Isaac – the Odyssey Life
Isaac’s odyssey life was much like that of legendary movie figure Forrest Gump – Isaac was part of several Biblical historical events, but not the focus of the stories. Still, he is mentioned in the middle of the common Scriptural phrase, “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”[1]
Falling between two Biblical iconic figures, Isaac’s life did not have the same high profile recognition. Abraham, the father of Isaac, is the patriarch of Judaism, Islam and Christianity having been blessed by God to be the father of many nations and kings.[2] Jacob, Isaac’s son, had his name changed by God to Israel and became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel.[3]
Thirteen years after Ishmael was born, God appeared to Abram with an amazing message.[4] At the age of 99 and his wife at 90, God promised him to be the father of nations and kings changing their names – Abram to Abraham and Sarah and Sarai – and God announced they would miraculously become parents in their old age, a son whom God named Isaac.[5]
Abraham’s faith was tested by God placing Isaac’s life at great risk as a youth. Unbeknownst to Isaac, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son on a Moriah mount. Human sacrifices were not uncommon in that era, such as to the pagan gods Baal and Moloch.[6]
Carrying the wood for the sacrifice, Isaac suspected something wasn’t right and pointed it out to his father – they didn’t have an animal to sacrifice.“God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering,” Abraham told Isaac.[7]
Drama peaked at the final moment when Isaac was ready to be slain on the sacrificial alter. An “angel” stopped Abraham from killing his only son and instead provided a ram entangled in a nearby thicket for the substitute sacrifice.[8] Known in Judaism as “The Binding of Isaac,” the event is also mentioned in the New Testament Book of Hebrews as an example of faith.[9]
Mount Moriah from that point forward would become the centerpoint location of holiness to God. Hundreds of years later, King David would purchase the land, personally offer a sacrifice, then announced that very place on Mount Moriah would be the location of the Temple eventually built by King David’s son, Solomon.[10]
Isaac’s marriage to Rebekah was much less of a remarkable occasion than the significant events preceding and surrounding it. The multifaceted story involved the miraculous revelation of a bride for Isaac; established a traditional Jewish marriage right; and emphasized God’s value of virginity.
At the age of marriage, Abraham sent his servant back in his homeland with instructions to find a bride for Isaac among “the daughters of the Canaanites.“[11] The servant prayed for a specific sign so complex and unusual, when it happened it would leave no doubt Rebekah was the chosen one for Isaac.
Rebekah was the first of only three females in the Bible described by the rare Hebrew words, ha-almah, “the virgin.” The Genesis story serves as the codex for defining the Hebrew word meanings for ha-almah (the virgin), betulah (virgin), na ‘arah (girl) and `ishshah (woman).[12]
Second of the appearance of ha-almah in the Bible was in reference to Miriam, the sister and savior of Moses. Third time is the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 foretelling the birth of a son to ha-almah.[13]
To escape a famine Isaac moved his family to Philistine territory, their often-time enemies. Rebekah was very beautiful, so much so, that Isaac feared someone might kill him to steal his wife.
As a safeguard, the couple lived under the pretense that Rebekah was his sister. While in the land of the Philistines, God appeared to Isaac warning him not to go to Egypt, then blessed him: [14]
Gen 26:3-5 “Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge. My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”(NKJV)
One day Philistine King Abimelech saw Isaac caressing Rebekah and realized they were married and the King confronted Isaac for the deception. Isaac expressed his fear that someone might kill him to steal his wife and in response, the King issued a command that no one was to touch the couple under the penalty of death.[15]
Prayers of Isaac and Rebekah to give them children after 20 years of marriage were answered with the birth of paternal twins, Esau the older and Jacob the younger. Not only was their appearance vastly different, so was their personality and interests. The twins were a handful for their parents, even into their sons’ adult years.
In his old age, Isaac announced to Esau the time had come for his firstborn blessing and sent him on a hunting trip to get meat for the occasion. Rebekah overheard the conversation and quickly went to Jacob with a plan to swindle the blessing from Esau.[16]
Skeptical at first, Jacob went along with the plan where he used sheep skin to fool his blind father. Unwittingly, Isaac blessed Jacob instead of Esau passing along God’s blessing of his father Abraham where “all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”
Esau soon returned from hunting and became enraged when he learned what had happened. He wanted to kill his twin brother who fled the country and remained in exile for 20 years.
After the account of Isaac’s blessing, the next 7 chapters in Genesis focuses on the life of Jacob. Briefly mentioning the end of Isaac’s life, Genesis records that Isaac lived 180 years.[17] Isaac and Ishmael would meet again when they buried their father, thus bringing to an end the odyssey life of Isaac.[18]
Could any Messiah prophesy to Abraham legitimately be fulfilled without the blessed life of Isaac?
Updated August 25, 2025.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
REFERENCES:
[1] NetBible.org. Word search for “Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.” 2020. <http://classic.net.bible.org/search.php?search=god%20of%20abraham%20Isaac%20jacob&page=1>
[2] Genesis 17.
[3] Genesis 32; 28; 35. Qur’an Surah 3:84, 4:163, 12:38,19:58, 38:45. Pratt, John P. “Divine Calendars Testify of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” JohnPratt.com. 2003. <http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2003/abraham.html>
[4] Genesis 21:1-8.
[5] Genesis 21:8-20.Qur’an Surah 2:127-128, 133.
[6] “Human Sacrifices.” Bible-history.com. n.d. <http://www.bible-history.com/backd2/human_sacrifice.html> Hefner, Alan G. “Baal.” Encyclopedia Mythica. 2004. <https://web.archive.org/web/20140822080410/http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/baal.html> “Sacrifice.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12984-sacrifice>
[7] Genesis 22:7. ESV, NASB, NKJV, NET. Shuchat, Chaya. Smithsonian Magazine. “Ibex Mountain Goat seen while touring the Negev Desert in Israel.” Aug. 2015. <https://photocontest.smithsonianmag.com/photocontest/detail/ibex-mountain-goat-seen-while-touring-the-negev-desert-in-israel>
[8] Hebrews 11:17-19.
[9] “The Binding of Isaac.” MyJewishLearning.com. 2020. <https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-binding-of-isaac>
[10] I Chronicles 21:18, 2 Chronicles 3:1, 2 Samuel 24:15-25.
[11] Genesis 24:7-8, 57-58.
[12] Genesis 24:16-44.
[13] Exodus 2:8.
[14] Genesis 25 – 19.
[15] Genesis 26:8-1.
[16] Genesis 27. CR Genesis 35:10, 16-20, 48:7. CR Genesis 17:21, 25:11, 26:3-5, 24, 35:12; 1 Chronicles 16:16. “The Story of Abraham.” The History of Israel. n.d. <https://web.archive.org/web/20190827032818/http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/story-of-abraham.html> Pratt. “Divine Calendars Testify of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
[17] Genesis 35:28.
[18] Genesis 25:9.