He said to him: “Take your only begotten son Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of vision. And there you shall offer him as a holocaust upon one of the mountains, which I will show to you.” (Gen 22:2)
וַיֹּ֡אמֶר קַח־נָ֠א אֶת־בִּנְךָ֙ אֶת־יְחִֽידְךָ֤ אֲשֶׁר־אָהַ֨בְתָּ֙ אֶת־יִצְחָ֔ק וְלֶךְ־לְךָ֔ אֶל־אֶ֖רֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּ֑ה וְהַעֲלֵ֤הוּ שָׁם֙ לְעֹלָ֔ה עַ֚ל אַחַ֣ד הֶֽהָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֹמַ֥ר אֵלֶֽיךָ׃
Ait: “Tolle filium tuum unigenitum, quem diligis, Isaac et vade in terram Moria; atque offer eum ibi in holocaustum super unum montium, quem monstravero tibi”.
To ascend (עלה ʽlâ), in Hebrew this verb has many uses and many synonyms, depending on the context. Its basic meaning to enter, to ascend, to rise, points to what is above. According to this basic meaning of “changing from a lower to a higher position”, this verb means movement, moving towards a higher level. In the Old Testament, it also means “offering a sacrifice.”
In today’s first reading (Gen 22:1-18), which is a pearl of literature, the verb עלה (ʽlâ) appears in the words of God, who commands Abraham to take his son Isaac, the only child whom he loves, and “to ascent” (עלה ʽlâ) into a mountain to offer a burnt offering. God’s command, in Hebrew, sounds ambiguous: it may mean bringing Isaac up the mountain to offer a burnt offering with him, or it may mean bringing Isaac up the mountain to offer him as a burnt offering.
When Abraham sets off to Mount Moriah, throughout the journey and preparations for the sacrifice, we do not really know how the action will unfold and which of these two possible versions Abraham will realize. We know that Abraham is experiencing a moment of trial, but the author does not give us access to his thoughts. Both son and father walk in silence. Slowing down the action on the journey up the mountain creates the impression that Abraham is stalling because he is thinking. Only when he binds his son and raises his hand against him does it become clear what decision Abraham has made. Ultimately, neither Isaac nor the lamb is sacrificed, but the ram, “the father of the lamb.” We can say that Abraham symbolically sacrificed his fatherhood. Did this experience transform him? The story does not explicitly state this, but the fact that Abraham ascended the mountain “together” with Isaac (the Hebrew word for “being in unity”), and when he descends the mountain, no mention is made of Isaac, indicates such a transformation. The author adds, however, that Abraham continues his journey “together” with his servants.
Climbing a mountain, meeting God, makes it impossible to remain untransformed, as today’s Gospel testifies (Mk 9:2-10). Often, however, these experiences need time to mature, as is the case with the disciples “until the resurrection of the Son of Man.”
