Location of Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac
The biblical account of Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac places the event in "the land of Moriah" on "one of the mountains" that God would show him (Genesis 22:2). While the exact location has been a subject of discussion, a strong tradition identifies this site with Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, where Solomon later built the Temple [1, 2, 5].
The journey to Moriah from Beersheba took Abraham and Isaac three days [9]. Upon arrival, Abraham built an altar, arranged the wood, bound Isaac, and placed him on the altar before an angel of the Lord intervened [3, 6]. Abraham then sacrificed a ram caught in a thicket instead of his son, naming the place "The Lord Will Provide" (Yahweh-Yireh) [11].
Jewish tradition, as noted by Maimonides and the Targum of Jonathan, holds that this Mount Moriah is the same location where David and Solomon built the altar in the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, and where the Temple stood [7, 5]. This view is also supported by various Christian commentators [8, 10]. The elevation is described as the eastern eminence of Jerusalem, separated from Mount Zion by the Tyropoeon valley, with its top later leveled by Solomon for the Temple [2].
Some scholars have considered Mount Gerizim, near Shechem, as a possible alternative location for Abraham's sacrifice [4, 5]. Samaritan traditions specifically identify Mount Gerizim as the site [4]. However, most interpretations favor Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, linking Abraham's act of faith to the future site of Israelite worship [2, 5, 11]. The narrative's emphasis on "the mountain of the Lord" in Genesis 22:14 is understood by later Israelites as a foreshadowing of the Jerusalem Temple [11].
Sources
- STEPBible TBESG “[H4179] H4179 = (H4179) — <BR> § Moriah = "chosen by Jehovah"<br> the place where Abraham took Isaac for sacrifice<br>the mount on the eastern edge of Jerusalem on which Solomon built the temple<br>”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Moriah — (chosen by Jehovah). + The land of Moriah--On "one of the mountains" in this district took place the sacrifice of Isaac. (Genesis 22:2) Its position is doubtful, some thinking it to be Mount MOriah, others that Moreh, near Shechem, is meant. [See [885]Mount, [886]Mount, Mountain MORIAH] + Mount Moriah .--The elevation on which Solomon built the temple, where God appeared to David "in the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." it is the Eastern eminence of Jerusalem, separated from Mount Zion by the Tyropoeon valley. The tope was levelled by Solomon, and im”
- Genesis “Genesis 22:7 (BBE) — Then Isaac said to Abraham, My father; and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, We have wood and fire here, but where is the lamb for the burned offering?”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Gerizim — (cutters), a limestone mountain, 2855 feet high (800 feet above the valley at its foot), in Ephraim, near Shechem (Sychar), from which the blessings were read to the Israelites on entering Canaan. [See [546]Ebal, Mount] According to the traditions of the Samaritans it was here that Abraham sacrificed Isaac, that Melchizedek met the patriarch, that Jacob built an altar, and at its base dug a well, the ruins of which are still seen. Some scholars think there is ground for the first belief (so Smith); but careful observers of the locality discredit it and belie”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Moriah — The chosen of Jehovah. Some contend that Mount Gerizim is meant, but most probably we are to regard this as one of the hills of Jerusalem. Here Solomon's temple was built, on the spot that had been the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite (2 Sam. 24:24, 25; 2 Chr. 3:1). It is usually included in Zion, to the north-east of which it lay, and from which it was separated by the Tyropoean valley. This was "the land of Moriah" to which Abraham went to offer up his son Isaac (Gen. 22:2). It has been supposed that the highest point of the temple hill, which is now ”
- Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 13, section 1: . Concerning Isaac The Legitimate Son Of Abraham. 1. Now Abraham greatly loved Isaac, as being his only begotten 27 and given to him at the borders of old age, by the favor of God. The child also endeared himself to his parents still more, by the exercise of every virtue, and adhering to his duty to his parents, and being zealous in the worship of God. Abraham also placed his own happiness in this prospect, that, when he should die, he should leave this his son in a safe and secure condition; which accordingly he obtained by the”
- Genesis (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Genesis 22:9: And they came to the place which God had told him of,.... Mount Moriah. Maimonides (f) says,"it is a tradition in or by the hands of all, that this is the place where David and Solomon built an altar in the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite, and where Abraham built an altar, and bound Isaac on it; and where Noah built one when he came out of the ark, and is the altar on which Cain and Abel offered; and where the first man offered when he was created, and from whence he was created.''And so the Targum of Jonathan, and other Jewish writers (g). The Mahometans sa”
- 2 Samuel (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 24:18: Go up, rear an altar unto the Lord - This place is supposed to be Mount Moriah: on which, according to the rabbins, Cain and Abel offered their sacrifices; where Abraham attempted to sacrifice Isaac, and where the temple of Solomon was afterwards built.”
- Genesis (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Genesis 22:3: Abraham rose . . . early, &c.--That there might be no appearance of delay or reluctance on his part, he made every preparation for the sacrifice before setting out--the materials, the knife, and the servants to convey them. From Beer-sheba to Moriah, a journey of two days, he had the painful secret pent up in his bosom. So distant a place must have been chosen for some important reason. It is generally thought that this was one the hills of Jerusalem, on which the Great Sacrifice was afterwards offered.”
- 2 Chronicles (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on 2 Chronicles 3:1: In Mount Moriah - Supposed to be the same place where Abraham was about to offer his son Isaac; so the Targum: "Solomon began to build the house of the sanctuary of the Lord at Jerusalem, in the place where Abraham had prayed and worshipped in the name of the Lord. This is the place of the earth where all generations shall worship the Lord. Here Abraham was about to offer his son Isaac for a burnt-offering; but he was snatched away by the Word of the Lord, and a ram placed in his stead. Here Jacob prayed when he fled from the face of Esau his brother; and here ”
- Genesis (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Genesis 22:14: 22:14 As with many patriarchal narratives, the heart of the matter is retained through commemorative naming. Yahweh-Yireh . . . means “the Lord will provide” (see 22:8). That Abraham used the holy name in this act shows that the patriarchs knew the name Yahweh (cp. Exod 6:2-3) but not its full meaning (see study note on Exod 6:2-3). • To this day: Later Israelites understood this passage as a lesson about their own worship in Jerusalem. Abraham’s sacrifice took place on the mountain of the Lord, later the location of the Temple in Jerusalem (see study note on 22”