Abraham rejoiced that he would see Christ’s day. At least two features withing Genesis 22:1-9 (close context) suggest that Abraham himself understood the predictive significance of his test. First, even after seeing the substitute ram and offering it “as a burnt offering instead of his son” (22:13), Abraham called the place “Yahweh will see (yhwh ir’eh), not “Yahweh has seen” (22:14). Abraham recognized the replacement ram as a foreshadowing of how “Yahweh will see” to fulfilling the offspring promise and overcome the curse with blessing (22:180. Thus, his testimony became a perpetual statement of hope in the one we call the Christ: “At the mount of Yahweh it will be seen” (22;14 author’s translation).

A second feature indicating that Abraham saw his test as predictive further supports this reading. The three-day journey from the region of Beersheba in the Philistine’s land (Gen 21:33-34) to Moriah (approximately 91 kilometers, or 56.5 miles) was unnecessary if Yahweh only desired to test Abraham, for this could have been done without distant travels. By means of this journey, the patriarch would have recognized something more about the promised offspring as a person and about the location, means, and timing of how God would secure his victory.

As for the location, God brings Abraham to a mountain in “the region of Moriah” (Gen 22:2), the future location of temple sacrifices (2 Chr 3:1) and, ultimately (C3), Christ’s sacrifice (Mark 10;33; Acts 10:39). The chronicler explicitly identifies Moriah as the place of sacrifice, showing that he saw Abraham’s words as prospective

With respect to the person, in coming to Moriah, Abraham has returned to the region of (Jeru)Salem and the King’s Valley where the priest-king Melchizedek of (Jeru)Salem blessed him (Gen 14:18-20). By this act and for Abraham’s benefit, Yahweh is likely associating Melchizedek, the “king of righteousness” and “peace,” with the promise of the offspring whose coming the patriarch’s obedience at the mountain would secure (cf. Ps 110:1-2, 4; Heb 7:17, 21).

As for means, Yahweh calls a father to give up his son. Within the complete biblical context (C3), this act points to the fathers greater gift in Christ (cf. John 3:16; Rom 8:32; 1 John 4:9-10). The Lord also restores this son and supplies a substitute to bear the wrath that Abraham or a broader community deserved (John 1:29; 2 Cor 5:21). Abraham knew his son would return with him, by whatever means the Lord chose. Thus, Abraham told his servant regarding him and his boy, “We will worship and then we will come back to you” (Gen 22:5, emphasis added). The author of Hebrews saw in Abraham’s statement his belief that God could “even raise the dead” (Heb 11:19). Within the complete context (C3), Isaac’s “resurrection” anticipates the promised offspring, who likewise would triumph through tribulation (Gen 3:15; 49:8-12; cf. Col 2:13-15).

Regarding timing, the narrator identifies that Abraham’s test, culminating in his figuratively receiving back his son from the dead, occurred “on the third day” after he began his journey (Gen 22:4). As such, this narrative may be one of the instances where in Scripture (C3) “this is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise form the dead on the third day” (Luke 24:46, emphasis added; cf. 15:3-4).

Direct Predictions of Christ in Genesis 22:1-9

In his second speech, Yahweh’s messenger makes two promises, both expressed by an infinitive absolute + yiqtol construction in Hebrew: “I will surely bless you and will surely make your offspring as the stars of the heavens and as the sand that is on the seashore” (22:17, author’s translation). Yahweh’s commitment to bless recalls his words in 12:2. His mention o the stars alludes to 15:5, which identified that the offspring who would come from the son from his loins would become countless like the stars. Against the NIV, we should regard the offspring in 22:17b as singular since the verb “multiply” (rbh) commonly means to produce children when it governs living organisms (e.g., 1:28; 9:1, 7; 17:2, 20). In light of this, it seems possible that the “offspring” in Genesis 22:17 is actually the singular deliverer who will himself multiple into a community. The masculine singular pronoun “his” modifying “offspring” in verse 17 further supports this conclusion. Moreover, Genesis’s overall plot structure witnesses a narrowing of vision that moves from the world to Israel to a royal offspring in Judah’s line upon whom all the world’s hopes rest (Gen 49:8-12).

The offspring in Genesis 22:17-18 is singular according to C. John Collin’s understanding that an adjective or pronoun’s number makes explicit whether zera’ (“seed, offspring”) bears a singular or plural referent. The close proximity of the three instances of zera’ in 22:17-18 suggest that all are singular in this context. The flow of thought is as follows:

1. The singular male offspring of the woman who will strike a death blow to the head of the serpent (3:15) and whom Yahweh will name through Isaac (21;12) will multiply like the stars (22:17).

2. The first result of this community will be that the singular offspring will possess the gate of his enemies (22:17; cf. 24:60).

3. The second result is that all the nations of the earth will regard themselves as blessed in this offspring (22:18; cf. Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2).

The earth’s nations counting themselves blessed (22:18) constitutes the promised great multiplication (22:17) and likely signals the eschatological shift from Abraham fathering one nation (Israel during the old covenant) to fathering many nations (the church, united to Jesus the true Israel, in the new covenant) (17:4-5). All these are in some way incorporated into the singular offspring (22:18), and through their multiplying, he claims enemy turf (22:17). This suggests that during the reign of the male deliverer, the “land” promised to Abraham will expand to “lands,” which is exactly what Yahweh promised Isaac in 26:30-4. Furthermore, when considering the complete context (C3), both peter and Paul regarded 22:18 as a messianic text (see Acts 3:13, 18, 24-26; Gal 3:8, 13-14, 16, 29). I suggest, therefore, that Genesis 22:15-19 accounts to a direct messianic prophecy.