issue. Gen. 17:20 says that God will bless Ishmael, "but" v. 21 says that the covenant will be established with Isaac. Through no fault of his own, Ismael was the result of human attempts to carry out God's promise. Abraham and Sara did not fully trust God to do what He had promised and tried to bring the promise about through their own efforts. However, Ishmael was not the promised 'seed'. Isaac was! This explains why in Gen. 21, God told Abraham to allow Ishmael to be sent away. He was not the promised son, Isaac was and it would be through him (Gen. 21:12) that Abraham's seed would be reckoned. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |