בראשית כב: עקידת יצחק
א ויהי אחר הדברים האלה והאלהים נסה את אברהם ויאמר אליו אברהם ויאמר הנני
ב ויאמר קח נא את בנך את יחידך אשר אהבת את יצחק ולך לך אל ארץ המריה והעלהו שם לעלה על אחר ההרים אשר אמר אליך
ג וישכם אברהם בבקר ויחבש את חמרו ויקח את שני נעריו אתו ואת יצחק בנו ויבקע עצי עלה ויקם וילך אל המקום אשר אמר לו האלהים
ד ביום השלישי וישא אברהם את עיניו וירא את המקום מרחק
ה ויאמר אברהם אל נעריו שבו לכם פה עם החמור ואני והנער נלכה עד כה ונשתחוה ונשובה אליכם
ו ויקח אברהם את עצי העלה וישם על יצחק בנו ויקח בידו את העש ואת המאכלת וילכו שניהם יחדו
ז ויאמר יצחק אל אברהם אביב ויאמר אבי ויאמר הנני בני ויאמר הנה האש והעצים ואיה השה לעלה
חויאמר אברהם אלהים יראה לו השה לעלה בני וילכו שניהם יחדו
ט ויבא אל המקום אשר אמר לו האלהים ויבן שם אברהם את המזבח ויערך את העצים ויעקד את יצחק בנו וישם אתו על המזבח ממעל לעצים
י וישלח אברהם את ידו ויקח את המאכלת לשחט את בנו
יא ויקרא אליו מלאך יהוה מן השמים ויאמר אברהם אברהם ויאמר הנני
יב ויאמר אל תשלח ידך אל הנער ואל תעש לו מאומה כי עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלהים אתה ולא חשכת את בנך את יחידך ממני
יג וישא אברהם את עיניו וירא והנה איל אחר נאחז בסבך בקרניו וילך אברהם ויקח את האיל ויעלהו לעלה תחת בנו
Genesis 22: The Binding of Isaac
Literal Translation
1 And it was, after these things, and God tested Abraham; and he said to him, “Abraham,” and he said, “here I am.”
2 And he said, “take your son, your only one who you love and go yourself to the land of Moriah and offer there a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will tell you.”
3 And Abraham got up early in the morning and he saddled his donkey and he took his two lads with him and Isaac his son and he cut the offering wood and he got up and he went to the place that God told him.
4 On the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes and he saw the place from a distance.
5 And Abraham said to the lads, “stay here with the donkey and I and the lad will walk until there and we will prostrate and we will return to you.”
6 And Abraham took the offering wood and he put it on Isaac his son and he took in his had the fire and the knife and they went both of them together.
7 And Isaac said to Abraham his father and he said, “my father,” and he said, “Here I am, my son” and he said, “here is the fire and the wood but here is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 And Abraham said, “God will show for him the lamb for the burnt offering, my son”; And they went both of them together.
9 And they came to the place of which God told them and Abraham built the alter there and laid the wood in order and he bound Isaac his son and he put him on the alter on the wood.
10 And Abraham sent his hand and he took the knife to slaughter his son.
11 And an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said “Abraham, Abraham” and he said, “I am here.”
12 and he said, “do not send your hand to the lad and do not do anything to him for now I know that a God-fearing man you are and you did not withhold your son, your only son from me.”
13 And Abraham lifted his eyes and looked and behold a ram there caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and he took the ram and he offered it up as a burnt offering under his son.
Translation Through My Understanding
1 And it was after these events had occurred that God tested Abraham. And he said to him, “Abraham,” and he responded, “Here I am.”
2 And God said, “take your son, your special son, the one who you love–take Isaac now and get for yourself to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”
3 And Abraham eagerly rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young lads with him and took Isaac his son and cut the offering wood and got up and went to the place of which God told him.
4 On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and he saw the place from a distance.
5 And Abraham said to his young lads, “you stay here with the donkey and I and the lad will go until there and worship and return to you.”
6 And Abraham took the offering wood and put it on Isaac his son and took in his hand the fire and the knife and they walked, two of them, together.
7 And Isaac said to Abraham his father and he said, “my father,” and he said to him, “here I am, my son.” And he said, “here is the fire and wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 And Abraham said, “God will provide Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” and they walked, the two of them, together.
9 And they came to the place of which God had told him. Abraham built there the alter and set out the wood and bound Isaac his son and put him on the alter upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11 An an angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven and he said, “Abraham, Abraham!” and he said, “here I am.”
12 And the angel said, “do not lay your hand upon the lad neither should you do anything at all to him for now I know that you are a God-revearing man, seeing that you had not even withheld your son, your special son from me.”
13 And Abraham lifted his eyes and he looked around and behold there was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt-offering instead of his son.
In this unbelievable Biblical scene, the story of a father’s ultimate service of God is portrayed. The text is careful to describe each motion of Abraham in the most specific detail. Every action is enumerated: he took this, he saw that, he went here and there. When translating this text, it is difficult to maintain the emphatic tone. And, so, in the second translation, I chose to stray from the literal translation of the text, somewhat, in order to convey the depth of the original Hebrew text. Notice in some verses how it awkwardly runs on as Abraham does this and this and this…
Additionally, it is crucial to note that, for example, in the second verse, where God relates the actual commandment to Abraham, that the word יחיד/yachid/”only” is often mistranslated here. Abraham actually had another son. Though this other child was birthed of a different, non-Jewish mother, he was Abraham’s son, nonetheless. It is for this reason exactly that the text employs the word of yachid, which means special or unique in this context. Isaac is the son to continue Abraham’s lineage and birth the patriarch of the entire Jewish nation. Abraham knows this, which is why we find it strange that he elects to fulfill God’s command. This is particularly confusing because, elsewhere, we find Abraham questioning the will of God. Yet, here, he seemingly obliges without hesitation. To further this paradox, in the third verse, the language of וישכם/va’yashkem/”and he got up early” has a connotation of excitement or eagerness. Abraham longed to fulfill the will of God. There is a concept in Jewish law that emphasizes achieving a command of God at the earliest possible time. This is displayed in Abraham’s action. However, it is heavily contrasted with the text’s use of 4 additional verbs following in this verse. Every step Abraham took was so heavy on his being because he was getting closer and closer to slaughtering his very own son! The tension between longing to fulfill God’s command and embracing his son as the predicted second patriarch is intensely potent.
Translating these verses literally was actually an excellent exercise for me. I recite them each morning as part of the set liturgy. However, I do not find myself often lost in the translation of them because reading the words in the original Hebrew has become so natural. Nonetheless, the journey of translating each phrase literally brought to light how much richness can be lost. I chose to focus on the verbs and specific phrases because these theme shapes the entire story. Everything is about action. Do, do, do. This was the mantra that Abraham recited in his head over and over again. How else could he venture to perform such an act as killing his own son? So he became a robot. He says very few words and does so many things, in each movement, feeling the flow of his blood and the sweat of his labor. Finally, as he raises the knife to slaughter his son, and angel calls out and says I know you now have reverence for me (God). I chose to alter the translation from fear, since the actions of Abraham transcend those of natural responses to fear. Abraham is conscious through every step as explained. He is not acting out of fear of punishment. God simply instructs and his servant does. Abraham encountered God in a way no one had. He was gripped, in a sense, by the awe-inspiring essence of the Lord. And so he acted. Yet, he was not compelled by fear, he was embracing by choice. So we can see the tension that dominated Abraham throughout this story. He woke up early, yet he hardly spoke. He lifted his eyes to see the place from a distance, and he lifted his eyes to see the ram that saved his son. It is certainly difficult to maintain these deep ideas through translating such a rich text. There is nothing quite like the implication and nature of Biblical Hebrew.