And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
Parallel translations
- WEB After these things, God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.”
- BSB Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered.
- NKJV Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
- NASB Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
- NLT Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he 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
After these events, God tests Abraham, who responds, 'Here I am.' This sets the stage for the supreme test of Abraham's faith.
Overview
God initiates a test, not to tempt Abraham to evil, but to prove and refine his faith and obedience. Abraham's ready answer, 'Here I am,' expresses his attentive availability to God. This climactic trial will reveal the depth of his trust and become one of Scripture's clearest foreshadowings of the Father offering His only Son.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Heb 11:17By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
- Jas 2:21Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
- Deut 8:2And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
- Jas 1:12–14Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
- 1 Pet 1:7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
- 1 Cor 10:13There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
- Prov 17:3The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.
- Gen 22:11And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
- Gen 22:7And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
- Deut 8:16Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
- Exod 15:25–26And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
- Exod 3:4And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
- Isa 6:8Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
- Exod 16:4Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
- 2 Chr 32:31Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.
- Judg 2:22That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
- Deut 13:3Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
- 2 Sam 24:1And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
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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 22:1 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
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