Bible Strands
Genesis 22:7
Then 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?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Isaac addresses his father Abraham during their journey to Moriah, asking for the sacrificial animal after confirming the fire and wood are present. This exchange occurs immediately after the two walked together carrying the wood and the knife.
The words — The Hebrew אָבִי (a.Vi) translates literally as “my father” or “O father,” marking Isaac’s direct appeal to Abraham. The verb וַ/יֹּאמֶר (va/i.Yo.mer) appears three times in the verse, structuring each spoken line in rapid succession.
The thread — The inquiry about the missing lamb follows the sacrificial sequence of Abel’s sheep (Genesis 4:2) and Noah’s burnt offering (Genesis 8:20), while the expectation of divine provision later aligns with the New Testament’s description of adoption and the Spirit (Romans 8:15).
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to face the practical demand of substitution when the prescribed offering is absent. It forces an examination of how obedience functions when the necessary means are not yet visible.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And 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?
Cross-references
- Romans 8:15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption to sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
- Genesis 4:2 Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.
- Genesis 8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.
- Exodus 12:3 Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must select a lamb for his family, one per household.
- Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
- Matthew 26:42 A second time He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may Your will be done.”
- John 18:11 “Put your sword back in its sheath!” Jesus said to Peter. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?”