Yahweh’s angel called to him out of the sky, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
- BSB Just then the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
- NKJV But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.”
- NASB But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
- NLT At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The angel of Yahweh calls urgently from heaven, and Abraham answers, 'Here I am.' God intervenes at the last moment to stop the sacrifice.
Overview
The repeated 'Abraham, Abraham!' conveys the urgency of God's timely intervention. Abraham's familiar response, 'Here I am,' shows his continued readiness to hear and obey. The angel of Yahweh, whom many understand as a manifestation of God Himself, halts the act, confirming that God never intended Isaac's death but the proving of Abraham's faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gen 21:17God heard the voice of the boy. The angel of God called to Hagar out of the sky, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.
- Exod 3:4When Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the middle of the bush, and said, “Moses! Moses!” He said, “Here I am.”
- Gen 16:9–10Yahweh’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hands.”
- Gen 22:16and said, “I have sworn by myself, says Yahweh, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son,
- 1 Sam 3:10Yahweh came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.”
- Gen 22:12He said, “Don’t lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
- Gen 22:1After these things, God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.”
- Gen 16:7Yahweh’s angel found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur.
- Acts 9:4He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
- Acts 26:14When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 22:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.