Texts in Conversation
Genesis 22 in Hebrew, the Greek Septuagint, and Jubilees describe God asking Abraham to offer Isaac. The Hebrew text calls Isaac “your only son,” but the Septuagint and Jubilees instead call him “the one you love,” and remove that uniqueness.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 22:2
Hebrew Bible
1 Some time after these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham replied. 2 God said, “Take your son—your only son, whom you love, Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah! Offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will indicate to you.” 3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out for the place God had spoken to him about.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Genesis 22:2
Septuagint
1 And it happened after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, Abraham, Abraham; and he said, Look! I am here. 2 And he said, Take your son, the beloved one, whom you have loved, Isaac, and go into the high land, and offer him there for a whole burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of. 3 And Abraham rose up in the morning and saddled his donkey, and he took with him two servants, and Isaac his son, and having split wood for a whole burnt offering, he arose and departed, and came to the place of which God spoke to him,
Date: 300–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Jubilees 18:2
Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
1 And God said to him, 'Abraham, Abraham'; and he said, Behold, (here) I am.' 2 And he said, Take your beloved son whom you love, (even) Isaac, and go to the high country, and offer him on one of the mountains which I will point out to you.' 3 And he rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took his two young men with him, and Isaac his son, and split the wood of the burnt offering, and he went to the place on the third day, and he saw the place far off.
Date: 170–125 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... This represents the version of the text preserved in the Septuagint, which apparently had 'your beloved' for the Masoretic Text 'your only one' ..."
James L. Kugel, A Walk through Jubilees: Studies in the Book of Jubilees and the World of Its Creation (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 110.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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