Isaac

Isaac is the promised son of Abraham and Sarah, and the younger half-brother of Ishmael. The second patriarch on the path to the Israelite nation, he and his wife have two sons: Jacob and Esau. Isaac is one of the first people of the Bible for whom we get to see details of his emotions (Genesis 24:67).

Introduction

Isaac is the second son of Abraham, and the first son between Abraham and Sarah. As the promised son of Abraham, Isaac inherits the covenant given to Abraham by God. As a child, God tests Abraham by asking him to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham does as God commands, but God intervenes to save Isaac and provides a lamb for sacrifice instead. Can you imagine how Isaac, who was old enough to understand what was happening, felt when this occurred? The Bible does not record Isaac's reaction, but since he continued to have faith in God, He must have recognized God when He intervened and understood not to question God.
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Bible Verses

But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.Genesis 17:21 KJV

And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.Genesis 25:20 KJV

Other Verses on Isaac

• Genesis 17:19; 21:1-10; 22:1-18, 24; 25:6,9,19-28; 26; 27; 28:1-8; 31:18,42,53; 32:9; 35:12, 27-29; 46:1; 48:15-16; 49:31; 50:24
• Exodus 2:24; 3:6,15-16; 4:5; 6:3,8
• Leviticus 26:42
• Numbers 32:11
• Romans 9:7
• Galatians 4:28
• Hebrews 11:17

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Character

Disclaimer: Liberty taken with the depiction of Isaac.
Please remember the Bible does not
specify a description for most individuals.

Isaac is the first man in the Bible to be described as loving his wife (see Genesis 24:67). This tells us that Isaac was loving husband who valued his wife (though it doesn't necessarily mean that the other men of the Bible were not). We are also left to assume that Isaac was very close with his mother Sarah, since the effect of her death on him is mentioned (and still present) years later when he marries.

Isaac visits Gerar, just like his father, and uses the same lie his father used on the king there. Throughout Isaac's story, we see that he inherited both the negative (lying) and positive (faith) genes his father Abraham possessed. It is my understanding that the strong faith is what God desired to be inherited by His people.
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Descendants

Isaac's wife Rebekah gives birth to twins Jacob and Esau. Isaac favors Esau while Rebekah favors Jacob, but it is Jacob who inherits the covenant from God. Through Jacob, Isaac is the father of Israel and through Esau, Isaac is the father of Edom.
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