Isaac was Abraham's son and Jacob's father. Isaac was special because he was dedicated to Yahweh on the altar. Yahweh chose Isaac and his children to carry on The Way of Yahweh.
Jasher 22:40-55
40 And Isaac the son of Abraham was growing up in those days, and Abraham his father taught him the way of Yahweh to know Yahweh, and Yahweh was with him.
41 And when Isaac was thirty-seven years old, Ishmael his brother was going about with him in the tent.
42 And Ishmael boasted of himself to Isaac, saying, I was thirteen years old when Yahweh spoke to my father to circumcise us, and I did according to the word of Yahweh which He spoke to my father, and I gave my soul unto Yahweh, and I did not transgress His word which He commanded my father.
43 And Isaac answered Ishmael, saying, Why dost thou boast to me about this, about a little bit of thy flesh which thou didst take from thy body, concerning which Yahweh commanded thee?
44 As Yahweh liveth, the God of my father Abraham, if Yahweh should say unto my father, Take now thy son Isaac and bring him up an offering before Me, I would not refrain but I would joyfully accede to it.
45 And Yahweh heard the word that Isaac spoke to Ishmael, and it seemed good in the sight of Yahweh, and He thought to try Abraham in this matter.
46 And the day arrived when the sons of God came and placed themselves before Yahweh, and Satan also came with the sons of God before Yahweh.
47 And Yahweh said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? and Satan answered Yahweh and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
48 And Yahweh said to Satan, What is thy word to Me concerning all the children of the earth? and Satan answered Yahweh and said, I have seen all the children of the earth who serve thee and remember thee when they require anything from thee.
49 And when thou givest them the thing which they require from thee, they sit at their ease, and forsake thee and they remember thee no more.
50 Hast thou seen Abraham the son of Terah, who at first had no children, and he served thee and erected altars to thee wherever he came, and he brought up offerings upon them, and he proclaimed thy name continually to all the children of the earth.
51 And now that his son Isaac is born to him, he has forsaken thee, he has made a great feast for all the inhabitants of the land, and Yahweh he has forgotten.
52 For amidst all that he has done he brought thee no offering; neither burnt offering nor peace offering, neither ox, lamb nor goat of all that he killed on the day that his son was weaned.
53 Even from the time of his son's birth till now, being thirty-seven years, he built no altar before thee, nor brought any offering to thee, for he saw that thou didst give what he requested before thee, and he therefore forsook thee.
54 And Yahweh said to Satan, Hast thou thus considered my servant Abraham? for there is none like him upon earth, a perfect and an upright man before me, one that feareth God and avoideth evil; as I live, were I to say unto him, Bring up Isaac thy son before Me, he would not withhold him from Me, much more if I told him to bring up a burnt offering before Me from his flock or herds.
55 And Satan answered Yahweh and said, Speak then now unto Abraham as thou hast said, and thou wilt see whether he will not this day transgress and cast aside thy words.
God tests Abraham.
Genesis 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
The context is “tested”, not tempted. There is a significant difference. Tempt implies seduction to wrongdoing. Test here means seeing if Abraham will give all to Yahweh.
22:2 And he said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you lovest, and get you into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you of.
Only is yachiyd, here meaning beloved, it has a deep meaning of importance. Abraham had other sons, but Isaac was most beloved.
Isaac was Abraham's only legitimate son (with Sarah). And chosen by Yahweh.
Jasher 23:3-20
3 And Abraham said within himself, How shall I separate my son Isaac from Sarah his mother, in order to bring him up for a burnt offering before Yahweh?
4 And Abraham came into the tent, and he sat before Sarah his wife, and he spoke these words to her,
5 My son Isaac is grown up and he has not for some time studied the service of his God, now tomorrow I will go and bring him to (the house of my fathers), and there he will learn the ways of Yahweh, for they will teach him to know Yahweh as well as to know that when he prayeth continually before Yahweh, He will answer him, therefore there he will know the way of serving Yahweh his God.
6 And Sarah said, Thou hast spoken well, go my lord and do unto him as thou hast said, but remove him not at a great distance from me, neither let him remain there too long, for my soul is bound within his soul.
7 And Abraham said unto Sarah, My daughter, let us pray to Yahweh our God that He may do good with us.
8 And Sarah took her son Isaac and he abode all that night with her, and she kissed and embraced him, and gave him instructions till morning.
9 And she said to him, O my son, how can my soul separate itself from thee? And she still kissed him and embraced him, and she gave Abraham instructions concerning him.
10 And Sarah said to Abraham, O my lord, I pray thee take heed of thy son, and place thine eyes over him, for I have no other son nor daughter but him.
11 O forsake him not. If he be hungry give him bread, and if he be thirsty give him water to drink; do not let him go on foot, neither let him sit in the sun.
12 Neither let him go by himself in the road, neither force him from whatever he may desire, but do unto him as he may say to thee.
13 And Sarah wept bitterly the whole night on account of Isaac, and she gave him instructions till morning.
14 And in the morning Sarah selected a very fine and beautiful garment from those garments which she had in the house, that Abimelech had given to her.
15 And she dressed Isaac her son therewith, and she put a turban upon his head, and she enclosed a precious stone in the top of the turban, and she gave them provision for the road, and they went forth, and Isaac went with his father Abraham, and some of their servants accompanied them to see them off the road.
16 And Sarah went out with them, and she accompanied them upon the road to see them off, and they said to her, Return to the tent.
17 And when Sarah heard the words of her son Isaac she wept bitterly, and Abraham her husband wept with her, and their son wept with them a great weeping; also those who went with them wept greatly.
18 And Sarah caught hold of her son Isaac, and she held him in her arms, and she embraced him and continued to weep with him, and Sarah said, Who knoweth if after this day I shall ever see thee again?
19 And they still wept together, Abraham, Sarah and Isaac, and all those that accompanied them on the road wept with them, and Sarah afterward turned away from her son, weeping bitterly, and all her men servants and maid servants returned with her to the tent.
20 And Abraham went with Isaac his son to bring him up as an offering before Yahweh, as He had commanded him.
Genesis 22:3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave (chopped) the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
Jasher 23:21-40
21 And Abraham took two of his young men with him, Ishmael the son of Hagar and Eliezer his servant, and they went together with them, and whilst they were walking in the road the young men spoke these words to themselves,
22 And Ishmael said to Eliezer, Now my father Abraham is going with Isaac to bring him up for a burnt offering to Yahweh, as He commanded him.
23 Now when he returneth he will give unto me all that he possesses, to inherit after him, for I am his first born.
24 And Eliezer answered Ishmael and said, Surely Abraham did cast thee away with thy mother, and swear that thou shouldst not inherit any thing of all he possesses, and to whom will he give all that he has, with all his treasures, but unto me his servant, who has been faithful in his house, who has served him night and day, and has done all that he desired me? to me will he bequeath at his death all that he possesses.
25 And whilst Abraham was proceeding with his son Isaac along the road, Satan came and appeared to Abraham in the figure of a very aged man, humble and of contrite spirit, and he approached Abraham and said to him, Art thou silly or brutish, that thou goest to do this thing this day to thine only son?
26 For God gave thee a son in thy latter days, in thy old age, and wilt thou go and slaughter him this day because he committed no violence, and wilt thou cause the soul of thine only son to perish from the earth?
27 Dost thou not know and understand that this thing cannot be from Yahweh? for Yahweh cannot do unto man such evil upon earth to say to him, Go slaughter thy child.
28 And Abraham heard this and knew that it was the word of Satan who endeavored to draw him aside from the way of Yahweh, but Abraham would not hearken to the voice of Satan, and Abraham rebuked him so that he went away.
29 And Satan returned and came to Isaac; and he appeared unto Isaac in the figure of a young man comely and well favored.
30 And he approached Isaac and said unto him, Dost thou not know and understand that thy old silly father bringeth thee to the slaughter this day for naught?
31 Now therefore, my son, do not listen nor attend to him, for he is a silly old man, and let not thy precious soul and beautiful figure be lost from the earth.
32 And Isaac heard this, and said unto Abraham, Hast thou heard, my father, that which this man has spoken? even thus has he spoken.
33 And Abraham answered his son Isaac and said to him, Take heed of him and do not listen to his words, nor attend to him, for he is Satan, endeavoring to draw us aside this day from the commands of God.
34 And Abraham still rebuked Satan, and Satan went from them, and seeing he could not prevail over them he hid himself from them, and he went and passed before them in the road; and he transformed himself to a large brook of water in the road, and Abraham and Isaac and his two young men reached that place, and they saw a brook large and powerful as the mighty waters.
35 And they entered the brook and passed through it, and the waters at first reached their legs.
36 And they went deeper in the brook and the waters reached up to their necks, and they were all terrified on account of the water; and whilst they were going over the brook Abraham recognized that place, and he knew that there was no water there before.
37 And Abraham said to his son Isaac, I know this place in which there was no brook nor water, now therefore it is this Satan who does all this to us, to draw us aside this day from the commands of God.
38 And Abraham rebuked him and said unto him, Yahweh rebuke thee, O Satan, begone from us for we go by the commands of God.
39 And Satan was terrified at the voice of Abraham, and he went away from them, and the place again became dry land as it was at first.
40 And Abraham went with Isaac toward the place that God had told him.
Genesis 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
Jasher 23:42-47
42 And a pillar of fire appeared to him that reached from the earth to heaven, and a cloud of glory upon the mountain, and the glory of Yahweh was seen in the cloud.
43 And Abraham said to Isaac, My son, dost thou see in that mountain, which we perceive at a distance, that which I see upon it?
44 And Isaac answered and said unto his father, I see and lo a pillar of fire and a cloud, and the glory of Yahweh is seen upon the cloud.
45 And Abraham knew that his son Isaac was accepted before Yahweh for a burnt offering.
46 And Abraham said unto Eliezer and unto Ishmael his son, Do you also see that which we see upon the mountain which is at a distance?
47 And they answered and said, We see nothing more than like the other mountains of the earth. And Abraham knew that they were not accepted before Yahweh to go with them, and Abraham said to them, Abide ye here with the ass whilst I and Isaac my son will go to yonder mount and worship there before Yahweh and then return to you.
Genesis 22:5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
22:6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
22:7 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?
22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Symbolic and a foreshadow of Yahweh and His son Yahshua.
There is no mention of struggle on the part of Isaac. The Book of Jasher goes into detail here. This is a 'type'. Symbolic of Christ and his willingness to die for Yahweh with no struggle.
Jasher 23:51-57
51 And Abraham answered his son Isaac, saying, Yahweh has made choice of thee my son, to be a perfect burnt offering instead of the lamb.
52 And Isaac said unto his father, I will do all that Yahweh spoke to thee with joy and cheerfulness of heart.
53 And Abraham again said unto Isaac his son, Is there in thy heart any thought or counsel concerning this, which is not proper? tell me my son, I pray thee, O my son conceal it not from me.
54 And Isaac answered his father Abraham and said unto him, O my father, as Yahweh liveth and as thy soul liveth, there is nothing in my heart to cause me to deviate either to the right or to the left from the word that He has spoken to thee.
55 Neither limb nor muscle has moved or stirred at this, nor is there in my heart any thought or evil counsel concerning this.
56 But I am of joyful and cheerful heart in this matter, and I say, Blessed is Yahweh who has this day chosen me to be a burnt offering before Him.
57 And Abraham greatly rejoiced at the words of Isaac, and they went on and came together to that place that Yahweh had spoken of.
Genesis 22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
Hebrews 11:17 By faith (allegiance) Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his most beloved son,
James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Jasher 23:61-68
61 And Isaac said to his father, Bind me securely and then place me upon the altar lest I should turn and move, and break loose from the force of the knife upon my flesh and thereof profane the burnt offering; and Abraham did so.
62 And Isaac still said to his father, O my father, when thou shalt have slain me and burnt me for an offering, take with thee that which shall remain of my ashes to bring to Sarah my mother, and say to her, This is the sweet smelling savor of Isaac; but do not tell her this if she should sit near a well or upon any high place, lest she should cast her soul after me and die.
63 And Abraham heard the words of Isaac, and he lifted up his voice and wept when Isaac spake these words; and Abraham's tears gushed down upon Isaac his son, and Isaac wept bitterly, and he said to his father, Hasten thou, O my father, and do with me the will of Yahweh our God as He has commanded thee.
64 And the hearts of Abraham and Isaac rejoiced at this thing which Yahweh had commanded them; but the eye wept bitterly whilst the heart rejoiced.
65 And Abraham bound his son Isaac, and placed him on the altar upon the wood, and Isaac stretched forth his neck upon the altar before his father, and Abraham stretched forth his hand to take the knife to slay his son as a burnt offering before Yahweh.
66 At that time the angels of mercy came before Yahweh and spake to him concerning Isaac, saying,
67 0 Yahweh, thou art a merciful and compassionate King over all that thou hast created in heaven and in earth, and thou supportest them all; give therefore ransom and redemption instead of thy servant Isaac, and pity and have compassion upon Abraham and Isaac his son, who are this day performing thy commands.
68 Hast thou seen, O Yahweh, how Isaac the son of Abraham thy servant is bound down to the slaughter like an animal? now therefore let thy pity be roused for them, O Yahweh.
Genesis 22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
22:11 And the angel (messenger) of Yahweh called unto him out of heaven (the sky), and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
22:12 And he said, Lay not your hand upon the lad, neither do you any thing unto him: for now I know that you fearest God, seeing you hast not withheld your son, your only (beloved) son from Me.
The word fear is yare, meaning revere.
Abraham demonstrated his reverence for Yahweh.
22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
Jasher 23:71-75
71 For Yahweh had prepared this ram from that day (which Yahweh God had created in the earth in the day that He made earth and heaven), to be a burnt offering instead of Isaac.
72 And this ram was advancing to Abraham when Satan caught hold of him and entangled his horns in the thicket, that he might not advance to Abraham, in order that Abraham might slay his son.
73 And Abraham, seeing the ram advancing to him and Satan withholding him, fetched him and brought him before the altar, and he loosened his son Isaac from his binding, and he put the ram in his stead, and Abraham killed the ram upon the altar, and brought it up as an offering in the place of his son Isaac.
74 And Abraham sprinkled some of the blood of the ram upon the altar, and he exclaimed and said, This is in the place of my son, and may this be considered this day as the blood of my son before Yahweh.
75 And all that Abraham did on this occasion by the altar, he would exclaim and say, This is in the room of my son, and may it this day be considered before Yahweh in the place of my son; and Abraham finished the whole of the service by the altar, and the service was accepted before Yahweh, and was accounted as if it had been Isaac; and Yahweh blessed Abraham and his seed on that day.
Hebrews 11:17-19
17 By faith (allegiance) Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his most beloved son,
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received (rescued) him in a figure (an analogy).
Sirach 44:20 Who kept the law of the most High, and was in covenant with Him: He established the covenant in his flesh; and when he was proved, he was found faithful.
Genesis 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Yahwehjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of Yahweh it shall be seen.
22:15 And the angel (messenger) of Yahweh called unto Abraham out of heaven (the sky) the second time,
22:16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith Yahweh, for because (on account that) you hast done this thing, and hast not withheld your son, your only (beloved) son:
22:17 That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven (sky), and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
Hebrews 6:13-14
13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He sware by Himself,
14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
11:12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
22:18 And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you hast obeyed My voice.
Because of all this, Isaac became Yahweh's. Isaac had two children. Jacob and Esau. Esau hated his own people and married the children of Cain. Now Esau's children became the Edomite Jews. They were very evil and bad people. They eventually took over the priesthood and changed the laws of Moses. They invented Judaism and also murdered Jesus Christ.
Jacob remained faithful and married his own people. He had twelve children. We are also part of Jacob's family. That is why we are Israelites. God's chosen people.
