to whom it was said, “your offspring will be accounted as from Isaac”;
Parallel translations
- KJV Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
- BSB even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”
- NKJV of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,”
- NASB it was he to whom it was said, “Through Isaac your descendants shall be named.”
- NLT even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”
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
Isaac was the son of whom God had said the promised offspring would come. The command to offer him therefore put God's own word to the test.
Overview
Quoting Genesis 21:12, this verse underscores the tension in the command: Isaac was the appointed channel of all God's promises to Abraham. To sacrifice him seemed to cancel the covenant itself. This sharpens the magnitude of Abraham's faith, which trusted God's word even when his command appeared to contradict it.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Gen 21:12God said to Abraham, “Don’t let it be grievous in your sight because of the boy, and because of your servant. In all that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice. For your offspring will be accounted as from Isaac.
- Rom 9:7Neither, because they are Abraham’s offspring, are they all children. But, “your offspring will be accounted as from Isaac.”
- Gen 17:19God said, “No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
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Christ at the center
Hebrews is sustained worship of Christ: better than angels, Moses, and the priests; the great High Priest after Melchizedek who by one sacrifice perfects forever those he saves.
How Hebrews 11:18 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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