Genesis 22:5

Genesis 22:5, in plain English

Abraham tells his servants to stay behind while he and Isaac go ahead to worship and then return. He's protecting their innocence, but his words also reveal his faith—he says 'we will return,' suggesting he somehow expects both of them to come back.

Why it's here

Abraham separates from his servants deliberately. They're about to witness something they shouldn't be part of. But his statement that they'll return is fascinating—either Abraham is being deceptive to protect the servants, or he genuinely believes God will somehow provide a way through this impossible situation.

Who's speaking

Abraham

Where it sits in the story

Abraham's confidence that 'we will return' hints at something deeper than blind obedience. He's beginning to trust not just that he should obey, but that God has a solution. This becomes crucial to understanding his faith—he's not resigned to tragedy but expectant of God's faithfulness.

The scholarly reading

Abraham instructs his servants to remain behind, telling them cryptically that he and Isaac will go to worship and then return—a statement that scholars debate as either profound faith or careful misdirection.

Language and setting

Abraham's language is theologically loaded. He says they will 'worship' (נִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה, hishtachaveh), using the standard term for religious devotion, and he insists both will return. Medieval Jewish commentators (Rashi, Ibn Ezra) wrestled with whether Abraham's 'we will return' reflects genuine faith that God will restore Isaac, or whether it is a merciful evasion to spare the servants knowledge of what he intends.

Voice

Abraham speaks, and the phrase 'Abraham told his servants' (וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם, vayomer Abraham) establishes him as an active agent making decisions.

Significance

This verse crystallizes the paradox: Abraham both accepts the command to kill his son and affirms that both will return alive. Post-Christian interpreters see here either proto-Christian faith in resurrection or the deepest ambiguity of the narrative itself.

3So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated.

4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

5“Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told his servants. “The boy and I will go over there to worship, and then we will return to you.”

6Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac. He himself carried the fire and the sacrificial knife, and the two of them walked on together.

7Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!”

Read all of Genesis 22 — Abraham faces an impossible request. This chapter casts a long shadow over everything that follows.