Who Was Isaac in the Bible? The Promised Son of Abraham and Sarah

Isaac was the son God promised to Abraham and Sarah, born when Abraham was 100 years old (Genesis 21:1-5). He is the second of Israel's three patriarchs, between his father Abraham and his son Jacob, and God established His covenant through him rather than through his older half-brother Ishmael (Genesis 17:19-21). Isaac is known for being bound on an altar on Mount Moriah, for marrying Rebekah, and for blessing his twin sons Jacob and Esau (Genesis 22:1-19; 24:67; 27:27-40).

Quick Facts About Isaac

Fact	Details
Name meaning	Often understood as "he laughs," connected to the laughter around his birth (Genesis 17:17; 21:6)
Testament	Old Testament
Key books	Genesis 17-35; also Romans 9, Galatians 4, Hebrews 11
Time period	About 2000 BC (traditional dating)
Family	Son of Abraham and Sarah; husband of Rebekah; father of Esau and Jacob
Known for	The promised son, the near sacrifice on Mount Moriah, blessing Jacob
Age at death	180 years (Genesis 35:28)

Watch a sermon on this topic

The Promise of a Son

God had promised Abraham that his descendants would be numerous, but for decades he and his wife had no children together. When Abraham was 99, God said that Sarah would bear him a son and that he was to name the boy Isaac (Genesis 17:1, 17:19). Abraham fell facedown and laughed, asking whether a man of 100 and a woman of 90 could have a child (Genesis 17:17).

Sarah also laughed when she overheard the promise repeated at their tent (Genesis 18:10-12). The LORD asked whether anything was too hard for Him (Genesis 18:14).

God also made clear which son would carry the covenant. Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar, would be blessed and become a great nation, but God said He would establish His covenant with Isaac (Genesis 17:20-21).

Who Was Isaac in the Bible? His Birth and Early Years

The LORD did for Sarah what He had promised, and she bore a son to Abraham at the very time God had said (Genesis 21:1-2). Abraham named him Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, as God had commanded (Genesis 21:3-4). Sarah said God had brought her laughter and that everyone who heard would laugh with her (Genesis 21:6).

On the day Isaac was weaned, Abraham held a great feast. Sarah saw Ishmael mocking and told Abraham to send Hagar and her son away (Genesis 21:8-10). Abraham was distressed, but God told him to listen to Sarah, because it was through Isaac that his offspring would be reckoned (Genesis 21:11-12).

The Binding of Isaac on Mount Moriah

Some time later God tested Abraham. He told him to take his only son Isaac, whom he loved, to the region of Moriah and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering (Genesis 22:1-2). Abraham set out early the next morning (Genesis 22:3).

On the third day they saw the place in the distance. Abraham told the servants that he and the boy would worship and then come back (Genesis 22:4-5). He placed the wood on Isaac and carried the fire and the knife himself. On the way up, Isaac asked a question:

"Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, 'Father?' 'Yes, my son?' Abraham replied. 'The fire and wood are here,' Isaac said, 'but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' Abraham answered, 'God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.' And the two of them went on together." (Genesis 22:7-8)

At the place God had shown him, Abraham built an altar, bound Isaac, and laid him on the wood (Genesis 22:9). As he took the knife, the angel of the LORD called from heaven and told him not to harm the boy, saying, "Now I know that you fear God" (Genesis 22:11-12). Abraham saw a ram caught in a thicket and sacrificed it instead of his son (Genesis 22:13). He named the place "The LORD Will Provide" (Genesis 22:14), and God repeated His promise that all nations would be blessed through Abraham's offspring (Genesis 22:15-18).

Later, Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1). The book of Hebrews says Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a manner of speaking he received Isaac back from death (Hebrews 11:17-19).

Isaac and Rebekah

After Sarah died (Genesis 23:1-2), Abraham sent his senior servant to his relatives in Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac. Abraham did not want his son to marry a Canaanite woman (Genesis 24:1-4). The servant prayed for a sign at a well, and before he finished praying, Rebekah came out with her water jar. She was the granddaughter of Abraham's brother Nahor (Genesis 24:12-15).

Isaac was out in the field one evening to meditate when he saw the camels approaching (Genesis 24:63). He brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah's tent and married her. The text says he loved her and was comforted after his mother's death (Genesis 24:67). Isaac was forty years old when he married (Genesis 25:20).

When Abraham died at 175, Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 25:7-9). After Abraham's death, God blessed Isaac (Genesis 25:11).

The Birth of Jacob and Esau

Rebekah was childless, so Isaac prayed for her, and the LORD answered his prayer (Genesis 25:21). She carried twins who jostled within her. The LORD told her that two nations were in her womb and that the older would serve the younger (Genesis 25:22-23). Esau was born first, and Jacob came out grasping his brother's heel. Isaac was sixty years old (Genesis 25:25-26).

Esau became a skillful hunter, and Jacob stayed among the tents. Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, while Rebekah loved Jacob (Genesis 25:27-28). Esau later sold his birthright to Jacob for a meal of stew (Genesis 25:29-34).

Isaac in Gerar: Famine, Wells, and a Treaty

When a famine struck, Isaac went to Abimelek, king of the Philistines in Gerar. The LORD told him not to go down to Egypt and repeated to him the promise He had made to Abraham (Genesis 26:1-5). In Gerar, Isaac said Rebekah was his sister because he feared the men would kill him for her (Genesis 26:7). Abraham had done the same thing twice (Genesis 12:11-13; 20:2). Abimelek saw Isaac caressing Rebekah, confronted him, and ordered that no one harm the couple (Genesis 26:8-11).

Isaac planted crops and reaped a hundredfold, and he became very wealthy (Genesis 26:12-13). The Philistines envied him and had filled in his father's wells (Genesis 26:14-15). Isaac reopened Abraham's wells and dug new ones. After two disputed wells, named Esek and Sitnah, he dug a third that no one quarreled over and called it Rehoboth, saying the LORD had given them room (Genesis 26:18-22).

At Beersheba the LORD appeared to Isaac and told him not to be afraid. Isaac built an altar there (Genesis 26:23-25). Abimelek then came and asked for a treaty, saying they had seen that the LORD was with Isaac (Genesis 26:26-31).

The Stolen Blessing

When Isaac was old and his eyes were too weak to see, he asked Esau to hunt game and prepare a meal so he could give him his blessing (Genesis 27:1-4). Rebekah overheard and helped Jacob dress in Esau's clothes, with goatskins on his hands and neck (Genesis 27:5-16).

Isaac said the voice was Jacob's but the hands were Esau's, and he blessed Jacob with abundance and lordship over his brothers (Genesis 27:21-29). When Esau arrived, Isaac trembled violently and said the blessing would stand (Genesis 27:33). He gave Esau a lesser blessing (Genesis 27:39-40).

Esau planned to kill Jacob, so Rebekah arranged for Jacob to go to her brother Laban (Genesis 27:41-46). Isaac blessed Jacob again, passed on the blessing given to Abraham, and told him not to marry a Canaanite woman (Genesis 28:1-4). In Laban's household Jacob married Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29:23-28).

Isaac's Death

Jacob came home to his father at Mamre, near Hebron (Genesis 35:27). Isaac lived 180 years and died "old and full of years." His sons Esau and Jacob buried him (Genesis 35:28-29). He was buried with Rebekah in the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham and Sarah were buried (Genesis 49:31). His grandson Joseph later spoke of the land God promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 50:24).

Key Lessons From Isaac's Life

• God keeps His promises. Isaac was born at the time God said, to parents who had laughed at the idea (Genesis 18:12; 21:2).
• God provides. A ram took Isaac's place on the altar (Genesis 22:13-14).
• Prayer matters in family life. Isaac prayed for his childless wife, and God answered (Genesis 25:21).
• Favoritism causes harm. Isaac's preference for Esau and Rebekah's for Jacob led to deception and a family split (Genesis 25:28; 27:41-43).
• God's purposes stand. The blessing went to Jacob, as God had told Rebekah before the twins were born (Genesis 25:23; 27:33).

Where Isaac Appears in the Bible

• Genesis 17-18: The promise of his birth
• Genesis 21-22: His birth and the binding on Mount Moriah
• Genesis 24-28: Marriage to Rebekah, his sons, Gerar, and the blessing
• Genesis 35:27-29: His death
• Exodus 3:6: God calls Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when He speaks to Moses
• Matthew 22:32: Jesus quotes that same title
• Romans 9:7-10 and Galatians 4:28: Paul writes about Isaac as the child of promise
• Hebrews 11:17-20 and James 2:21: His binding and his blessing of Jacob and Esau

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Isaac in the Bible?

Isaac was the son of Abraham and Sarah, born when Abraham was 100 years old (Genesis 21:5). God established His covenant through him, and he became the father of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 17:19; 25:25-26).

What does the name Isaac mean?

Isaac is often understood to mean "he laughs." Both Abraham and Sarah laughed when told they would have a son in old age, and Sarah said after his birth that God had brought her laughter (Genesis 17:17; 18:12; 21:6).

How old was Isaac when Abraham almost sacrificed him?

The Bible does not give his age. Genesis 22 calls him "the boy" and says he carried the wood for the offering up the mountain (Genesis 22:6, 22:12).

Who was Isaac's wife?

Isaac's wife was Rebekah, the granddaughter of Abraham's brother Nahor. Abraham's servant found her at a well in Mesopotamia, and Isaac married her when he was forty (Genesis 24:15; 25:20).

How old was Isaac when he died?

Isaac died at 180 years old, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him (Genesis 35:28-29).