Who did god ask Abraham to sacrifice?

Answer 1

God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac whom he got at old age.

Genesis 22:1-2 tells us:

"…And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of…"(kjv)

Answer 2

GOD said to abraham to sacrifice his son to him (this can be Isaac or Ishmael depending on whether you follow the Biblical or Qur'anic Tradition) and Abraham did not disobey GOD. He took his son and his servant so abraham told his servant to wait as he laid his son on the wood and cover his eye. He prepared cut his son with a knife in order to sacrifice him to GOD. In that moment, an angel of GOD prevented him from sacrificing his son and told Abraham that he should use a nearby lamb for the sacrifice.

Answer 3

God wanted to test Abraham, so he told him to sacrifice his only son Isaac, we must remember that Isaac was born when Abraham was hundred years old. It is through this story that God first specifies that human sacrifice is not allowed.

Christian Interpretation

All of the above is true, but the symbolism goes much deeper than that, and there are correlations between the sacrifice of Isaac and the later sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. I won't go too deep into the meanings of everything, just point out many of the similarities.

1) Abraham is the earthly father of the Jewish people; God is the Heavenly Father of everyone, and the Jews are His chosen people.

2) Isaac was Abraham's only son, the firstborn of Abraham. Even though Ishmael was also Abraham's son, he is not figured in the symbolism because he is not the heir to Abraham according to God's covenant with Abraham; Jesus is God's only son, the firstborn and heir to God's kingdom according to God's new covenant with mankind.

3) Isaac knew something was awry because they were going to sacrifice without a sacrificial lamb. When he questioned this Abraham told him that God would provide for the sacrifice. Isaac did not question further and accepted that his father knew best; Jesus questioned God of his sacrifice, and reasoned that God (the Father) knew best, therefore accepted the sacrifice. In both cases God provided the sacrificial lamb, but in Isaac's case it was not Isaac that became the sacrifice.

4) Isaac was made to carry the wood for the sacrifice; Jesus was made to carry the wood (cross) for his sacrifice.

5) Isaac and Jesus were both willing to be sacrificed. This can be inferred because there is no mention of Isaac resisting Abraham, and we have to remember that Abraham was over 100 years old at this time. Although probably not extremely frail at this time, Isaac could most likely have easily escaped Abraham if he so chose to do so. As with Jesus, he could have called legions of angels to rescue him from the cross, but chose not to do so and go through with the sacrifice.

I know this is a lengthy response, and there is more detail than what I have gone, but I answer your question.

Answer 4

He told him to sacrifice his son. In The Bible they said the son God asked him to sacrifice was Issac while Muslims believe it was the elder son (by 13 years) Ishmael. ----

Answer 5

Just as Avraham was about to sacrifice Yitzchak, HaShem sent a ram to be sacrificed instead.

Answer 6

Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:2 & 14)(2 Chronicles 3:1)

Answer 7

He asks him to because he wanted to fulfill his own promise without Abraham taking it into his own hands.

Answer 8

To test his faith.