Difference between revisions of "Isaac"

<p> (See [[Abraham]] ; ISHMAEL.) "laughter," because Abraham laughed in joy at the promise of his birth, type of the annunciation of Messiah's birth (&nbsp;Genesis 17:17); and [[Sarah]] too, with some degree of incredulity because of the improbability at her age (&nbsp;Genesis 18:12), but at his birth with thankful joy toward God, saying "God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me" (&nbsp;Genesis 21:6-7; compare &nbsp;Isaiah 54:1). His miraculous conception and naming before birth typify [[Messiah]] (Luke 1; Matthew 1). Born at [[Gerar]] when Abraham was 100 years old. "Mocked" by [[Ishmael]] (who was "born after the flesh") at the weaning feast; the mocking, as Paul implies, containing the germ and spirit of persecution, profanely sneering at the object of the promise. The child of the bond-woman must therefore give place to the child of the freewoman born "by promise." </p> <p> While the believing parents "laughed," Ishmael "mocked." With the laugh of derision and spite. Isaac is type of the believing "children of the promise," "born after the Spirit," therefore, "children of the free" church, "heirs according to the promise," persecuted by the children of legal and carnal bondage, but ultimately about to "inherit all things" to the exclusion of the carnal (&nbsp;Galatians 4:22-31; &nbsp;Galatians 5:1; &nbsp;Galatians 3:29; &nbsp;Revelation 21:7-8). Isaac's submission (at 25 years of age: Josephus, Ant. 1:13, section 2) to his father's will when binding him, and his bearing the wood for his own intended sacrifice, make him a lively type of Him who bore His own cross to [[Calvary]] (&nbsp;John 19:17), and whose language was, "Lo I come to do [[Thy]] will [[O]] God" (&nbsp;Psalms 40:7-8; &nbsp;Hebrews 10:7). His living still after the three days (&nbsp;Genesis 22:4) in which he was dead in Abraham's purpose prefigures the Messiah's resurrection on the third day. </p> <p> The scene of the sacrifice, Mount Moriah, was probably that of Christ's suffering. What Isaac's sacrifice wanted to perfect the type was actual death and vicarious substitution; the offering of the ram's life instead of the human life, hereby saved, supplied the defect; the ram and Isaac jointly complete the type. Isaac typifies Christ's Godhead, the ram typifies His manhood (Theodoret) "caught in a thicket by his horns" as Jesus was crowned with thorns. Isaac was of too excellent a nature to be slain, for God's law gives no sanction to human sacrifices. The Father, in love to us, prepared a human body (&nbsp;Hebrews 10:5) for His Son, which can suffer death, the penalty which divine righteousness required for our sin; Christ's [[Godhead]] could not suffer. The manhood and Godhead formed one Christ, at once the Son of man and the Son of God, as Isaac and the ram formed one joint type. </p> <p> Thus Abraham had the wonderful honour of representing the Father, and Isaac, the only son of the promise, was the most remarkable of all the types of the Son Messiah. Abraham herein had the glimpse which he had desired of Messiah's day "and was glad" (Isaac meaning "laughter flowing from gladness") (&nbsp;John 8:56); not that he fully comprehended the anti-typical meaning. So &nbsp;Hebrews 11:19, "from whence (from the jaws of death, compare &nbsp;2 Corinthians 1:9-10) he received him back in a parable," i.e. in the way of a typical representation of Christ's death and resurrection. So the slain goat and the scape-goat jointly on the day of atonement represented Christ's death and. resurrection. </p> <p> By this work "Abraham's faith was made perfect" (&nbsp;James 2:21-23), not was vivified, but attained its crowning development. His "faith" alone was "counted for righteousness" long before, and he was justified before God (&nbsp;Genesis 15:6). By this work he was also "justified" evidentially before men. [[Philo]] Byblius preserves from Sanchouiatho the Phoenician tradition, "Cronus, whom the Phoenicians call Israel, being king, having an only son by a nymph, Anobret, called Jahoud (Hebrew: Yahid), even now the Phoenician name for only begotten, when perils from wars were impending, having clothed his son in royal apparel, offered him upon an altar which he built" (Eusebius, Praep. Evang., 1:10). This corruption of the [[Scripture]] history of Isaac's sacrifice was based on the pagan idea of the most precious human sacrifice being needed to appease the gods in times of calamity. </p> <p> So the king of [[Moab]] sacrificed his son to [[Chemosh]] when sore pressed by Israel, Judah, and [[Edom]] (&nbsp;2 Kings 3:27). The idea though wrong in its application, rested on a primeval tradition of God's justice having appointed the sacrifice of precious life as the atonement for sin. Abraham's trustful loving obedience to the true God, at the cost of the greatest self-sacrifice, was by the test shown to be at least equal to that of idolaters to their false gods. The angel's intervention, the ram's substitution, and the prohibition of the human sacrifice prevent the possibility of supposing God sanctions any human sacrifice save that of the Antitype. Not in blind credulity, for Abraham had now long experience that God can order nothing wrong or harsh to His people, but in faith "accounting that God was able to raise His son even from the dead," he obeyed. At 40 Isaac married his cousin, Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, by whom at 60 he had twin sons, [[Esau]] and Jacob. </p> <p> His contemplative character appears in his "going out to meditate" or pray "in the field at the eventide." The death of his mother Sarah just before (Genesis 23) naturally pressed upon his spirit, and his resource in affliction was prayerful meditation, a type of Him who "went out into a mountain apart to pray" (&nbsp;Matthew 14:23), his calm and submissive temper also prefiguring the meek and lowly Lamb of God &nbsp;Isaiah 53:7). [[Solitude]] and prayer suit best the wounded spirit. That Sarah's death was uppermost in his meditation is implied most artlessly in what follows: Isaac "brought [[Rebekah]] into his mother Sarah's tent, and he loved her, and was comforted after his mother's death." Rebekah supplied the void in his heart and home. [[Weakness]] and partiality for Esau, probably owing to the contrast which Esau's bold spirit presented to his own gentle unadventurous character, were his failings; his partaking of his favorite dish, venison, the produce of his son's hunting, confirmed his selfish partiality. The mother loved the steady, quiet Jacob. </p> <p> The gift from God of the twin sons was the answer to Isaac's prayer, after 20 years of childless marriage; for God in giving the greatest blessings delays fulfilling His promise in order to call forth His people's persevering, waiting, prayerful faith (&nbsp;Genesis 25:21). When Isaac was 137, the age at which Ishmael died 14 years before, the thought of his brother's death at that age suggested thoughts of his own, and the desire to bless his favorite before dying. As he lived 43 years afterward, to see Jacob return from Mesopotamia, he probably was now dangerously sick; hence, loathing ordinary food, he longed to have "savoury meat such as he loved." Esau invited him to: "arise and sit" to eat of his venison; implying that he was laid in his bed. Moreover "he trembled exceedingly" when Esau came in. Esau's words imply his thinking Isaac near death, "the days of mourning for my father are at hand." Isaac's unexpected prolongation of life probably deterred Esau from his murderous purpose against Jacob for having stolen his blessing. </p> <p> He reverenced his father amidst all his wildness, and finally joined with Jacob in paying the last mark of respect at his father's grave, even as Isaac and Ishmael had met at Abraham's Burial. Isaac's carnal partiality and Rebekah's tortuous policy eventuated in their being left in their old age by both children, Esau disappointed and disinherited, Jacob banished to a long and distant servitude; the idols of God's children becoming their scourges, in order to bring them back to Himself (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 11:32; &nbsp;Jeremiah 2:19). His equivocation as to his wife, as if she were his sister, through fear of Abimelech's people at Gerar, was another blemish in Isaac (Genesis 26) So [[Abram]] had erred in Egypt and in this same [[Philistine]] kingdom (Genesis 20) under a king also bearing the common title (See [[Abimelech]] , i.e. my father a king. Isaac had obeyed God's vision in not going down to Egypt, a place of spiritual danger though abundant in food, but sojourning in Gerar during the famine. [[Lack]] of godly and manly firmness betrayed him into the untruth. </p> <p> His wife was not taken into Abimelech's house, as Sarah had been. Abimelech discovering the real state of the case reproved him, and warned his people not to touch him or Rebekah. His meek, peaceable, and non-self-assertive character appears in his successively yielding to the grasping herdsmen of Gerar the wells [[Esek]] ("strife") and [[Sitnah]] ("hatred".) So, the Lord who had given him a hundredfold increase in his harvests made room for him at last; and he retained the well [[Rehoboth]] ("room") without further contention, and made a covenant with Abimelech; compare &nbsp;Romans 12:18-21; &nbsp;Matthew 5:5; &nbsp;Matthew 5:25; &nbsp;Proverbs 16:7. Isaac lived to see Jacob whom he had sent with his blessing (for faith at last prevailed over his partiality, and he gave Jacob the blessing of Abraham, &nbsp;Genesis 28:1; &nbsp;Genesis 28:4) to seek a wife in Padan-aram return with a large family to him at [[Hebron]] (&nbsp;Genesis 35:27), </p> <p> Before he died at 180; the longest lived of the three patriarchs, the least migratory, the least prolific, and the least favored with revelations. He was buried in the cave of Machpelah. His blessing Jacob and Esau "even (Greek) concerning things to come," as if they were actually present, and not merely concerning things present, is quoted (&nbsp;Hebrews 11:20) as evidencing his faith; as similar dying charges evidenced Jacob's and Joseph's faith. A faithful husband of one wife (compare &nbsp;Ephesians 5:23, etc.), unlike Abraham and Jacob, of tender affections, he was a man of suffering rather than action; having the divine favor so markedly that Abimelech and his officers said, "we saw certainly that the Lord was with thee" (&nbsp;Genesis 26:28). </p> <p> As Abraham foreshadows the unsettled early history of the nation, and Jacob their commercial unwarlike later course, so Isaac their intermediate days of peace and separation from the nations in their fertile land of promise. As Abraham is associated with morning prayer, and Jacob associated with night prayer, so Isaac with evening prayer (&nbsp;Genesis 19:27; &nbsp;Genesis 28:11; &nbsp;Genesis 28:32; &nbsp;Genesis 24:63). God is still "the God of Isaac," who is one of the triad with whom the children of the kingdom shall sit down at the resurrection of the just (&nbsp;Luke 20:37-38, etc.; &nbsp;Matthew 8:11, etc.). </p>

<p> <strong> [[Isaac]] </strong> . Son of Abraham and Sarah. The meaning of the name is ‘he laugheth,’ and several reasons for bestowing it are suggested (&nbsp; [[Genesis]] 17:17; &nbsp; Genesis 18:12; &nbsp; Genesis 21:6 ). The narrative as it occurs in Scripture was derived from three principal sources. J [Note: Jahwist.] supplied &nbsp; Genesis 18:9-15; &nbsp; Genesis 21:1-7; &nbsp; Genesis 21:24; &nbsp; Genesis 25:5; &nbsp; Genesis 25:11; &nbsp; Genesis 25:26 and the bulk of &nbsp; Genesis 25:27; to E [Note: Elohist.] may be attributed &nbsp; Genesis 22:1-14 with &nbsp; Genesis 27:11 f., &nbsp; Genesis 27:17 f., &nbsp; Genesis 27:20-22; while P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] was responsible for &nbsp; Genesis 25:19 f., &nbsp; Genesis 25:26 , &nbsp; Genesis 27:46 to &nbsp; Genesis 28:9 , &nbsp; Genesis 35:27-29 . Apparent discrepancies in the story, such as that Isaac, on his deathbed (&nbsp; Genesis 27:1; &nbsp; Genesis 27:41 ), blessed Jacob, and yet did not die until many years afterwards (&nbsp; Genesis 35:27 ), are evidently due to original differences of tradition, which later editors were not careful to remove. [[Viewed]] as coming from independent witnesses, they present no serious difficulty, and do not destroy the verisimilitude of the story. In outline the narrative describes Isaac as circumcised when eight days old (&nbsp; Genesis 21:4 ), and as spending his early youth with his father at Beersheba. [[Thence]] he was taken to ‘the land of Moriah,’ to be offered up as a burnt-offering at the bidding of God; and if Abraham’s unquestioning faith is the primary lesson taught (&nbsp; Genesis 22:12 , &nbsp; Genesis 26:5 , &nbsp; Hebrews 11:17 ff.), Isaac’s child-like confidence in his father is yet conspicuous, with the associated sense of security. His mother died when he was thirty-six years of age; and Abraham sent a servant to fetch a wife for Isaac from amongst his kindred in Mesopotamia, according to &nbsp; Genesis 24:1-67 , where the religious spirit is as noticeable as the idyllic tone. For many years the couple were childless; but at length Isaac’s prayers were heard, and Rebekah gave birth to the twins, Esau and Jacob. [[Famine]] and drought made it necessary for Isaac to shift his encampment to Gerar (&nbsp; Genesis 26:1 ), where a story similar to that of Abraham’s repudiation of Sarah is told of him (ch. 20; cf. &nbsp; Genesis 12:10-20 ). The tradition was evidently a popular one, and may have found currency in several versions, though there is no actual impossibility in the imitation by the son of the father’s device. Isaac’s prosperity aroused the envy of the Philistine herdsmen (&nbsp; Genesis 26:20 f.) amongst whom he dwelt, and eventually he withdrew again to [[Beersheba]] (&nbsp; Genesis 26:23 ). He appears next as a decrepit and dying man (&nbsp; Genesis 27:1; &nbsp; Genesis 27:41 ), whose blessing, intended for Esau (&nbsp; Genesis 25:28 , &nbsp; Genesis 27:4 ), was diverted by Rebekah upon Jacob. When the old man discovered the mistake, he was agitated at the deception practised upon him, but was unable to do more than predict for Esau a wild and independent career. To protect Jacob from his brother’s resentment Isaac sent him away to obtain a wife from his mother’s kindred in Paddan-aram (&nbsp; Genesis 28:2 ), and repeated the benediction. The next record belongs to a period twenty-one years later, unless the paragraph (&nbsp; Genesis 35:27-29 ) relates to a visit Jacob made to his home in the interval. It states that Isaac died at Hebron at the age of 180. He was buried by his sons in the cave of [[Machpelah]] (&nbsp; Genesis 49:31 ). </p> <p> Isaac is a less striking personality than his father. Deficient in the heroic qualities, he suffered in disposition from an excess of mildness and the love of quiet. His passion for ‘savoury meat’ (&nbsp;Genesis 25:28 , &nbsp; Genesis 27:4 ) was probably a tribal failing. He was rather shifty and timid in his relations with Abimelech (&nbsp; Genesis 26:1-22 ), too easily imposed upon, and not a good ruler of his household, a gracious and kindly but not a strong man. In &nbsp; Genesis 26:5 he is subordinated to Abraham, and blessed for his sake; but the two are more frequently classed together (&nbsp; Exodus 2:24; &nbsp; Exodus 3:6 , &nbsp; Matthew 8:11; &nbsp; Matthew 22:32 , &nbsp; Acts 3:13 <em> el al </em> .), and in &nbsp; Amos 7:9; &nbsp; Amos 7:16 ‘Isaac’ is used as a synonym for Israel. If therefore the glory of Isaac was partly derived from the memory of his greater father, the impression made upon posterity by his almost Instinctive trust in God (&nbsp; Genesis 22:7-8 ) and by the prevailing strength of his devotion (&nbsp; Genesis 25:21 ) was deep and abiding. Jacob considered piety and reverent awe as specially characteristic of his father (&nbsp; Genesis 31:42; &nbsp; Genesis 31:53 , where ‘the Fear of Isaac’ means the God tremblingly adored by him). The submission of Isaac plays a part, although a less important one than the faith of Abraham, in the NT references (&nbsp; Hebrews 11:17 f., &nbsp; James 2:21 ). </p> <p> R. W. Moss. </p>

<p> the son of Abraham and Sarah, was born in the year of the world 2108. His name which signifies <em> laughter, </em> was given him by his mother, because when it was told her by an angel that she should have a son, and that at a time of life when, according to the course of nature, she was past child-bearing, she privately laughed, &nbsp; Genesis 18:10-12 . And when the child was born she said, "God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me," &nbsp;Genesis 21:6 . The life of Isaac, for the first seventy-five years of it, is so blended with that of his illustrious father, that the principal incidents of it have been already noticed under the article <em> Abraham. </em> His birth was attended with some extraordinary circumstances: </p> <p> it was the subject of various promises and prophecies; an event most ardently desired by his parents, and yet purposely delayed by [[Divine]] [[Providence]] till they were both advanced in years, no doubt for the trial of their faith, and that Isaac might more evidently appear to be the gift of God, and "the child of promise." At an early period of life he was the object of the profane contempt of Ishmael, the son of the bond woman, by whom he was persecuted; and as in the circumstances attending his birth there was something typical of the birth of Abraham's greater Son, the Messiah, the promised Seed; so, in the latter instance, we contemplate in him a resemblance of real Christians, who, as Isaac was, are "the children of promise," invested in all the immunities and blessings of the new covenant; but, as then, "he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now," &nbsp;Galatians 4:29 . </p> <p> When Isaac had arrived at a state of manhood, he was required to give a signal proof of his entire devotedness to God. Abraham was commanded to offer up his beloved son in sacrifice, &nbsp;Genesis 22:1 . This remarkable transaction, so far as Abraham was concerned in it, has already been considered under the article <em> Abraham. </em> But, if from this trial of the faith of the parent we turn our attention to the conduct of Isaac, the victim destined for the slaughter, we behold an example of faith and of dutiful obedience equally conspicuous with that of his honoured parent. Isaac submitted, as it should seem, without resistance, to be bound and laid on the altar, exposing his body to the knife that was lifted up to destroy him. How strikingly calculated is this remarkable history to direct our thoughts to a more exalted personage, whom Isaac prefigured; and to a more astonishing transaction represented by that on Mount Moriah! Behold Jesus Christ, that Seed of Abraham, in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed, voluntarily going forth, in obedience to the command of his heavenly Father, and laying down his life, as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. </p> <p> In the progress of Isaac's history, we find him, in the time of his greatest activity and vigour, a man of retired habits and of remarkable calmness of mind. He appears to have been affectionately attached to his mother Sarah, and, even at the age of forty, was not insusceptible of great sorrow on occasion of her death. But he allows his father to choose for him a suitable partner in life; and Rebekah was selected from among his own kindred, in preference to the daughters of Canaan, in the midst of whom he dwelt. In a few years afterward, he who had mourned for his mother, was called to weep over his father's grave; and in that last act of filial duty, it is pleasing to find the two rival brothers, Isaac and Ishmael, meeting together for the interment of Abraham. The occasion, indeed, was well calculated to allay all existing jealousies and contentions, and cause every family broil to cease, &nbsp;Genesis 25:9 . After the death of Abraham, "God blessed his son Isaac;" but, though the latter had now been married twenty years, Rebekah was childless. "Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived," &nbsp;Genesis 25:21 . God also promised to multiply Isaac's seed, and his promise was fulfilled. Two children were born to him at one time, concerning whom the divine purpose was declared to the mother, and no doubt to the father also, that "the elder should serve the younger." A </p> <p> famine which came upon the country in the days of Isaac, obliged him to remove his family and flocks and retire to Gerar, in the country of the Philistines, of which Abimelech was at that time king. The possessions of Isaac multiplied so prodigiously, that the inhabitants of the country became envious of him, and even Abimelech, to preserve peace among them, was under the necessity of requesting him to retire, because he was become too powerful. He accordingly withdrew, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, where he digged new wells, and, after a time, returned to Beersheba, where he fixed his habitation, &nbsp;Genesis 26:1-23 . Here the Lord appeared to him, and renewed to him the covenant which he had made with Abraham, promising to be his God, and to make him a blessing to others. Abimelech now sought his friendship, and, to form an alliance with him, paid him a visit; on which occasion Isaac displayed his magnificence by a sumptuous entertainment, A.M. 2240. </p> <p> When he was a hundred and thirty-seven years of age, and his sight had so failed him that he could not distinguish one of his sons from the other, Jacob craftily obtained from him the blessing of primogeniture. Yet Isaac survived many years after this, to him, distressing occurrence. He sent Jacob into Mesopotamia, there to take a wife of his own family, &nbsp;Genesis 28:1-2 , and to prevent his marrying among the [[Canaanites]] as his brother Esau had done. And when Jacob returned, after a lapse of twenty years, Isaac was still living, and continued to live twenty-three years longer. He then died at the age of a hundred and eighty years, and was buried with Abraham by his sons Esau and Jacob, Genesis 35. See [[Esau]] and See [[Jacob]] . </p>

<p> God promised Abraham and Sarah that, in spite of their old age, they would produce a child through whom God would carry on the process of fulfilling his covenant promises. That child was Isaac (&nbsp;Genesis 17:19; &nbsp;Genesis 17:21). The promises were that God would make Isaac’s descendants into a people for himself, that he would give them [[Canaan]] as their homeland, and that through them he would bring blessing to the whole world (&nbsp;Genesis 22:15-18). </p> <p> '''Isaac and his father''' </p> <p> It was entirely contrary to nature that a couple as old as Abraham and Sarah should produce a child, but this proved that it was the work of God (&nbsp;Genesis 18:10-14; &nbsp;Genesis 21:5). God had made a promise, and Abraham and Sarah had acted on it in faith. Isaac was therefore a ‘child of promise’. He was a living illustration that faith is the way to acceptance with God and enjoyment of his promises (&nbsp;Romans 4:17-22; &nbsp;Romans 9:7-9; &nbsp;Galatians 4:21-31). (For the contrast to the ‘child of promise’ see [[Ishmael]] .) </p> <p> Abraham’s faith was further tested when God told him to sacrifice Isaac (by that time a youth; &nbsp;Genesis 22:6), the only person through whom God’s promises to him could be fulfilled. Abraham obeyed, believing that God was able to bring Isaac back from death. In a sense Abraham did receive Isaac back from death, when God provided a lamb as a sacrificial substitute for him (&nbsp;Genesis 22:1-2; &nbsp;Genesis 22:12-13; &nbsp;Hebrews 11:17-19; &nbsp;James 2:21-23). </p> <p> In seeking a wife for Isaac, Abraham insisted that she come not from the Canaanites (who were under God’s judgment) but from his relatives in Paddan-aram. Since Isaac himself was not to leave the land promised to him (Canaan), Abraham sent his most senior servant to find the wife for him (&nbsp;Genesis 24:2-6). The woman the servant found was Rebekah. Isaac was forty years old when he married her (&nbsp;Genesis 24:58-67; &nbsp;Genesis 25:20). </p> <p> '''Isaac and his sons''' </p> <p> Isaac and Rebekah’s faith in the promises of God was tested when they remained childless for twenty years. In answer to their prayers, God gave them twin sons, Esau and Jacob. God declared that his covenant people would come through Jacob, though Esau also would father a nation (&nbsp;Genesis 25:21-26). </p> <p> When a famine hit Canaan, Isaac proved his faith and his obedience by refusing to flee to Egypt (&nbsp;Genesis 26:1-5). God rewarded him with increasing prosperity (&nbsp;Genesis 26:12-14). Though on one occasion he lied to protect himself (&nbsp;Genesis 26:7), he showed much self-control and tolerance when rival herdsmen were hostile to him (&nbsp;Genesis 26:14-22). </p> <p> Esau, the more outgoing of the two sons, was Isaac’s favourite. Isaac determined to pass on the divine blessing to Esau, even though God had said it was to go to Jacob (&nbsp;Genesis 27:4). But Rebekah and Jacob tricked Isaac into giving the blessing to Jacob (&nbsp;Genesis 27:28-29). Later Isaac passed on the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant to Jacob knowingly and willingly (&nbsp;Genesis 28:3-4). </p> <p> Because of the deceit over Isaac’s blessing, Esau tried to kill Jacob. Jacob escaped to Paddan-aram (&nbsp;Genesis 27:41; &nbsp;Genesis 28:1-2; &nbsp;Genesis 28:5). When Jacob returned more than twenty years later, there was a reunion between the two brothers (&nbsp;Genesis 31:38; &nbsp;Genesis 33:4-5). Some time later Isaac died, and his two sons buried him in the family burial ground at Machpelah (&nbsp;Genesis 35:27-29; &nbsp;Genesis 49:30-31). </p>

<p> As Isaac was the patriarch that stood between Abraham and Jacob, it may seem remarkable that so little is recorded of him, especially as the promise given to Abraham, of all nations being blessed through his seed, was confirmed to Isaac. He was 'the son of promise,' born when Abraham was a hundred years old, and 'the son of the freewoman,' in contrast to 'the son of the bondwoman.' He became the heir, the son of the bondwoman being cast out. &nbsp;Galatians 4:22-30 . Abraham's faith was tried when told to offer up this son of promise, called his 'only son,' as being a type of Christ. Abraham obeyed, and Isaac heard that beautiful utterance of faith, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb." He was raised as from the dead and restored to his father, and the covenant was confirmed as to the seed. </p> <p> As Isaac thus became in principle a risen or heavenly man, he must not return for a wife to the country from whence he had been separated by death and resurrection, as also by the call of Abraham; a bride must be fetched for him from thence, and she must be one of the same 'kindred:' a remarkable type of the heavenly Christ, and of those given to Him of the Father: they are heavenly as He is heavenly. God in a remarkable way blessed the mission of the servant (type of the [[Holy]] Spirit gathering a bride for Christ), and Rebekah, Isaac's cousin, became his wife. He loved her and was comforted after his mother's death. Abraham had several sons; but he gave all that he had to Isaac, in which Isaac is again a type of Christ, who will possess all things. </p> <p> Rebekah was barren, but on Isaac beseeching the Lord, she conceived, and was told that she should be the mother of two nations, and the twinbrothers Esau and Jacob were born, Esau being the firstborn. A famine being in the land, Isaac removed to Gerar, and there faithlessly said that Rebekah was his sister, and was rebuked by the king of the Philistines. God confirmed the blessing promised to Abraham, both as to Isaac's seed possessing all those countries, and also as to all the nations of the earth being blessed in his seed. </p> <p> After the [[Philistines]] had had much contention with Isaac respecting some wells of water which they claimed, they bade him depart from them, for he had become too great to dwell so near. He submitted and removed to Beer-sheba. He was thus again in the truth of his calling within the limits of the land of promise: there the Lord again appeared to him, and told him not to fear, He would bless him for his father Abraham's sake. Now the Philistines come to him, admitting that they saw that [[Jehovah]] was blessing him, and they desired a covenant with him that he would do them no hurt. Thus was he now in the true place of moral superiority, in the place of his calling, and as such having no disputes with the nations, but acknowledged as the blessed of the Lord — a word surely for world-borderers of to-day. </p> <p> God does not hide the failings and weaknesses of His people, hence it is related how that Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his venison; and that when he was old he directed him to make savoury meat such as he loved, that he might eat and bless him, his eldest son, before he died. God had said that the elder should serve the younger, but Rebekah, instead of leaving the matter in God's hands, contrived by a deceitful stratagem to get the blessing for Jacob instead of Esau the firstborn. The deception was soon found out; but how was it that Isaac <i> intended </i> to bless the elder, thus disregarding the word of the Lord? It is to be feared that his love of the venison and savoury meat led him astray. [[Notwithstanding]] this failure we read in &nbsp;Hebrews 11:20 , "By <i> faith </i> Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come." This doubtless refers to Isaac's words when the deception was discovered. He said of Jacob "Yea, and he shall be blessed." &nbsp;Genesis 27:33 . </p> <p> The days of Isaac were 180 years: when he died his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. God is constantly referred to as the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob: it was through them the blessings to [[Israel]] flowed, and through them came the Seed — Christ — in whom all nations of the earth are being blessed. &nbsp;Genesis 21 — &nbsp; Genesis 35 . </p>

<li> The only son of Abraham by Sarah. He was the longest lived of the three patriarchs (&nbsp;Genesis 21:1-3 ). He was circumcised when eight days old (4-7); and when he was probably two years old a great feast was held in connection with his being weaned. <p> The next memorable event in his life is that connected with the command of God given to Abraham to offer him up as a sacrifice on a mountain in the land of [[Moriah]] (&nbsp;Genesis 22 ). (See Abraham .) When he was forty years of age Rebekah was chosen for his wife (&nbsp; Genesis 24 ). After the death and burial of his father he took up his residence at Beer-lahai-roi (25:7-11), where his two sons, Esau and Jacob, were born (21-26), the former of whom seems to have been his favourite son (27,28). </p> <p> In consequence of a famine (&nbsp;Genesis 26:1 ) Isaac went to Gerar, where he practised deception as to his relation to Rebekah, imitating the conduct of his father in Egypt (12:12-20) and in Gerar (20:2). The Philistine king rebuked him for his prevarication. </p> <p> After sojourning for some time in the land of the Philistines, he returned to Beersheba, where God gave him fresh assurance of covenant blessing, and where Abimelech entered into a covenant of peace with him. </p> <p> The next chief event in his life was the blessing of his sons (&nbsp;Genesis 27:1 ). He died at Mamre, "being old and full of days" (35:27-29), one hundred and eighty years old, and was buried in the cave of Machpelah. </p> <p> In the New [[Testament]] reference is made to his having been "offered up" by his father (&nbsp;Hebrews 11:17; &nbsp;James 2:21 ), and to his blessing his sons (&nbsp;Hebrews 11:20 ). As the child of promise, he is contrasted with Ishmael (&nbsp;Romans 9:7,10; &nbsp;Galatians 4:28; &nbsp;Hebrews 11:18 ). </p> <p> Isaac is "at once a counterpart of his father in simple devoutness and purity of life, and a contrast in his passive weakness of character, which in part, at least, may have sprung from his relations to his mother and wife. After the expulsion of Ishmael and Hagar, Isaac had no competitor, and grew up in the shade of Sarah's tent, moulded into feminine softness by habitual submission to her strong, loving will." His life was so quiet and uneventful that it was spent "within the circle of a few miles; so guileless that he let Jacob overreach him rather than disbelieve his assurance; so tender that his mother's death was the poignant sorrow of years; so patient and gentle that peace with his neighbours was dearer than even such a coveted possession as a well of living water dug by his own men; so grandly obedient that he put his life at his father's disposal; so firm in his reliance on God that his greatest concern through life was to honour the divine promise given to his race.", Geikie's Hours, etc. </p> <div> <p> '''Copyright Statement''' These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton [[M.A., DD]]  Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by [[Thomas]] Nelson, 1897. Public Domain. </p> <p> '''Bibliography Information''' Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Isaac'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/i/isaac.html. 1897. </p> </div> </li>

<p> Old Testament Isaac was the child of a promise from God, born when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 (&nbsp;Genesis 17:17; &nbsp;Genesis 21:5 ). Isaac means “he laughs” and reflects his parents' unbelieving laughter regarding the promise (&nbsp;Genesis 17:17-19; &nbsp;Genesis 18:11-15 ) as well as their joy in its fulfillment (&nbsp;Genesis 21:1-7 ). Sarah wanted [[Hagar]] and Ishmael banished. God directed Abraham to comply, saying that it would be through Isaac that his descendants would be reckoned (&nbsp;Genesis 21:8-13; compare &nbsp;Romans 9:7 ). Abraham's test of faith was God's command to sacrifice Isaac (&nbsp;Genesis 22:1-19 ). </p> <p> Isaac married Rebekah (&nbsp;Genesis 24:1 ), who bore him twin sons, Esau and Jacob (&nbsp;Genesis 25:21-28 ). Isaac passed her off as a sister at Gerar (as Abraham had done). He became quite prosperous, later moving to Beersheba (&nbsp;Genesis 26:1 ). Isaac was deceived into giving Jacob his blessing and priority over Esau (&nbsp;Genesis 27:1 ). Isaac died at [[Mamre]] near Hebron at the age of 180 and was buried by his sons (&nbsp;Genesis 35:27-29 ). </p> <p> Though less significant than Abraham and Jacob, Isaac was revered as one of the [[Israelite]] patriarchs (&nbsp;Exodus 3:6; &nbsp;1 Kings 18:36; &nbsp;Jeremiah 33:26 ). Amos used the name Isaac as a poetic expression for the nation of Israel (&nbsp;Amos 7:9 ,Amos 7:9,&nbsp;7:16 ). </p> <p> New Testament In the New Testament Isaac appears in the genealogies of Jesus (&nbsp;Matthew 1:2; &nbsp;Luke 3:34 ), as one of the three great patriarchs (&nbsp;Matthew 8:11; &nbsp;Luke 13:28; &nbsp;Acts 3:13 ), and an example of faith (&nbsp;Hebrews 11:20 ). Isaac's sacrifice by Abraham (&nbsp;Hebrews 11:17-18; &nbsp;James 2:21 ), in which he was obedient to the point of death, serves as a type looking forward to Christ and as an example for Christians. Paul reminded believers that “we, brethren, as Isaac, are the children of promise” (&nbsp;Galatians 4:28 ). </p> <p> Daniel C. Browning, Jr. </p>

<p> '''I'saac.''' ''(Laughter).'' The son whom [[Sara]] bore to Abraham, in the hundredth year of his age, at Gerar. (B.C. 1897). In his infancy, he became the object of Ishmael's jealousy; and in his youth, the victim, in intention, of Abraham's great sacrificial act of faith. When forty years old, he married Rebekah, his cousin, by whom, when he was sixty, he had two sons, Esau and Jacob. </p> <p> Driven by famine to Gerar, he acquired great wealth by his flocks, but was repeatedly dispossessed by the Philistines of the wells which he sunk at convenient stations. After the deceit by which Jacob acquired his father's blessing, Isaac sent his son to seek a wife in Padan-aram; and all that we know of him during the last forty-three years of his life is that he saw that [[God]] , with a large and prosperous family, returned to him at Hebron, &nbsp;Genesis 36:27, before he died there, at the age of 180 years. He was buried by his two sons in the cave of Machpelah. </p> <p> In the New Testament, reference is made to the offering of Isaac, &nbsp;Hebrews 11:17; &nbsp;James 2:21, and to his blessing his sons. &nbsp;Hebrews 11:20. In &nbsp;Galatians 4:28-31, he is contrasted with Ishmael. In reference to the offering up of Isaac by Abraham, the primary doctrine taught are those of sacrifice and substitution, as the means appointed by God for taking away sin; and, as co-ordinate with these, the need of the obedience of faith, on the part of man, to receive the benefit. &nbsp;Hebrews 11:17. The animal which God provided and Abraham offered was, in the whole history of sacrifice, the recognized type of "the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world." Isaac is the type of humanity itself, devoted to death for sin. </p>

<p> Laughter, &nbsp;Genesis 17:17 &nbsp; 18:12 &nbsp; 21:6 , one of the patriarchal ancestors of the [[Hebrew]] nation and of Christ, son of Abraham and Sarah, B. C. 1896-1705. His history is related in &nbsp;Genesis 21:1-34 &nbsp; 24:1-28:22 &nbsp; 35:27-29 . He is memorable for the circumstances attending his birth, as a child of prophecy and promise, in the old age of his parents. Even in childhood he was the object of dislike to his brother Ishmael, son of the bondwoman; and in this, a type of all children of the promise, &nbsp;Galatians 4:29 . [[Trained]] in the fear of God to early manhood, he showed a noble trust and obedience in his conduct during that remarkable trail of faith which established Abraham as the "father of the faithful;" and in his meek submission to all the will of God, prefigured the only-begotten Son of the Father. At the age of forty, he married the pious and lovely Rebekah of Mesopotamia. Most of his life was spent in the southern part of Canaan and its vicinity. At the burial of his father, he as joined by his outcast brother Ishmael. Two sons of Isaac are named in Scripture. The partiality of the mother for Jacob, and of the father for Esau, led to unhappy jealousies, discord, sin, and long separations between the brothers, though all were overruled to accomplish the purposed of God. At the age of one hundred and thirty-seven, Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him away into Mesopotamia. At the age of one hundred and eighty, he died, and was buried in the tomb of Abraham by his two sons. In his natural character, Isaac was humble, tranquil, and meditative; in his piety, devout, full of faith, and eminently submissive to the will of God. </p>

<p> [[Isaac]] ( ''Î'Zak'' ), ''Laughter, Sporting.'' The heir of promise, son of Abraham by his wife Sarah, born when his father was 100 years old. His name, given before his birth. &nbsp;Genesis 17:19, was significant. Abraham had smiled incredulously when the promise was renewed to him and Sarah designated as the mother of the promised seed, and Sarah laughed derisively afterwards when she heard the reiterated word. &nbsp;Genesis 17:17 to &nbsp;Genesis 18:12. The son by his name, therefore, was to warn the parents against unbelief, and expressed the joy with which they received at last the fulfilment of the promise. &nbsp;Genesis 21:6. Isaac's life was far less stirring than that of his father Abraham, or that of his son Jacob. He was a man of mild contemplative character, suffering more than acting, easily persuaded, yet upon occasion firm. Isaac stands forth the model of that loving submission which those who become sons and heirs of God ought to pay to their heavenly parent, as inheritors of his father Abraham's faith. We best love to contemplate Isaac as bearing the wood with his father up the slopes of Moriah. Gentle, pious, conciliating as he was through the rest of his days, he never rose higher in after life; he hardly fulfilled this promise of his youth. Yet Isaac was a man of faith and prayer; and God was not ashamed to be called his God. &nbsp;Hebrews 11:16. His history conveys many instructive lessons. </p>

<p> <b> ISAAC. </b> —Named (1) in our Lord’s genealogy, &nbsp;Matthew 1:2, &nbsp;Luke 3:34; (2) in such collocations as ‘sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob’ (&nbsp;Matthew 8:11), ‘see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob’ (&nbsp;Luke 13:28), ‘the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob’ (&nbsp;Matthew 22:32, &nbsp;Mark 12:26, &nbsp;Luke 20:37). See Abraham, and Fathers. The sacrifice of Isaac came at an early date to be used by [[Christian]] writers as a type of the sacrifice on the cross (cf. <i> e.g. </i> Ep. of Barn. ch. 7). It is just possible that some such thought underlies &nbsp;Romans 8:32 ‘He that spared not his own Son.’ </p>

<p> &nbsp;Genesis 22:9 (c) He is a type of the Lord [[Jesus]] being offered up by His own Father for the sins of man. He is also a type of the sinner who should be punished for his sins but who finds a substitute in the Lord JESUS, represented by the ram caught in the thicket. </p>

<p> Abraham's son, the child of promise. </p> <p> See Hagar </p>

<p> ''''' ı̄´zak ''''' : </p> <p> I. Name </p> <p> 1. Root, Forms, Analogues </p> <p> 2. Implication </p> <p> II. Family and [[Kindred]] </p> <p> 1. Birth and Place in the Family </p> <p> 2. Relation to the Religious [[Birthright]] </p> <p> 3. Significance of Marriage </p> <p> III. Story of Life </p> <p> 1. Previous to Marriage </p> <p> 2. Subsequent to Marriage </p> <p> IV. Biblical References </p> <p> 1. In the Old Testament </p> <p> 2. In the New Testament </p> <p> V. Views Other Than the [[Historical]] </p> I. Name <p> 1. Root, Forms and Analogues </p> <p> This name has the double spelling, יצחק , <i> ''''' yicḥāḳ ''''' </i> , and ישׂחק , <i> ''''' yisḥāḳ ''''' </i> ( Ἰσαάκ , <i> ''''' Isaák ''''' </i> ), corresponding to the two forms in which appears the root meaning "to laugh" - a root that runs through nearly all the Semitic languages. In Hebrew both <i> ''''' cāḥaḳ ''''' </i> and <i> ''''' sāḥaḳ ''''' </i> have their cognate nouns, and signify, in the simple stem, "to laugh," in the intensive stem, "to jest, play, dance, fondle," and the like. The noun <i> ''''' yicḥār ''''' </i> , meaning "fresh oil," from a root <i> ''''' cāhar ''''' </i> ("to be bright, conspicuous"), proves that nouns can be built on precisely the model of <i> ''''' yicḥāḳ ''''' </i> , which would in that case signify "the laughing one," or something similar. Yet Barth (Die Nominalbildung in den semitischen Sprachen, 154, b and c) maintains that all proper names beginning with <i> ''''' yōdh ''''' </i> prefixed to the root are really pure imperfects, i.e. verbal forms with some subject to be understood if not actually present. Hence, Isaac would mean "laughs": either indefinite, "one laughs," or "he laughs," namely, the one understood as the subject. There are some 50 Hebrew names that have a similar form with no accompanying subject. Of these sometimes the meaning of the root is quite obscure, sometimes it is appropriate to any supposable subject. Each is a problem by itself; for the interpretation of any one of them there is little help to be gained from a comparison with the others. </p> <p> 2. Implication </p> <p> What subject, then, is to be understood with this imperfect verb <i> ''''' yicḥāḳ ''''' </i> ? Or is no definite subject to be supplied? (1) <i> ''''' 'Ēl ''''' </i> , God, may be supplied: "God laughs." Such an expression might be understood of the Divine benevolence, or of the fearful laughter of scorn for His enemies (&nbsp; Psalm 2:4 ), or, euphemistically, of the Divine wrath, the "terrible glance," as of Moloch, etc. (so Meyer, Israeliten und ihre Nachbarst <i> ä </i> mme, 255). (2) Some human person: "he laughs." So, for example, he himself, namely, the child who receives the name; or, the father; or, the brother (not the mother, which would require <i> ''''' ticḥāḳ ''''' </i> ). In the light now of these possibilities we turn to the narratives of Isaac´s birth and career and find the following subjects suggested: (a) father, &nbsp;Genesis 17:17; (b) indefinite, "one laughs" (not "she laughs," see above), &nbsp;Genesis 18:12-15; &nbsp;Genesis 21:6; (c) brother, &nbsp;Genesis 21:9; (d) himself, &nbsp;Genesis 26:8 . Of these passages the last two show the verb in the intensive stem in the signification of (c) "mock" (?), and (d) "dally." We find this same verb in these senses in &nbsp;Genesis 19:14 and &nbsp; Genesis 39:14 , &nbsp;Genesis 39:17 , in the stories of [[Lot]] and of Joseph, and it is possible that here also in the story of Isaac it has no more connection with the name Isaac than it has there with the names Lot and Joseph. However, this may be, there is obviously one interpretation of the name Isaac, which, required in two of the passages, is equally appropriate in them all, namely, that with the indefinite subect, "one laughs." Consideration of the sources to which these passages are respectively assigned by the documentary hypothesis tends only to confirm this result. </p> II. Family and Kindred <p> The two things in Isaac´s life that are deemed worthy of extensive treatment in the sacred narrative are his birth and his marriage. His significance, in fact, centers in his transmission of what went before him to what came after him. Hence, his position in his father´s family, his relation to its greatest treasure, the religious birthright, and his marriage with Rebekah are the subjects that require special notice in this connection. </p> <p> 1. Birth and Place in the Family </p> <p> The birth of Isaac is represented as peculiar in these respects: the age of his parents, the purity of his lineage, the special Divine promises accompanying. What in Abraham's life is signalized by the Divine "call" in the from his father's house, and what in Jacob's life is brought about by a series of providential interpositions, seems in Isaac's case to become his by his birth. His mother, who is not merely of the same stock as Abraham but actually his half-sister, is the legal wife. As her issue Isaac is qualified by the laws of inheritance recognized in their native land to become his father's heir. But Ishmael, according to those laws, has a similarly valid claim (see Abraham , IV, 2), and it is only by express command that Abraham is led to abandon what was apparently both custom and personal preference, to "cast out the bondwoman and her son," and to acquiesce in the arrangement that "in Isaac shall thy seed be called." </p> <p> 2. Relation to the Religious Birthright </p> <p> But the birthright of Isaac was of infinitely more importance than the birthright in the family of any other wealthy man of that day. All that limitless blessing with which Abraham set forth under God's leadership was promised not only to him but to his "seed"; it was limitless in time as well as in scope. To inherit it was of more consequence to Isaac than to inherit any number of servants, flocks or wells of his father's acquisition. A sense of these relative values seems to have been a part of Isaac's spiritual endowment, and this, more than anything else related of him, makes him an attractive figure on the pages of Gen. </p> <p> 3. Significance of Marriage </p> <p> The raising up of a "seed" to be the bearers of these promises was the prime concern of Isaac's life. Not by intermarriage with the Canaanites among whom he lived, but by marriage with one of his own people, in whom as much as in himself should be visibly embodied the separateness of the chosen family of God - thus primarily was Isaac to pass on to a generation as pure as his own the heritage of the Divine blessing. Rebekah enters the tent of Isaac as truly the chosen of God as was Abraham himself. </p> III. Story of Life <p> Previous to his marriage Isaac's life is a part of the story of Abraham; after his marriage it merges into that of his children. It is convenient, therefore, to make his marriage the dividing-line in the narrative of his career. </p> <p> 1. Previous to Marriage </p> <p> A child whose coming was heralded by such signal marks of Divine favor as was Isaac's would be, even apart from other special considerations, a welcome and honored member of the patriarchal household. The covenant-sign of circumcision (which Isaac was the first to receive at the prescribed age of 8 days), the great feast at his weaning, and the disinheritance of Ishmael in his favor, are all of them indications of the unique position that this child held, and prepare the reader to appreciate the depth of feeling involved in the sacrifice of Isaac, the story of which follows thereupon. The age of Isaac at the time of this event is not stated, but the fact that he is able to carry the wood of the offering shows that he had probably attained his full growth. The single question he asks his father and his otherwise unbroken silence combine to exhibit him in a favorable light, as thoughtful, docile and trustful. The Divine interposition to save the lad thus devoted to God constitutes him afresh the bearer of the covenant-promise and justifies its explicit renewal on this occasion. From this point onward the biographer of Isaac evidently has his marriage in view, for the two items that preceded the long 24th chaper, in which Rebekah's choice and coming are rehearsed, are, first, the brief genealogical paragraph that informs the reader of the development of Nahor's family just as far as to Rebekah, and second, the chapter that tells of Sarah's death and burial - an event clearly associated in the minds of all with the marriage of Isaac (see &nbsp;Genesis 24:3 , &nbsp;Genesis 24:16 , &nbsp;Genesis 24:67 ). Divine interest in the choice of her who should be the mother of the promised seed is evident in every line of the chapter that dramatizes the betrothal of Isaac and Rebekah. Their first meeting is described at its close with the tender interest in such a scene natural to every descendant of the pair, and Issac is sketched as a man of a meditative turn (&nbsp;Genesis 24:63 ) and an affectionate heart (&nbsp;Genesis 24:67 ). </p> <p> 2. Subsequent to Marriage </p> <p> The dismissal of the sons of Abraham's concubines to the "East-country" is associated with the statement that Isaac inherited all that Abraham had; yet it has been remarked that, besides supplying them with gifts, Abraham was doing them a further kindness in thus emancipating them from continued subjection to Isaac, the future head of the clan. After Abraham's death we are expressly informed that God "blessed Isaac his son" in fulfillment of previous promise. The section entitled "the <i> ''''' tōledhōth ''''' </i> (generations) of Isaac" extends from &nbsp; Genesis 25:19 to &nbsp; Genesis 35:29 . At the opening of it Isaac is dwelling at Beer-lahai-roi (&nbsp;Genesis 25:11 ), then at Gerar (&nbsp;Genesis 26:1 , &nbsp;Genesis 26:6 ) and "the valley of Gerar" (&nbsp;Genesis 26:17 ), then at Beer-sheba (&nbsp;Genesis 26:23; &nbsp;Genesis 28:10 ), all localities in the [[Negeb]] or "South-country." But after the long narrative of the fortunes of Jacob and his family, occupying many years, we find Isaac at its close living where his father Abraham had lived, at Hebron. </p> <p> For 20 years Isaac and Rebekah remained childless; it was only upon the entreaty of Isaac that God granted them their twin sons. A famine was the usual signal for emigration to Egypt (compare &nbsp;Genesis 12:10; &nbsp;Genesis 42:2 ); and Isaac also appears to have been on his way thither for the same cause, when, at Gerar, he is forbidden by God to proceed, and occasion is found therein to renew to him the covenant-promise of his inheritance: land, posterity, honor and the Divine presence (&nbsp;Genesis 26:1-4 ). </p> <p> But Isaac had also received from his father traditions of another sort; he too did not hesitate to say to the men of Gerar that his wife was his sister, with the same intent to save his own life, but without the same justification in fact, as in the case of Abraham's earlier stratagem. Yet even the discovery by the king of Gerar of this duplicity, and repeated quarrels about water in that dry country, did not suffice to endanger Isaac's status with the settled inhabitants, for his large household and great resources made him a valuable friend and a dangerous enemy. </p> <p> The favoritism which Isaac showed for one son and Rebekah for the other culminated in the painful scene when the paternal blessing was by guile obtained for Jacob, and in the subsequent enforced absence of Jacob from his parental home. Esau, too, afforded no comfort to his father and mother, and ere long he also withdrew from his father's clan. The subsequent reconciliation of the brothers permitted them to unite at length in paying the last honors to Isaac on his decease. Isaac was buried at Hebron where his parents had been buried (&nbsp;Genesis 49:31 ), and where his place of sepulture is still honored. </p> IV. Biblical References <p> There is a great contrast between Abraham and Jacob on the one hand, and Isaac on the other, with respect to their prominence in the literature of the nation that traced to them its descent. To be sure, when the patriarchs as a group are to be named, Isaac takes his place in the stereotyped formula of "Abraham, Isaac and Jacob," or "Israel" (so 23 times in the Old Testament, 7 times in the New Testament). </p> <p> 1. In the Old Testament </p> <p> But apart from this formula Isaac is referred to in the Old Testament only as follows. During the lifetime of Jacob the names of Abraham and Isaac are repeatedly linked in the same way as are all three subsequently: they form for that age the dynasty of the covenant. But several times Jacob calls [[Yahweh]] the God (or, the Fear; see infra) of Isaac, because Isaac is his own immediate predecessor in this chain of the faithful. Isaac is called the "gift" of God to Abraham, in the farewell address of Joshua, just as Jacob and Esau are called God's "gifts" to Isaac (&nbsp;Joshua 24:3 f; compare Koran, <i> ''''' Sura ''''' </i> 6 84). The "house of Isaac" is used by Amos as a parallel expression for "Israel," and "the high places of Isaac" for "the sanctuaries of Israel" (&nbsp;Amos 7:16 , &nbsp;Amos 7:9 ), in the same way as "Jacob" is often used elsewhere [[Septuagint]] in &nbsp;Amos 7:16 reads "Jacob"). Other references to Isaac are simply as to his father's son or his children's father. </p> <p> 2. In the New Testament </p> <p> He fares better in the New Testament. For, besides the genealogical references, Isaac's significance as the first to receive circumcision on the 8th day is remembered (&nbsp;Acts 7:8 ); his position as first of the elect seed is set forth (&nbsp;Romans 9:7 ); his begetting of two sons so unlike in their relation to the promise as were Esau and Jacob is remarked (&nbsp;Romans 9:10 ); the facts of his being heir to the promise, a child of old age, and, though but one, the father of an innumerable progeny, are emphasized in Heb (&nbsp;Hebrews 11:9-12 ), which also discovers the deeper significance of his sacrifice and restoration to his father &nbsp;Hebrews 11:17-19; compare &nbsp;James 2:21 ); and in the same context is noticed the faith in God implied in Isaac's blessing of his sons. But Isaac receives more attention than anywhere else in that famous passage in Gal (&nbsp;Galatians 4:21-31 ), in which Paul uses Isaac and his mother as allegorical representations of [[Christians]] who are justified by faith in the promise of God, and are the free-born heirs of all the spiritual inheritance implied in that promise. Even Isaac's persecution by Ishmael has its counterpart in the attitude of the enemies of Paul's gospel toward him and his doctrines and converts. </p> V. Views Other than the Historical <p> Philo, the chief allegorizer of Scriptural narratives, has little to say of Isaac, whom he calls "the self-instructed nature." But modern critics have dissolved his personality by representing him as the personification of an ethnic group. "All Israel," writes Wellhausen (Prol., 6th edition, 316), "is grouped with the people of Edom under the old name Isaac (&nbsp;Amos 7:9 , &nbsp;Amos 7:16 ) ... the material here is not mythical (as in Gen 1 through 11) but national." And just as Israel plus Edom had little or no significance in national customs or political events, when compared on the one hand with Israel alone (= Jacob), and with Israel plus Edom plus Moab and [[Ammon]] (= Abraham) on the other hand; so likewise the figure of Isaac is colorless and his story brief, as compared with the striking figures of Jacob on the one hand and of Abraham on the other hand, and the circumstantial stories of their lives. </p> <p> Other scholars will have none of this national view, because they believe Isaac to be the name of an ancient deity, the local <i> ''''' numen ''''' </i> of Beersheba. Stärk, whom others have followed, proposes to interpret the phrase translated "the Fear of Isaac" in &nbsp; Genesis 31:42 , &nbsp;Genesis 31:53 as the name of this god used by his worshippers, the [[Terror]] Isaac, Isaac the terrible god. For the sense of Isaac in that case see above under I, 2, (1). Meyer (loc. cit.) defends the transfer of the name from a god to the hero of a myth, by comparing the sacrifice of Isaac ("the only story in which Isaac plays an independent role"!) with the Greek myth of Iphigenia's sacrifice (Hesiod, Euripides, etc.), in which the by-name of a goddess (Iphigenia) identified with [[Artemis]] has passed to the intended victim rescued by Artemis from death. </p> <p> The most recent critical utterances reject both the foregoing views of Isaac as in conflict with the data of Gen. Thus Gunkel (Schriften des Altes Testament, 5te Lieferung, 1910,41) writes: "Quite clearly the names of Abraham, Isaac, and all the patriarchal women are not tribal names.... The interpretation of the figures of Gen as nations furnishes by no means a general key." And again: "Against the entire assumption that the principal patriarchal figures are originally gods, is above all to be noted that the names Jacob and Abraham are proved by the [[Babylonian]] to be personal names in current use, and at the same time that the sagas about them can in no wise be understood as echoes of original myths. Even Winckler's more than bold attempt to explain these sagas as original calendar-myths must be pronounced a complete failure." Yet Gunkel and those who share his position are careful to distinguish their own view from that of the "apologetes," and to concede no more than the bare fact that there doubtless were once upon a time persons named Abraham Isaac, etc. For these critics Isaac is simply a name about which have crystallized cycles of folk-stories, that have their parallels in other lands and languages, but have received with a Hebrew name also a local coloring and significance on the lips of successive Hebrew story-tellers, saga-builders and finally collectors and editors; "Everyone who knows the history of sagas is sure that the saga is not able to preserve through the course of so many centuries, a true picture" of the patriarchs. See also Abraham , end. </p>

<p> I´saac, son of Abraham and Sarah, born in his parents' old age. The promise of a son had been made to them when Abraham was visited by the Lord in the plains of Mamre, and appeared so unlikely to be fulfilled, seeing that both Abraham and Sarah were 'well-stricken in years,' that its utterance caused the latter to laugh incredulously. Being reproved for her unbelief, she denied that she had laughed. The reason assigned for the special visitation thus promised was, in effect, that Abraham was pious, and would train his offspring in piety, so that he would become the founder of a great nation, and all the nations of the earth should be blessed in him. </p> <p> In due time Sarah gave birth to a son, who received the name of Isaac, in reference to the laughter occasioned by the announcement of the Divine intention (comp.;; ). </p> <p> The first fact that we read of in the history of Isaac, is the command given to his father to offer the youth—'thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest'—for a burnt-offering on a mountain in the land of Moriah. Abraham proceeded to obey the Divine direction, and was on the point of slaying Isaac, when his hand was withheld by the interposition of God, a ram for sacrifice being provided instead. </p> <p> This event has found no few detractors, and various attempts have been made to explain it away. But the only proper way is to consider it as it is represented in the sacred page. The command, then, was expressly designed to try Abraham's faith. Destined as the patriarch was to be the father of the faithful, was he worthy of his high and dignified position? If his own obedience was weak, he could not train others in faith, trust, and love: hence a trial was necessary. That he was not without holy dispositions was already known, and indeed recognized in the Divine favors of which he had been the object; but was he prepared to do and to suffer all God's will? Religious perfection and his position alike demanded a perfect heart: hence the kind of trial. If he were willing to surrender even his only child, and act himself both as offerer and priest in the sacrifice of the required victim, if he could so far conquer his natural affections, so subdue the father in his heart, then there could be no doubt that his will was wholly reconciled to God's, and that he was worthy of every trust, confidence, and honor. The trial was made, the fact was ascertained, the victim was not slain. What is there in this to which either religion or morality can take exception? This view is both confirmed and justified by the words of God (, sq.), 'because thou hast not withheld thy only son, in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.' </p> <p> Isaac passed his youthful days under the eye of his father, engaged in the care of flocks and herds up and down the plains of Canaan. At length his father wished to see him married. Abraham therefore gave a commission to his oldest and most trustworthy servant to the effect that, in order to prevent Isaac from taking a wife from among the daughters of the Canaanites, he should proceed into Mesopotamia, and, under the divine direction, choose a partner among his own relatives for his beloved son. Rebekah, in consequence, becomes Isaac's wife, when he was now forty years of age. </p> <p> Isaac having, in conjunction with his half-brother Ishmael, buried Abraham his father, 'in a good old age, in the cave of Machpelah,' took up a somewhat permanent residence 'by the well Lahai-roi,' where, being blessed of God, he lived in prosperity and at ease. One source of regret, however, he deeply felt. Rebekah was barren. In time, two sons, Jacob and Esau, are granted to his prayers. As the boys grow, Isaac gave a preference to Esau, who seems to have possessed those robuster qualities of character in which his father was defective, and therefore gratified him by such dainties as the pursuits of the chase enabled the youth to offer; while Jacob, 'a plain man dwelling in tents,' was an object of special regard to Rebekah—a division of feeling and a kind of partiality which became the source of much domestic unhappiness, as well as of jealousy and hatred between the two sons. </p> <p> A famine compels Isaac to seek food in some foreign land. Divinely warned not to go down to Egypt, the patriarch applies to a petty prince of Philistia, by name Abimelech, who permits him to dwell at Gerar. Here an event took place which has a parallel in the life of his father Abraham. Rebekah was his cousin: afraid lest she should be violently taken from him, and his own life sacrificed to the lust of Abimelech, he represented her as his sister, employing a latitude of meaning which the word 'sister' admits in Oriental usage. The subterfuge was discovered, and is justified by Isaac on the grounds which prompted him to resort to it. </p> <p> Another parallel event in the lives of Abraham and Isaac may be found by comparing together , sq., and 21:22, sq. If these parallels should excite a doubt in the mind of any one as to the credibility of the narratives, let him carefully peruse them, and we think that the simplicity and naturalness which pervade and characterize them will effectually substantiate the reality of the recorded events, and explode the notion that fiction has had anything to do in bringing the narrative into its present shape. </p> <p> Isaac, in his old age, was, by the practices of Rebekah and the art of Jacob, so imposed upon as to give his blessing to the younger son Jacob, instead of to the first-born Esau, and with that blessing to convey, as was usual, the right of headship in the family, together with his chief possessions. In the blessing which the aged patriarch pronounced on Jacob, it deserves notice how entirely the wished-for good is of an earthly and temporal nature, while the imagery which is employed serves to show the extent to which the poetical element prevailed as a constituent part of the Hebrew character (, sq.). Most natural, too, is the extreme agitation of the poor blind old man, on discovering the cheat which had been put upon him:—'And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said (to Esau), Who? where is he that hath taken venison and brought it me, and I have eaten, and have blessed him? Yea, and he shall be blessed.' [[Equally]] natural is the reply of Esau. The entire passage is of itself enough to vindicate the historical character and entire credibility of those sketches of the lives of the patriarchs which Genesis presents. </p> <p> The stealing, on the part of Jacob, of his father's blessing having angered Esau, who seems to have looked forward to Isaac's death as affording an opportunity for taking vengeance on his unjust brother, the aged patriarch is induced, at his wife's entreaty, to send Jacob into Mesopotamia, that, after his own example, his son might take a wife from among his kindred and people, 'of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother.' </p> <p> This is the last important act recorded of Isaac. Jacob having, agreeably to his father's command, married into Laban's family, returned, after some time, and found the old man at Mamre, in the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. Here, 'being old and full of days' (180), Isaac 'gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him' (, sq.). </p>

<p> After Abram's entrance into Canaan the Lord promised him an heir by [[Sarai]] his wife (&nbsp;Genesis 17:15-17 ). Isaac was pre-eminently the child of promise (&nbsp;Genesis 17:19; &nbsp;Genesis 18:9-15; &nbsp;Genesis 21:1-5 ). He was married to Rebekah, his cousin (&nbsp;Genesis 24:1-67 ). He was Abraham's heir (&nbsp;Genesis 25:5; God renewed the two great promises (&nbsp;Genesis 12:1-3; &nbsp;Genesis 26:1-5 ). Isaac was a farmer and herdsman (&nbsp;Genesis 26:12-25 ). </p>

<p> A Hebrew patriarch, son of Abraham, born to him when he was old; a mild man with no great force of character, and a contrast to Ishmael, his half-brother; lived to a great age. </p>