Genesis 22:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

NIV: So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.'

NASB: And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'

CSB: And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, so today it is said, "It will be provided on the Lord's mountain."

NLT: Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means 'the Lord will provide'). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'

KJV: And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

NKJV: And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Abraham has just passed an enormously difficult test of his trust in God. Abraham obeyed God's seemingly cruel command to sacrifice his son, Isaac (Genesis 22:1–2), up to the moment where God intervenes to prevent the act from happening (Genesis 22:11–12). After commanding Abraham not to sacrifice his only son, the Lord provided a substitute sacrifice, a ram. (Genesis 22:13) Abraham commemorated the place by naming the mountain. He called it "The Lord will provide."

The phrase "to this day," is a reference to the writing of the book of Genesis. So, at least until that point, the name given to the mountain by Abraham stuck. It was the mountain of "The LORD will provide." It became a saying, apparently: "On the mountain of the LORD, it will be provided."

It was not unusual in Genesis for a name to be changed in order to mark a significant event or interaction with the Lord. Beersheba had been named for the oath that included Abraham's well (Genesis 21:31). Bela had been renamed Zoar when Lot and his daughters took refuge from God's judgment there (Genesis 19:22). And Abraham and Sarah both had been renamed by God on the day He revealed to Abraham that Isaac would soon be born (Genesis 17:5; 17:15).

Genesis 22:1–19 takes place over the course of a few days, when Isaac is perhaps a teenager. God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son as a burnt offering. Abraham sets out to obey without hesitation, acting in complete trust that God, somehow, will make all things right. Abraham stops the sacrifice only when the Lord intervenes. For his deep trust and obedience, the Lord renews and emphasizes His blessing on Abraham and his offspring, as well as promising to bless all nations through Abraham's descendants.

In a test of Abraham's faith and obedience, God commands Abraham to do a terrible thing: kill and offer his son Isaac, whom he loves, as a burnt offering. Abraham sets out to obey without hesitation, having finally learned to trust God's goodness over his own misunderstandings. Instead of allowing the boy to be sacrificed, the Lord calls out to Abraham moments before he kills Isaac, laying bound on an altar. Because of Abraham's obedience, God renews and emphasizes His promises of blessing, multiplied offspring, and victory over future enemies.

In the previous chapter, the long-promised Isaac was finally born to Sarah and Abraham, while Abraham's other beloved son, Ishmael, was sent away to be cared for by God apart from them. Now God tests Abraham's faith and obedience by commanding him to offer his precious son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham sets out to obey without hesitation, stopping only when the Lord cries out to him. For Abraham's obedience, God renews and emphasizes the blessing on him and his offspring. This marks the beginning of the end of Abraham's story, as the book of Genesis transitions to focus on Isaac and his descendants.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.