1 AND it came to pass after these things, [ The things found in chapter 21. ] that God did tempt [ In this case it means test or prove. Most modern translations translate the Hebrew verb as "tried" or "proved." ) but the Zohar insists that Isaac "was also included in the trial." (Zohar 1:119b, in Sperling and Simon, Zohar, 1:372) ] Abraham, and said unto him, [ It began with a surprise conversation initiated by God, apparently at night.( After receiving the command, Abraham "rose up early in the morning." Genesis 22:3. In the Qur'an, Abraham saw it in a dream. Surah 37:102, in Khatib, Bounteous Koran, 593) Orson Hyde states that "the Spirit of the Lord came upon [Abraham]," ( Journal of Discourses, 11:152) while Josephus tells that God actually appeared to him.( Judean Antiquities 1.223-24, in Feldman, Josephus, 85-87) God addressed him by the name he had given him, the name meaning "Father of a multitude": "Abraham" (Gen. 22:1), or, according to the Septuagint, God called his name twice: "Abraham, Abraham."(Septuagint of Genesis 22:1, in Brenton, Septuagint, 25) ] Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. [ Same words that the Savior used. Shows that he is submissive to the will of God. Abraham responded in deep humility, "Here am I, Lord what willest Thou of Thy servant?"( Baring-Gould, Legends of the Patriarchs, 189; ]

2 And he said, Take now thy son, [ Josephus insists that this was not a command but a request,( Judean Antiquities 1.223-24, in Feldman, Josephus, 85-87). But this word "now" translates in Hebrew as "na", which is a particle of entreaty, ( See Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon, 609) other translators suggest that it should be rendered in this verse as a request: "Take, pray, your son."( Genesis 22:2, in GTC. Similarly, see other translations of this verse: "Pray take..." in FBM; "Take, I pray thee …" in Young, Young's Literal Translation, 13 of Old Testament; and "Take, I beg of you….." in Hirsch, T'rumath Tzvi, 105) So also the preeminent medieval Jewish scholar Rashi held that the meaning of this Genesis passage is not a command, but God was saying: "I request of you... "( Rashi on Genesis 22:2, in Rashi, Commentary, 199.) Jewish tradition similarly records the Lord as saying "please"( Tuchman and Rapoport, Passions of the Matriarchs, 68) or "I have come to ask of thee something."( Baring-Gould, Legends of the Patriarchs, 189; see Genesis 22:1-2) Standing face to face with His beloved friend Abraham, and looking him in the eye, God gently requests the sacrifice of Abraham's own beloved son, and then "keeps silent about his reasons." (Derrida, Gift of Death, 58) Many had been the commands that Abraham had been commanded to do many things before but never a request. How should he handle it? The conversation seemed to leave the door open for questions or discussion. But Abraham, the one who had pled with such fervor with the Almighty over the fate of Sodom now offered no dissent or discussion, no hedging or hesitation. He did not "stop to reason or argue with the Almighty," noted Joseph F. Smith, but simply "went ... without complaining or murmuring" to fulfill what God had asked.( Stuy, Collected Discourses, 2:279) Abraham could well have offered "a many justifiable excuses" pointing out that what God was asking was contradicting the prior promises of God himself. And yet he refrained from doing so, submitting his paternal feelings to the will and love for God." If God asked then there must be a reason, he trusted God unquestionaly. God had expressly recognized Abraham's love for Isaac in asking for his sacrifice, and it was indeed Abraham's love that was being tested: whom did he love the most, Isaac or God? ] thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah ; [ God told Abraham to make the sacrifice at a place called Moriah...it was 3 days journey(40 miles to the north). Imagine how Abrahams heart must have felt for that three days. It was not a quick let's just go get this over with...plenty of chance to back out. It is also worth noting - where is Moriah? It’s in Jerusalem. Where in Jerusalem? On the Temple Mount. And where on the Temple Mount? On the Ebon Hashachah, on the top of the foundation stone, the stone that’s housed under the Muslim Dome of the Rock the top of Mount Moriah that the Israelites built King Solomon’s temple, the Temple of God. In the Sumerian Pentateuch, the name Moriah is spelled H-A-M-M-O-R-A-A-H, Hamorah. Which comes from the root ra-a, which means to see. And the Greek translation renders the name as, quote, the land of appearance or manifestation. And this is quite appropriate because if the temple is where God dwells, it’s most fitting that one would encounter or see God there. ] and offer him there [ So Abraham knows that he will be offerring Isaac there. God’s telling Abraham that he can’t sacrifice his son Isaac just anywhere, but it needs to be on the top of the mountain(or God's temple) in the land of Moriah. ] for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains [ How is Abraham to know which specific mountain top? The Lord is going to tell him. ] which I will tell thee of. [ Isaac is to be sacrificed is a very specific place a place that God will reveal directly to Abraham. ]

3 ¶ And Abraham rose up early in the morning, [ Before they left that morning, according to rabbinic texts, Abraham and Isaac said their morning prayers, as was always their practice.( Kasher, Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation, 3:136, citing several sources). The point here is that he did not delay in doing what he was asked, he did not try to renegociate with the Lord just got up and did what he was asked. What about Sarah? They were partners in verything, they trusted each other in all things. Has he told her where he is going? Has he said anything to her about what he is about to do?... The story does not tell us. Some suggest that that "out of kindness to her," Abraham did not disclose what he had been asked to do. What is the lesson for us? ] and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave [ Cut. ] the wood for the burnt offering, [ With the donkey carrying the wood and provisions, the party of four began the long walk northward and gradually upward to the hill country of Moriah, the destination designated by God. ] and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. [ So the next morning Abraham chops up some wood and he saddles up a donkey and travels with his son Isaac to the mount in the land of Moriah, which in verse 3 we’re told was the mount, quote, which God had told him. So Abraham knew that he was going to the land of Moriah, to the mountains there. In verse 4 he will know which mountain top when he see's it on the journey. ]

4 Then on the third day Abraham [ "The severity of the trial," notes Henry Blunt, "was unspeakably increased by the three days' journey."( Blunt, Twelve Lectures, 220) The deed was not to be done upon sudden impulse, but only after due deliberation as he walked beside his beloved son carrying the weight of a terrible secret. "The secret was his alone," says Elie Wiesel; indeed, "he alone knew there was a secret-and he refused to share it." ( Wiesel, Messengers of God, 97) He would keep his beloved son safe from pain or anxiety as long as possible, shouldering the entire overwhelming burden as long as he could. Abraham knowing fully why he is going, the painful journey "is prolonged for three days, and during the whole three days the parent's heart is tormented with recurring anxieties. What did Abraham tell Isaac as they walked along for three days together? What would you say? What would you be thinking? Surely he had expected some day to impart to his beloved son his final testimony and blessing, but never under circumstances like these! And what was Abraham thinking as he walked along? "Notice the old gentleman," said John Taylor, "tottering along with his son, brooding over the promises of God and the peculiar demand now made upon him."( Journal of Discourses, 14:360) "We cannot conceive of anything that could be more trying and more perplexing than the position in which he was placed." ( Journal of Discourses, 24:264) In the words of John Taylor, "It was not only his parental feelings that were touched,"(Journal of Discourses, 24:264) for "through the spirit of prophecy, he had gazed upon his posterity as they should exist through the various ages of time. And among other things he saw the days of Jesus (and] ... was glad. And after all this, God told him to take the life of his son. What, and thus prevent your posterity from coming upon the earth as you beheld it in vision? Yes, and in one stroke of the knife blast all these glorious, ... blessed hopes."(Journal of Discourses, 22:318) With Isaac, then, rested the future salvation of the entire world, the future of Zion, as Abraham well knew. ] lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. [ How did he recognize it? Jewish tradition says he saw a pillar of fire or a cloud of glory resting on the mountain. (Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, 1:278-79) ]

5 And Abraham [ Symbolic of God the Eternal Father. ] said unto his young men, [ His servants that were with them. ] Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad [ The word "lad" in that verse translates the Hebrew naar— the same Hebrew word is used in this verse to designate Abraham's two young men ("lads") and Isaac ("lad"). The earliest sources suggest that Isaac was about twenty-five at the time. ( Josephus says Isaac was twenty-five or in his twenty-fifth year (Judean Antiquities 1.227). However; Jewish tradition suggests that Isaac would have been in his thirties. Either way; he was old enough to know what was going on, and his father is old and as a result could have been easily overpowered by Isaac. However we do know that he willingly submitted to his father's wish." He could have said, "Are you kidding me? You're demented. I'm going to... This is not going to happen. This is not really God." But he trusts God. And he trusts his father. And he's willing to do it. He lies down upon the wood. It says that he put him on the wood, but he laid him on the altar, upon the wood. But I'm guessing that Isaac is old enough. He could have resisted. He didn't. So one thing that I would say for Isaac here is total submission to the will of God in faith. And it's boy, we talk about Abrahamic tests. This is the Abrahamic test. Joseph Smith even indicated that "if God had known any other way whereby he could have touched Abraham's feelings more acutely and more deeply he would have done so." (As reported by John Taylor in Journal of Discourses, 24:264. Similarly on another occasion John Taylor reported Joseph Smith's statement that if God "could have invented anything that would have been more keen, acute, and trying than that which he required of Abraham he would have done it." Journal of Discourses, 14:360) God was putting His beloved friend to the severest test that divine wisdom could design. ] will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. [ Why did Abraham expressly say that he and Isaac would both return? Was he perhaps confused, not really knowing what he was saying? Was he carefully hiding the truth, knowing that he and Isaac would not really be returning? Or, as some of the Jewish sages believed, had the Holy Spirit suddenly prompted Abraham to utter these words, which were actually a prophecy? It would have been difficult enough to have even been apprised of Isaac's impending death, but Abraham was asked to do the deed by his own hand, he is the one who has to follow through to the end. Did Abraham think that after he sacrificed Isaac that God would raise him from the dead as he suggest s that they both will return? Hebrews clearly says that Abraham was expecting that God would resurrect Isaac and thereby fulfill the promises, but whether Abraham thought this would happen immediately remains unclear) Once again we are not privy to Abraham's inner thoughts as we witness his unstinting obedience. Or was it just to get them to stay there. So he appears to be confident in God in some way I think. This new request was the ultimate of ironies. Nor was there anything in all the patriarchal records like it, for among the righteous, "nothing of the kind had ever transpired before as a precedent," noted John Taylor.( Journal of Discourses, 14:360) ]

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; [ JST "laid it upon his back" symbolic of the cross placed on the back of Jesus. A strong parallel to Christ carrying the cross, the wood of a tree on his back. That’s exactly what Isaac’s doing. He’s hauling the wood for the sacrifice on his back, just like Christ did on his way to Golgotha. ] and he took the fire in his hand, [ The vessel that had the hot embers for making fire. ] and a knife; and they went both of them together.

7  And Isaac spake [ It was Isaac that broke the silence. ] unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, [ Same response that the savior gave to his father. How obedient are we? Isaac replied, according to Josephus, that he did not deserve "to have been born in the first place, if he were... to spurn the decision of God and his father and not readily offer himself to the wishes of both, when even if his father alone were choosing this it would have been unjust to disobey." (Judean Antiquities 1.232, in Feldman, Josephus, 92) Thus, as a midrash reports, "was Isaac reconciled to his death, in order to obey his Maker's command." (Kasher, Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation, 3:163, quoting Midrash Vayyosha) ] my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? [ Can you imagine Abraham and the thoughts that are going through his head and heart. How much would that hurt to tell you beloved son it was him whom you were going to be required to sacrifice. Did Abraham maybe use this opportunity to teach Isaac that the same God who was commanding him to sacrifice Isaac was the same one who had the power to raise him from the dead? ]

8  And Abraham said,< [ Josephus records these words by Abraham: My child, having asked with myriad prayers from God that you be born to me, when you came into life, there is nothing that I did not take trouble with regard to your upbringing, nor was there anything that I thought would bring me greater happiness than if I should see you grown to manhood and when I died, I should have you as the successor of my realm. But since it was by God's wish that I became your father and again since, as it seems best to Him, I give you up, bear this consecration nobly, for I concede you to God, who requires now to obtain this honor from us, in return for the fact that He has been a benevolent helper and ally to me. Since you were born out of the course of nature, depart now from life not in a common fashion but sent forth by your own father to God, the father of all, by the rite of sacrifice. I think that He has judged that you are deserving to be removed from life neither by disease nor by war nor by some other of the aflictions that are conditioned by nature to befall humanity, but that He would receive your soul with prayers and sacrificial rites and would keep it near Himself. And you will be a guardian for me and supporter in my old age, wherefore also I especially reared you, by offering me God in place of yourself.(Judean Antiquities 1.228-31, in Feldman, Josephus, 90-92. Original has brackets around the phrase "out of the course of nature," words supplied by Feldman to fill in a lacuna in the Greek text) ] My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: [ Abraham was exercising his great faith; do you suppose that even though he was commanded to sacrifice Isaac he had been praying all the way that this cup would pass, that there could be a different way, that another lamb might be provided. We always have a lamb for the burnt offering. Abraham says, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering." So they went both of them together, God's going to handle this. Now Abraham had promised Isaac that God would provide a lamb. What God provided that day was a ram. So where was the lamb? The answer comes only later as recorded in the gospel of John when John the Baptist sees Jesus and announces, "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:29). This was the fulfillment of Abraham's prophecy, uttered in the only conversation that Genesis records between Abraham and his posterity. ] so they went both of them together. [ Note the unity; the oneiness in purpose; just like the Savior and the Father. Okay. But then at some point he realizes what's going on. Abraham builds an altar, and this isn't done in 15 seconds. This takes a while. And so Abraham is right to the point where he stretches forth his hand and takes the knife to slay his son. And only then the angel of the Lord calls him and says, "Abraham, Abraham, don't do it. Don't lay your hand upon the boy. Don't do anything to him. Now I know that the fiercest God." And the King James fear here is probably not the word we would use today I think it might be better translates as reverence of God, you hold Him in awe, you respect him. ]

9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; [ Mount Moriah were he had been commanded to go. ] and Abraham built an altar there, [ Abraham knew what he was there to do, he was going to build an altar because it’s upon altars that sacrifices are made. We should also not lose sight of the fact that Abraham built the altar upon which he was to sacrifice Isaac on the top of the Mount Moriah(the temple). Symbolic of the cross which was the altar upon which the savior was sacrificed. "Abraham... delivered up, as a sacrifice to God, his only-begotten and beloved son, in order that God also might be pleased to offer up for all his seed His own beloved and only-begotten Son, as a sacrifice for our redemption."(Irenaeus, Irenaeus against Heresies 4.5.4, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1:467) "Abraham is the type of God the Father, Isaac is Christ, the wood is the wood of the Cross, Abraham's sacrifice is God's sending of his Son."(Stone, Armenian Apocrypha, 99). ] and laid the wood in order, [ This is a very curious phrase "laid the wood in order". Why would the Genesis writers even make reference to the ordering of the wood with all the Well it just so happens if you look up the word "order" in Hebrew and it’s often used in terms of military soldiers, how you array them. So it does have a very important implication of actual ordering, not just throwing it together, but is there more here than referring to arranging the wood like you learned to do in Boy Scouts, make that teepee shape so that the fire will take hold. However; one of the most salient characteristics of altars, is the emphasis on the four cardinal points. From the Roman's to the Mayan's to the Mosaic Tabernacle and in King Solomon’s temple had four horns. One position on each of the four corners of the altar. The animal was sacrificed in the center of the altar. And after it was sacrificed, then the priest would dab the blood of the sacrificial animal. right on each of the four horns. It’s evidence like this that might suggest that Abraham’s, quote, laying out the wood in order for Isaac’s sacrifice on Mount Moriah actually referred to laying the wood in the form of a cross where four logs were used to point to the four corners of the altar. This, of course, would symbolically establish that Isaac was gonna be sacrificed in the center. The place where the lines(logs) crossed, the templum in the temple, in God’s temple. It was symbolically established that the sacrifice of Isaac was gonna take place in the center of all things, in the holiest of all places, in the holy of holies in God’s temple. ] and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. [ This would have to have been a voluntary submission as Isaac was only 30 so he would have been a strong young man certainly able to out run and over power his over a hundred year old father. ]

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. [ He was fully and completely committed. What are some of the similiaritites between Abrahams willingness to sacrifice Isaac and Heavenly Fathers willingness to sacrifice his only begotten?
1) Issac was a mircle birth so was Christ
2) Issac was willing to yield to the will of his father because Abraham was about 133 years old.
3) Age was 25-37 maybe 33 same age as Christ
4) Issac carried the wood that would be used in the offering/ Christ the cross
5) Issac ask were is the Lamb? To which Abraham responded God wiil provide a LambÓ the ram in the thicket was a double type representing a substitute for Isaac as well as representing Christ which is the final and last offering What are the differences between the two?
In what way can we be compared to Isaac?
If Isaac represents us who does the Ram in the thicket represent?
How did Isaac respond to the fact that his father was going to sacrifice him?
What kind of Father must have Abraham have been to have Isaac a 25-37 year old man go up and lie down allowing your father to sacrifice you?

According to Flavius Josephus here are the words that Abraham says to Isaac "O son, I poured out a vast number of prayers that I might have thee for my son; when thou wast come into the world, there was nothing that could contribute to thy support for which I was not greatly solicitous, nor any thing wherein I thought myself happier than to see thee grown up to man's estate, and that I might leave thee at my death the successor to my dominion; but since it was by God's will that I became thy father, and it is now his will that I relinquish thee, bear this consecration to God with a generous mind; for I resign thee up to God who has thought fit now to require this testimony of honor to himself, on account of the favors he hath conferred on me, in being to me a supporter and defender. Accordingly thou, my son, wilt now die, not in any common way of going out of the world, but sent to God, the Father of all men, beforehand, by thy own father, in the nature of a sacrifice. I suppose he thinks thee worthy to get clear of this world neither by disease, neither by war, nor by any other severe way, by which death usually comes upon men, but so that he will receive thy soul with prayers and holy offices of religion, and will place thee near to himself, and thou wilt there be to me a succorer and supporter in my old age; on which account I principally brought thee up, and thou wilt thereby procure me God for my Comforter instead of thyself." and here is the supposed response of Isaac "That he was not worthy to be born at first, if he should reject the determination of God and of his father, and should not resign himself up readily to both their pleasures; since it would have been unjust if he had not obeyed, even if his father alone had so resolved." ( The Works Of Flavius Josphus - Antiquities of the Jews - Book 1 -Chapter 13). Note the complete trust that Abraham has in the Lord, and his comprehension of the plan of salvation. He thinks that if the Lord is requiring this then it is because of the righteousiness of Isaac not as a test for Abraham. How much trust is that in the Lord? What kind of relationship did he have with the Lord to make that possible? ]

11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, [ It is interesting that from ARMENIAN APOCRYPHA text no. 15.47 relating to Abraham we read that the angel said: “[T]here was a voice from the heavens which said, ‘. . . in the same way, I too did not pity my beloved Son for your sake who, having come, will free all the children of Adam from Hell because of your goodness.’" ] neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know [ Jubilees has a different reading of the verse: not "now I know" but "now I have shown."(This reading, which is in the Latin manuscript only and is supported by the later verse in Jubilees referred to in the next note, was adopted by Charles, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, 2:40. See discussion in VanderKam, Book of Jubilees, 107, note on 18:11) Shown to whom? To Abraham, for one: the reason for this trial, said President Hugh B. Brown, was that "Abraham needed to learn something about Abraham."(As reported by Truman Madsen in his Book of Mormon class in the fall of 1971 at Brigham Young University.) ] that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld [ President Hugh B. Brown was once asked why would God put Abraham through that knowing that Abraham... He knew what Abraham would do. He has fore knowledge; he's God. But the answer that I liked from Hugh B. Brown was that, yes, God knew, but Abraham needed to learn something about Abraham. And I've always loved that answer and thought, the Lord could kind of just put us in one of those kingdoms in Section 76 right now and say, "Well, I already know what you're going to do." But our process of becoming would be taken away and learning about ourselves, I guess. when Heber J. Grant was a young member of the Quorum of the Twelve. And he was called very, very young. And there was a prominent member of the church who had been excommunicated. And the question had come up of his being reinstated in the church. And I think it was John Taylor who presented it to the Quorum of the Twelve. And everyone was pretty much okay with it. He'd paid his dues and he could come back. Except Heber J. Grant who felt that he had disgraced himself, he had disgraced the priesthood and saw him, he said, "No." And apparently this went on for some time. It came up once again, and then President Grant went home, and Elder Grant at that point, went home and he picked up the scriptures and opened the scriptures and read the passage, "I the Lord will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men." And he said, "It hit me right between the eyes that I was being too harsh." And he said, I went back to President Taylor's office and I said to him, "I was wrong. I take back my objection." And President Taylor said to him, "Heber, I didn't really need your approval to authorize his rebaptism, but I wanted you to learn something really important." And he says, "I feel that you have." And maybe President Taylor even had a sense, who knows, that Heber J. Grant would someday be president of the church and he needed to learn this. But sometimes it's not about the problem itself. It's about us learning how to deal with the problem, or what we are, or what we're capable of. ] thy son, thine only son [ In the Hebrew bible these are the exact same words that where used in John 3:16 Hebrew - "son that is the only one" ] from me.

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket [ Symbolic in that Abrahams descendants would likewise be "trapped through their sins and entangled by foreign powers," but would in the end be redeemed when God would blow the horn—a ram's horn, according to Israel's prophets-and gather them home. ] by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. [ Symbolic for us that our father in heaven offerred the Lamb of God his some as a sacrifice for us that we can obtain redemption for our sins, so that we too could be spared. D&C 19:15-18 Abraham had the faith that if the Lord required him to sacrifice Isaac that the Lord also had the power to lift him back up see Heb 11:17-19. ]

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh:< [ Jehovah Yireh (IRRE) which actually means "the Lord will (or does) provide,". "So Abraham called that place 'The Lord will provide"; NIV: "So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide'; The Hebrew words have a broad range of meaning, and can also be read, "In the mount the Lord was seen,"(Genesis 22:14, in Brenton, Septugint, 25) or "On the mountain Yahweh makes himself seen,"(Genesis 22:14, in Westermann, Genesis 12-36, 353) or "the Mount of Seeing". In the Sumerian Pentateuch, the name Moriah is spelled H-A-M-M-O-R-A-A-H, Hamorah. Which comes from the root ra-a, which means "to see". And the Greek translation renders the name as, quote, "the land of appearance or manifestation". Which is quite appropriate because if the temple is where God dwells, it’s most fitting that one would encounter or see God there. The is additional mention of mount Moriah in 2 Chronicles 3:1 where King Solomon begins to build a temple to the Lord "at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah". In 2 Chronicles 3:1 we are taught that this is where King David saw the Lord. ] as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. [ or "in this mount Jesus Christ will be seen" - implying that the Savior will be cruciied in this very area. Speiser's translation: "On Yahweh's mountain there is vision." Speiser, Genesis, 162) What vision? According to the Midrash Rabbah, as Abraham offered up the ram, "the Holy One... showed [Abraham] the Temple built, destroyed and rebuilt" and yet again "rebuilt and firmly established in the Messianic era, as in the verse [from Psalms], When the Lord hath built up Zion, when He hath been seen in His glory." (Genesis Rabbah 56:10, in Freedman, Midrash Rabbah, Genesis, 1:500-501. The Psalms citation is from verse 102:16) Thereby Abraham saw the significance of the place where he was standing: "It is Mount Zion," says Jubilees.(Jubilees 18:13, in Charlesworth, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 2:91) Only then could Abraham have known why, or at least partially why, God had asked him to come all this way to this particular mountain, and why He had capped it with a cloud of glory to indicate the site of the sacrifice. The Targums tell that Abraham proceeded to dedicate the site for the future temple to be built and maintained by his posterity:(Even as Abraham's descendant Moroni would dedicate the future temple site at Manti. Lundwall, Temples of the Most High, 114-15) "Abraham worshipped and prayed there, in that place, and he said, 'Here, before the Lord, shall future generations worship,'"(Targum Ongelos to Genesis 22:14, in Grossfeld, Targum Ongelos, 86, omitting brackets in original) and they would exclaim: "On the Mount of the Holy Temple of the Lord, Abraham offered up his son Isaac." Abraham saw, apparently even in greater detail than what he had seen before, the distress his posterity would undergo, and again prayed for mercy on their behalf, asking the Lord to forgive their sins and deliver them from oppression. And again the Lord promised to do so.(Fragment Targums on Genesis 22:14, in Klein, Fragment Targums 2:17. ]

15 ¶ And the angel of the LORD [ Was this all part of the original oath that God had made to Enoch about the latter-day return of his city of Zion, to meet the earthly Zion built by Abraham's posterity-pursuant to the oath sworn to Abraham by God through his angel here on Mount Moriah. Who was that angel? Jubilees specifies that it was the very angel of the presence, (Jubilees 18:9-16, in VanderKam, Book of Jubilees, 106-107, and VanderKam's note to verse 14; James C. VanderKam, "The Angel of the Presence in the Book of Jubilees," in Dead Sea Discoveries: A Journal of Current Research on the Scrolls and Related Literature (Leiden: Brill, 2000) 7:3, 389.) who, as before has been identified as Enoch. In the Midrash ha-Gadol the angel who called out from heaven is specifically named "Metatron", (Moshe J. Bernstein, "Angels at the Agedah: A Study in the Development of a Midrashic Motif," in Dead Sea Discoveries: A Journal of Current Research on the Scrolls and Related Literature (Leiden: Brill, 2000) 7:3, 282) who is Enoch.(According to the Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 5:24: "Enoch worshiped in truth before the Lord, and behold he was not with the inhabitants of the earth because he was taken away and he ascended to the firmament at the command of the Lord, and he was called Metatron, the Great Scribe." Maher, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, 36-37, and see n. 10. See also Odeberg, 3 Enoch, part 1, 20-38, 79-146; and Toorn, Becking, and Horst, Dictionaries of Deities and Demons, 301-304) This source further tells that Metatron was chosen to relay the message because, as Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, "Metatron arose before the Holy One... and said before him, 'Lord of the Universe, let not the seed of Abraham perish from the world." The Lord then "indicated to Metatron to call him, as it is written 'The angel of the Lord then called to him from heaven.""(Midrash ha-Gadol, translation in Moshe J. Bernstein, "Angels at the Agedah: A Study in the Development of a Midrashic Motif," in Dead Sea Discoveries: A Journal of Current Research on the Scrolls and Related Literature (Leiden: Brill, 2000) 7:3,282.) Having once been God's messenger to rescue Abraham from death on the altar in Ur, Enoch again serves as God's messenger to rescue Abraham's son of promise from another altar and to convey the oath encompassing the future building of Zion. ] called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, [ Because he had obeyed my voice. (Gen. 22:16- 18) Only then did the reason for the terrible trial become apparent: It was God's design to bless Abraham. "Whereby a man suffers"" said the rabbis, "he is also exalted. Abraham suffered greatly" through various trials, the most severe of which was when he "bound his son upon the altar.... Yet thereby was he also exalted." (Kasher, Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation, 2:197) The New Testament letter by the Savior's brother James states that it was through the offering of Isaac that Abraham's faith became perfect (James 2:21-22), a statement that takes on added significance when read in light of God's command years earlier to Abraham: "Walk with me"(Genesis 17:1, in Alter, Genesis, 72) and "be perfect." The orthodox religions still practice this traditional morning synagogue service read the account of the binding of Isaac not only to "emphasize the theme of covenant and everlasting loyalty" but also "as a reminder of the ancient standards of obedience to God's commandments."(Kosofsky, Book of Customs, 25, 302) ] and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed [ Numerous posterity. ] as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; [ "thy seed shall posses the gate of his enemies" comes from the idea that in ancient time there was only one or two ways to enter the city. It was through the gate and whomever controlled the gate controlled the city. So since Abraham's seed will control the gate they will then triumph over their enemies. The Ultimate enemy to Abraham was death and hell, temporal and spiritual death - through the seed of abraham, Christ overcame both. So because of Christ, Abraham's seed through Mary, all of God's children will possess (control/overcome) the gate of Satan which is death and hell. Suggesting that all the strength, whether troops, counsels, or fortified cities of their enemies. shall not prevail against thee. All of the counsels, stratagems, and powers of darkness and of the world shall not be able to prevail against or overthrow Abraham and his spiritual posterity. What do you think that Abraham learned about himself from this experience? Read D&C 101:4 4 Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son. ]

18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. [ the Lord will keep his promise if we keep our part of the covenant; Abraham had proved here that he would do that at all cosots to him. ]

19 so Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

20 ¶ And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, [ Sarah's sister .] she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; [ Shows the providence of God was preparing, in one of the branches of the family of Abraham, a suitable spouse for his son Isaac. ]

21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,

22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.

23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: [ Who afterward became the wife of Isaac. ] these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. [ Nahor the brother to Abraham had stayed behind in Haran (gen 11:31;12:1,4 when Abraham was commanded by the Lord to depart and go southeast to Canaan and then to Egypt. ]

24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.