10. Abraham Offers Isaac on Mt. Moriah (Genesis 22:1-19)
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
Audio (36:09)
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Harmensz Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch painter, 1606-1669), "Sacrifice of Isaac"
(1635), oil on canvas, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Larger image. |
The more I meditate on Abraham offering his son Isaac on Mt. Moriah, the more
amazing it seems. Abraham has come to the point in his spiritual journey of
radical and immediate obedience to the word of God. He is an exemplar and
inspiration to disciples of all ages.
God Requires Abraham's Only and Beloved Son (22:1-2)
Abraham is living near a well at Beer-sheba on the edge of the Negev desert
at the southern extremity of Canaan (20:33-34; 22:19). Here in Beer-sheba he had
"called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God" (21:33) and here in
Beer-sheba God speaks to him a fearful word.
"Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, 'Abraham!'
'Here I am,'[1] he replied.
Then God said, 'Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love,
and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on
one of the mountains I will tell you about.'" (22:1-2)
There is no mistake about Who this is who is speaking to him.[2] Abraham has
heard God's voice many times during his lifetime. He knows the voice. It is not
the voice of an enemy, but a friend. But the message must have brought agony to
Abraham's heart. We'll discuss the word "tested" (Hebrew nāsā) in verse 1
in a few minutes.
Abraham's son Isaac is probably just a young boy. I imagine him to be eight
or nine, though the Scripture doesn't tell us. Abraham's heart has been broken
when he sent away his firstborn son Ishmael at Sarah's insistence (21:10-11).
Now Abraham has watched Isaac grow from being a toddler into a young boy. In
Isaac, all the promises of God to Abraham find their focus -- blessing and
descendents and the land. He is the miracle-son of Sarah at 90 and Abraham at
100. How can God ask for him now?
The angels seems to speak in measured cadence as he utters the dread words:
'Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love ...." God describes Isaac in
two ways:
- Your only son
. "Only" is the Hebrew adjective yāhīd, means
"only, only begotten." In this context yāhīd refers to an only child [3]
Though Isaac is Abraham's second son, he has sent away Ishmael, his firstborn.
As far as he and God are concerned, Isaac is the only one.
- Isaac whom you love
. "Love" is the Hebrew verb ’āhēb. This
general word for "love" or "like" is used in many contexts. Here it describes
love between human beings, such as the love of father for son.[4] This lad holds
all the hopes and dreams and affection of his aged parents.
A "burnt offering" (Hebrew ‘ōlā) commonly burned the entire sacrifice
on the altar. Hundreds of years later, in the Mosaic law, God prescribes other
offerings of which only part is burned and the rest is eaten by the worshippers.
But the burnt offering is consumed completely. Rather than "burnt offering,"
Lloyd Carr suggests that "whole offering would be a better rendering in English
to convey the theology of the ‘ōlā," since it involved offering the whole
to God.[5]
Human Sacrifice in the Ancient Near East
Human sacrifice was not unknown in the ancient Near East, though early
examples of it are rare. A "substitute king" seems to have been sacrificed in
Mesopotamia at the end of his brief "reign."[6] Prisoners or foreigners were
sacrificed at the dawn of Egyptian history, but the practice died out early.[7]
While skeletons of infant children have been found buried in the floors of
Palestinian houses, this doesn't prove child sacrifice. But human sacrifice does
seem to have been practiced by the "Sea Peoples" who settled along the coast --
Phoenicians and Canaanites. In the sanctuary of Tanit at Carthage,
archaeologists have discovered urns containing burnt bones of lambs and goats,
and more often, of children, where the sacrifice of the finest children is
attested in 310 BC.[8] Two steles from Malta from the seventh or sixth century
BC indicate that child sacrifice was practiced. Philo of Byblos says that the
Phoenicians had an ancient custom -- "they offered their dearest children in a
way full of mystery" when danger threatened the nation.[9] In Bible times, the
King of Moab offered his son as a burnt offering when his capital was under
siege (2 Kings 3:27).
This Canaanite and Phoenician practice came into Israel under apostate kings
when Ahaz "made his son pass through the fire" (2 Kings 16:3) and Manasseh did
the same (2 Kings 21:6). The custom was probably fairly widespread, since it
prompted condemnations of the practice in the Bible (Leviticus 18:21; 20:2-5;
Deuteronomy 18:10; 2 Kings 17:17; 21:6; 2 Chronicles 28:3; 23:10; Psalm
106:37-38; Jeremiah 19:4-5; 32:35).
But Abraham didn't have the benefit of God's revelation to Moses and the
prophets, of the Old Testament scriptures. All he knew was that child sacrifice
was practiced by some of the Canaanites. Instead of being morally incensed by
the practice (as we are, with our knowledge of God's revealed will), Abraham had
no option but to believe that God seriously demanded that he sacrifice his son
as a "burnt offering," that is, a sacrifice that is fully consumed by the fire
upon the altar.
And so Abraham prepared to go to "the region of Moriah." In the only other
occurrence of this place name in the Old Testament it refers to Jerusalem, a
city built upon several hills on the ridge of the north-south mountain chain.
"Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on
Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the
threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David" (2
Chronicles 3:1).
We're not sure what the name Moriah means, but it may be something like "my
teacher is Yah" or "the land which is the king's."[10]
Abraham Heads for Mt. Moriah (22:3-5)
To Abraham's credit, when God told him to offer his son Isaac, he didn't put
it off. He began his journey "early the next morning."
"Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He
took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough
wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him
about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
He said to his servants, 'Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go
over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.'" (22:3-5)
"The third day" is about right for a trip from Beer-sheba to Jerusalem, a
journey of about 50 miles. He leaves his servants behind with the donkey and
tells them that he and the boy will go and worship. "Worship" is the Hebrew verb
shāhā, "bow down, prostrate oneself, worship."[11]
Observe Abraham's confident promise: "We will worship and then we
will come back to you" (22:5). While Abraham is fully prepared to offer Isaac,
he also is confident that God will keep the promises that Isaac himself will be
heir to the covenant and have descendents (Genesis 17:19, 21; 21:12). Here is
obedient faith in action.
The writer of Hebrews reflects on the quality of Abraham's faith:
"By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a
sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one
and only son, even though God had said to him, 'It is through Isaac that
your offspring will be reckoned.' Abraham reasoned that God could raise the
dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death."
(Hebrews 11:17-19)
But this was no play-acting for Abraham, no "slam-dunk." He fully intended
obey God -- but at the same time there were those promises pointing to Isaac.
Somehow, he hoped and prayed, God would intervene.
God Will Provide the Lamb (22:6-9)

Gustav Doré (French illustrator 1832-1883), captures some of the
poignancy and fearfulness of the situation in his etching, "Abraham and Isaac
climb Mt. Moriah" (1866).
Larger Image.
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Isaac was old enough to sense something amiss.
"Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his
son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them
went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, 'Father?'
'Yes, my son?' Abraham replied.
'The fire and wood are here,' Isaac said, 'but where is the lamb for the
burnt offering?'
Abraham answered, 'God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering,
my son.' And the two of them went on together." (22:6-9)
Abraham answers Isaac's questions with the only answer he can hope for, "God
himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." On yir’eh,
"provide," see verse 14 below.
Abraham Prepares to Sacrifice His Son (22:9-10)
"When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar
there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the
altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to
slay his son." (22:11-12)
The narrator explains how Abraham methodically proceeds:
- Builds an altar, either an earthen altar or one made of stones (on altars,
see Lesson 1, Genesis 12:7).
- Arranges the wood on the altar.
- Binds Isaac, probably with leather thongs.
- Lays him on the altar. Abraham picks up his son Isaac, his only son, and
sets him on the wood.
- Reaches for the knife.
Flint knife with elephant ivory handle, 2-3/8 x 13/16 x 9-1/8
inches, ca. 3300-3100 BC, from Abu Zaidan near Luxor, Egypt. Brooklyn Museum. |
Abraham's "knife" (Hebrew ma’ăkelet) may have been metal -- this is
the Middle Bronze Age, after all. But I think it is more likely a flint knife.
Archaeologists have found flint knives used alongside of metal knives for
centuries, since flint kept its edge better than cooper or iron. Abraham is
certainly wealthy enough to afford a metal knife, but as a shepherd, he would
need, I suspect, a sharp flint knife rather than a decorative, but duller, metal
blade.[12]
Abraham reaches for the knife. "Slay" (NIV, KJV) or "kill" (NRSV) is the
Hebrew verb shāhat, "kill, slaughter." Rabbinic sources indicate that an
animal to be sacrificed was killed in "the swiftest and most painless way
possible, by cutting horizontally across the throat in an uninterrupted
movement."[13] In a moment, that is exactly what Abraham will do -- to his son!
The Angel Restrains Abraham (22:11-12)
But just before that point, the angel -- who now speaks with the voice of
Yahweh -- stops Abraham.
"But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, 'Abraham!
Abraham!'
'Here I am,' he replied.
'Do not lay a hand[14] on the boy,' he said. 'Do not do anything to him. Now
I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son,
your only son.'" (22:11-12)
The repetition of his name -- "Abraham, Abraham" -- suggests the urgency of
the angel's message, and recalls other urgent calls from God -- "Moses, Moses"
(Exodus 3:4), "Samuel, Samuel" (1 Samuel 3:4), "Saul, Saul" (Acts 9:4).[15] God
stops him from slaying his son, and then encourages him that he has passed the
test.
God's Testing and Forming of His Servants
Yahweh says, "Now I know that you fear God," that is, he is committed to God.
One who fears God stands in awe of God and lives with practical righteousness
and piety, obeying, walking in the Lord's ways.[16]
But doesn't the omnipotent God -- "the LORD, God Most
High, Creator of heaven and earth" (14:22) -- have foreknowledge of how Abraham
will respond? Of course. This is not a theological textbook but a story.
Professor Sheriffs comments:
"It would be unfair to Hebrew storytelling to ask it to turn into an
academic treatise on God's sovereignty and human freedom. Rather, this story
is the story of a journey with God, sometimes told from God's perspective --
as in the narrator's opening words -- and sometimes told from the human
participant's perspective."[17]
In verse 1 the narrator uses the word "tested" (NIV, NRSV) to describe this
event, the Hebrew verb nāsā, "test, try, prove." In most contexts this
word has the idea of "testing or proving the quality of someone or something,
often through diversity or hardship." It should be translated in this context,
"prove, test, put to the test" rather than "tempt" (KJV) or "entice to do wrong"
(James 1:13-14). "Such testing by God, however, was not without intent. It was
to refine the character of man that he might walk more closely in God's
ways."[18] Several times in the Old Testament, the idea of testing is combined
with refining metals, such as silver or gold (Jeremiah 6:27; 9:7; Zechariah
13:9). God uses the events we face to challenge and strengthen our faith, to
grow our spiritual muscles in the same way that physical workouts challenge
existing muscle fibers and cause them to regrow even stronger. James exhorts us:
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many
kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops
perseverance." (James 1:2-3)
Paul writes:
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an
eternal glory that far outweighs them all." (2 Corinthians 4:17)
God also tests us in order to show off our character to others. Job doesn't
understand why he was suffering, but in God's eyes, his faithfulness is a
showpiece of character that Satan's attacks cannot undermine. Abraham's faith on
Mt. Moriah has inspired countless generations to a faith in God and a commitment
to God that goes beyond the ordinary. As we deal with life's struggles, we are
scrutinized by the world around us, who are hoping against hope to see a person
of character remain true to God even through pain and struggle. Our actions
speak much louder at such times than our words ever can (Matthew 5:13-16). And
our confidence in God and words of testimony after such a trial of our faith
bring glory to God.
But in the midst of trails we wonder Why? We seek to find meaning in our
trials. Sometimes, as in Abraham's case, God explains a bit of the purpose. At
other times, we just don't know, but we continue to trust that in this
circumstance God will fulfill his word: "And we know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose" (Romans 8:28).
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Q1. What effect does Satan want trials to have in our life? What effect
does God want them to have? The effect really depends upon how we respond to the
trial. Have you ever been through a trial that strengthens and invigorates you
at the end? Have any of your trials inspired others or have you been inspired by
another's trial?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=61&t=261
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The Significance of Abraham's Faith
Abraham's act of faith is awesome. Young Isaac is Abraham's only future, yet
he is willing to entrust his future to God. Luter and Klouda observe:
"Abraham's willingness to relinquish Isaac expresses his dependence
on the Lord himself, not just on the divine promise alone. Abraham
recognizes his son Isaac as a gift ultimately belonging to God, and the
fulfillment of the Lord's covenant promises as a privilege, not a
right."[19]
God leads Abraham -- as he brings many of his servants today -- to the point
of offering to God everything he possesses so that he hopes in God alone -- only
to receive back sanctified and blessed what he has offered. Herein lies the
paradox of true discipleship:
"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for me and for the gospel will save it." (Mark 8:35)
Jesus also said:
"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you
the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains
only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who
loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world
will keep it for eternal life." (John 12:23-25)
I think of the old Gospel hymn:
"All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give.
I will ever love and trust Him, in his service daily live.
I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Jesus I surrender. I surrender all."[20]
When we are afraid to trust God with our future, we are to be pitied. Abraham
offers everything he is and has to God and receives an unfathomable blessing.
Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord Will Provide (22:13-14)
God stops him from sacrificing Isaac on the altar, but not from worship:
"Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its
horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering
instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide (Yahweh-yir’eh).
And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be
provided.'" (22:13-14)
God provides a male sheep for the sacrifice,[20] just as Abraham had told
Isaac that he would. "Provide" is the Hebrew verb is yir’eh from the root
rā’eh, "to see." Literally, it reads, "God will see for himself the
sheep."[21] This word yir’eh, "will see, will provide" becomes the basis
of Abraham's choice of a name for this place in verse 14, Yahweh-yir’eh,
("Jehovah-jireh," KJV), "The LORD Will Provide."
God promises many, many times in the Scripture that he will provide for his
people. In the wilderness after the Exodus, God provided manna and clothing,
protection and water (Deuteronomy 8:3; Nehemiah 9:15). Psalm 23:1 reminds us,
"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want." Two New
Testament examples are:
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33, KJV)
"And my God will meet all your needs according to his
glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
From that day forward, Abraham remembered the name he had given that mountain
top -- Jehovah-jireh, Yahweh-yir’eh, "The LORD Will
Provide."
I Will Surely Bless You (22:15-19)
After God intervenes, he reaffirms his promises to Abraham with a powerful
oath and declaration:
"The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time
and said, 'I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done
this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you
and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the
sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of
their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be
blessed, because you have obeyed me.'
Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for
Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba." (22:15-19)
"Swear" is the verb sheba‘ that we saw in chapter 21. Humans swear by
what is most holy and sacred to them. Here Yahweh swears by himself (22:15). The
writer of Hebrews comments on this verse saying: "When God made his promise to
Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by
himself." (Hebrews 6:13; compare Isaiah 45:23; Jeremiah 49:13; 51:14; Amos 6:8).
Not only does God swear by himself, but the promises themselves are stated
unequivocally. "Surely" (NIV) and "indeed" (NRSV) translate the emphatic sense
created in Hebrew by repeating the words "bless" (bārak) and "multiply" (rābā)
-- "That in blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying I will multiply thy
seed...." (KJV).
The promises themselves we have seen before, but here they are collected
together. I have arranged them so that you can see the structure of the
promises.
Because you have done this
- I will most emphatically bless you.
- I will most emphatically multiply your descendants
- As numerous as the stars in the sky
- and the sand on the seashore.
- Your descendents will take possession of the "gates" (KJV) or
"cities" (NIV) of their enemies -- that is, possess the "land" that God had
promised Abraham previously.
- Through your seed will all nations on the earth be blessed
Because you obeyed me.
Analogy to God Giving His Only Begotten Son
It is difficult for Christians to consider the story of Abraham being willing
to offer Isaac without seeing strong analogies to the sacrifice of Jesus on the
cross.
- "Take your son, your only son..." (22:2). In the New Testament we
read: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life" (John
3:16).
- "...Whom you love" (22:2). Twice God's voice designates Jesus as his
"Beloved Son" or "my Son, whom I love" (Matthew 3:17; 17:5). In the Parable of
the Vineyard, the owner (who represents God) sends his "beloved son" (who
represents Jesus; Luke 20:13).

The Dome of the Rock, on the temple site, "Mt. Moriah, Jerusalem. |
On a mountain "in the region of Moriah" (22:2). 2 Chronicles 3:1
designates Mount Moriah as "the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite," which
became the site of the temple and, later, the present-day site of the Dome of
the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra). This Muslim mosque is built over the holy place
where Islam teaches that Abraham sacrificed his son Ishmael (not Isaac).
Golgotha was not on this exact site, but close by (in "the region of Moriah").
- "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering" (22:8).
Jesus is designated several times as "the Lamb of God" (John 1:29, 36),
especially in the Book of Revelation (5:6-13; 6:1, 16; 7:9-10, 14, 17; 12:11;
13:8; 14:1, 4, 10; 15:3; 17:14; 19:7, 9; 21:9, 14, 22-23, 27-22:3). (For more on
this, see my Bible study "Behold, the
Lamb of God" (www.jesuswalk.com/lamb).
It is difficult to escape the conclusion that this story of Abraham is like
an acted out prophecy of the unimaginable -- the Heavenly Father who offers his
only Son, the Son whom he loves, on the cross, as a Lamb that only he can
provide, to accomplish what only he can accomplish -- to take away the sin of
the world.
Abraham's anguish and resolve help us to understand just a tiny bit our
Heavenly Father's love for us and his determination to save us, whatever the
cost.
Lessons for Disciples
This passage contains some of the most basic and difficult lessons that
disciples can and must learn:
- God calls us to give everything we have to God -- and we must obey.
- Where God requires of us, he also blesses us.
- When we trust him, God will provide for every need we have. He is "The Lord
Who Provides."
- God's love for us is immeasurably great, that he would sacrifice his only
Son for our sins.
Prayer
Thank you, Father, for your immense graciousness to us in giving us your Son,
your Only Son, Jesus, as the sacrifice for our sins. How can we say "Thank you"
in any adequate way? Help us to trust you as did your servant Abraham, with the
things most precious to us. We thank you for your blessing of grace, unearned
and undeserved. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Key Verses
"Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the
region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the
mountains I will tell you about." (22:2)
"God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son."
(22:8)
"Do not lay a hand on the boy,' he said. 'Do not do anything to him. Now I
know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your
only son." (Genesis 22:12)
References
Common Abbreviations
http://www.jesuswalk.com/abraham/refs.htm
- Hebrew interjection hinnēh, "look!, see!" It is used mainly
used to emphasize the information following it (Carl Philip Weber, TWOT #510a.)
- In verse 2 in the Hebrew text there is a definite article in front of
elohim, so it could be translated "the God." The narrator wants it to be
abundantly clear that "The God," Abraham's God spoke to him. It didn't come from
his own mind or imagination (Hamilton, Genesis 2:100).
- Paul R. Gilchrist, TWOT #858a.
- Robert L. Allen, TWOT #29.
- G. Lloyd Carr, TWOT #1624c.
- De Vaux, Ancient Israel, 2:435.
- De Vaux 2:441.
- Cited in a text of Diodorus Siculus, Biblioth. Hist. XX, 14.
- Cited in Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica i.10.21, 34, 44. See also
Porphyry, De abstin. II 56. Cited by De Vaux 2:445-446. Also John Day,
"Canaan, Religion of," ABD 1:834.
- Hamilton, Genesis 2:102-103.
- Edwin Yamauchi, TWOT #2360.
- Roland K. Harrison, "Flint," ISBE 2:315; EB Pollard, "Knife," ISBE 3:46-47;
Jack B. Scott, TWOT #85e. Flint knives were used when the Israelites were
circumcised just prior to the Battle of Jericho (Joshua 5:2), four centuries
after Abraham.
- Victor P. Hamilton, TWOT #2362.
- The phrase "lay (a hand) on" (NIV) is the same verb as "reached out (his
hand)." "Stretched forth" (KJV) or "reached out" (NIV, NRSV) in verse 10 and
"lay (your hand on) " in verse 12 translate the Hebrew verb shālah, here,
"to stretch out, extend," of a hand or a rod (Hermann J. Austel, TWOT #2394).
- Hamilton, Genesis 2:111-112.
- In the phrase "fear God," "fear" is the Hebrew noun yārē’, "fearing,
afraid" as in "God-fearer." The emphasis here isn't on terror as much as awe or
reverence. A "God-fearer" will express his awe in practical righteousness or
piety, obeying, walking in the Lord's ways (Andrew Bowling, TWOT #907a).
- Deryck C.T. Sheriffs, "Testing," DOTP 830-834.
- Marvin R. Wilson, TWOT #1373. See also Walter Schneider, Colin Brown, and
Hermann Haarbeck, "Tempt, Test, Approve," Dictionary of New Testament
Theology (Zondervan, 1978) 3:798-810; Craig L. Blomberg, "Test," ISBE
4:795-796.
- A. Boyd Luter and Sheri L. Klouda, "Isaac," DOTP 448.
- Hymn: "I Surrender All." Words: Judson W. Van DeVenter (1896); music:
Winfield S. Weeden (1896).
- "Ram" (’ayil) is a male sheep. Since one ram to 10 female lambs is
typical in raising sheep, the males were commonly used for meat and sacrifices,
while the females were kept for the next generation (Herbert Wolf, TWOT #45d).
- Yir’eh
is also used in the sense "to provide" in the word of the LORD
through the prophet Samuel, "I have provided me a king among his sons" (1 Samuel
16:1, KJV, NRSV). (Hamilton, Genesis 2:98, note 8.; Robert D. Culver,
TWOT #2095.)
Part of Disciple Lessons
from the Faith of Abraham
Copyright © 1985-2012, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor
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