Genesis 22: The LORD Will Provide

God tests Abraham with Isaac, provides a ram instead, and swears to bless all nations through Abraham's offspring.

Chapter 22 of 5024 verses5 sectionsBSB

Where Genesis 22 sits

Genesis66 books · 1,189 chaptersRevelation

In the story: Act III, Promise: Genesis 12–50; Job
In the Bible: Old Testament · The Law · chapter 22 of 50 in Genesis
In Genesis: Terah's line: Abraham, 11:27–25:11 · part of One family
Before: Genesis 21: Isaac born, Ishmael sent away
After: Genesis 23: A grave in the land

Genesis 22 summary

Some time later God tells Abraham to take his only son Isaac, whom he loves, and offer him on a mountain in Moriah. Abraham obeys at once, and when Isaac asks where the lamb is, he answers that God will provide; on the mountain the angel of the LORD stops his hand, a ram caught by its horns is offered instead, and Abraham names the place “The LORD Will Provide.” Because Abraham has not withheld his son, God swears by Himself to multiply his descendants, give them the gates of their enemies, and bless all nations through his offspring; news of Nahor's family then introduces Rebekah.

Genesis 22 in context

Speaking: Moses, narrating; God, Isaac, Abraham and the angel of the LORD speak
Written for: Israel, whose temple would one day stand on Mount Moriah (2 Chr 3:1), learning a faith that trusts God to keep His promise through death
Around it: Isaac, the promised son, is born (21), tested here (22), and given a bride (24)

How Genesis 22 points to Christ

The beloved only son carries the wood up the hill and is received back, as it were, from the dead (Heb 11:17–19); God did not spare His own Son (Rom 8:32); the oath to bless the nations comes true in Abraham's one Seed (Gal 3:16)

The sections of Genesis 22

The test
God tests Abraham, commanding him to offer his only son Isaac, whom he loves, as a burnt offering in Moriah.
22:1–2
The journey
Abraham obeys at once, lays the wood on Isaac, and tells his son that God Himself will provide the lamb.
22:3–8
On the mount
The angel of the LORD stops Abraham's hand; a ram is offered in Isaac's place, and the place is named The LORD Will Provide.
22:9–14
The oath
Abraham has not withheld his son, so the LORD swears to multiply his descendants and bless all nations through his offspring.
22:15–19
Rebekah's family
News of Nahor's children introduces Bethuel and his daughter Rebekah, Isaac's future bride.
22:20–24

Read Genesis 22

The Offering of Isaac

¹Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

²“Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

³So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated.

⁴On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵“Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told his servants. “The boy and I will go over there to worship, and then we will return to you.”

⁶Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac. He himself carried the fire and the sacrificial knife, and the two of them walked on together.

⁷Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!”

“Here I am, my son,” he replied.

“The fire and the wood are here,” said Isaac, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two walked on together.

⁹When they arrived at the place God had designated, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, atop the wood. ¹⁰Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

The LORD Provides the Sacrifice

¹¹Just then the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

¹²“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.”

¹³Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

¹⁵And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time, ¹⁶saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son, ¹⁷I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies. ¹⁸And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

¹⁹Abraham went back to his servants, and they got up and set out together for Beersheba. And Abraham settled in Beersheba.

The Sons of Nahor

²⁰Some time later, Abraham was told, “Milcah has also borne sons to your brother Nahor: ²¹Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ²²Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.”

²³And Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor. ²⁴Moreover, Nahor’s concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Berean Standard Bible, 24 verses. The BSB is in the public domain.

Around Genesis 22

Also in Terah's line: Abraham

Places

Beersheba
Moriah
Jerusalem

Read alongside

2 Chronicles 3:1 Solomon builds the temple on Mount Moriah.
John 1:29 Look, the Lamb of God.
Hebrews 11:17–19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead.
James 2:21–23 Faith perfected by what he did.

Chapters that point here

How Genesis 22 connects

The Seed Line · Genesis 22:18 (Galatians 3:16; Acts 3:25)
The Lamb Line · Genesis 22:8 · No New Testament text quotes 22:8; shown as an echo of “Look, the Lamb of God.” (John 1:29)
Mountain · Genesis 22:14 · Mount Moriah becomes the temple mount (2 Chr 3:1).
Faith · Genesis 22:1–19 (Hebrews 11:17–19; James 2:21–23)
Promise · Genesis 22:16–17, kept in Hebrews 6:13–18; Luke 1:72–73
Promise · Genesis 22:18, kept in Galatians 3:16; Acts 3:25–26
Promise · Genesis 22:17, kept in 1 Corinthians 15:25; Hebrews 10:13
Type · Isaac offered and received back pictures Christ's death and resurrection (Hebrews 11:17–19)
Type · “You have not withheld your only son” pictures “He who did not spare His own Son” (Romans 8:32)
Type · The ram offered in Isaac's place pictures Christ the substitute, the Lamb God provides (John 1:29)
Covenant with Abraham · Genesis 22:15–18 · The promise confirmed with an oath: God swears by Himself, giving two unchangeable things for His people's hope (Heb 6:13–18).

Doctrines Genesis 22 teaches

Saving faith · Hebrews 11:17–19; James 2:21–23
Good works · James 2:21–23
Providence · Genesis 22:8; Genesis 22:14

How Genesis 22 is shaped

“Go to the land”: the first and last tests Gen 12:1–22:19

First 12:1 Go to the land I will show you: leave your father
Last 22:2 Go to the land of Moriah: give up your son

The Hebrew command occurs only at these two points, framing Abraham's walk of faith from the call to the climax.

Questions on Genesis 22

Where does God provide a ram in Isaac's place?
Show the answer
On one of the mountains in the land of Moriah (22:2). Abraham sees a ram caught by its horns in a thicket, offers it in place of his son, and names the place The LORD Will Provide (22:13–14).
What words tie chapter 22 to chapter 21, and what command ties it to 12:1?
Show the answer
“Some time later” (22:1) carries the story on from Isaac’s birth in chapter 21. God’s command to “go to the land” of Moriah (22:2) echoes His first call to go to the land He would show Abram (12:1), framing Abraham’s walk of faith.
What does God swear to Abraham after the test?
Show the answer
Swearing by Himself, the LORD promises to bless Abraham, multiply his descendants like the stars and the sand, give them the gates of their enemies, and bless all nations through his offspring, because he obeyed (22:16–18).

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