Abraham’s Sacrifice

God commanded Abraham to offer his beloved son Isaac as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah. Abraham obeyed, binding Isaac on an altar and raising the knife—but an angel stayed his hand at the last moment. God provided a ram caught in a thicket as a substitute sacrifice.

This event, known as the Akedah (“binding”) in Jewish tradition, stands as the supreme test of Abraham’s faith and obedience. God had promised that through Isaac all nations would be blessed, yet commanded his death—an apparent contradiction resolved only through trust in divine providence.

The narrative prefigures central themes in all three Abrahamic faiths: sacrificial substitution, radical obedience to God, and divine provision. Christians see it as foreshadowing Christ’s sacrifice, Muslims commemorate Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice Ishmael (in Islamic tradition) during Eid al-Adha, and Jews recite this passage during the High Holy Days as a reminder of covenantal faithfulness.