Genesis 22:13 Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

◄ Genesis 22:13 ►

New International Version
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

New Living Translation
Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

English Standard Version
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Berean Standard Bible
Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

King James Bible
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

New King James Version
Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.

New American Standard Bible
Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in the place of his son.

NASB 1995
Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.

NASB 1977
Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there was a ram after it had been caught in the thicket by its horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.

Amplified Bible
Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering (ascending sacrifice) instead of his son.

Christian Standard Bible
Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

American Standard Version
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.

Contemporary English Version
Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it instead of his son.

English Revised Version
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When Abraham looked around, he saw a ram behind him caught by its horns in a bush. So Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

Good News Translation
Abraham looked around and saw a ram caught in a bush by its horns. He went and got it and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

International Standard Version
Then Abraham looked up and behind him to see a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went over, grabbed the ram, and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

Majority Standard Bible
Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

NET Bible
Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

New Heart English Bible
And Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.

World English Bible
Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and saw that behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
And Abraham lifts up his eyes, and looks, and behold, a ram behind, seized in a thicket by its horns; and Abraham goes, and takes the ram, and causes it to ascend for a burnt-offering instead of his son;

Young's Literal Translation
And Abraham lifteth up his eyes, and looketh, and lo, a ram behind, seized in a thicket by its horns; and Abraham goeth, and taketh the ram, and causeth it to ascend for a burnt-offering instead of his son;

Smith's Literal Translation
And Abraham will lift up his eyes, and will see and behold a ram behind, being held in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham will come and take the ram and bring it for a burnt offering instead of his son.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw behind his back a ram amongst the briers sticking fast by the horns, which he took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Abraham lifted up his eyes, and he saw behind his back a ram among the thorns, caught by the horns, which he took and offered as a holocaust, instead of his son.

New American Bible
Abraham looked up and saw a single ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.

New Revised Standard Version
And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold a ram caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And Abraham lifted his eyes, and he saw and behold, one ram caught in the branches by his horns, and Abraham went and he took the ram and offered him up as an offering in place of his son.

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Abraam lifted up his eyes and beheld, and lo! a ram caught by his horns in a plant of Sabec; and Abraam went and took the ram, and offered him up for a whole-burnt-offering in the place of Isaac his son.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

The Sacrifice Averted
…12“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” 13Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Hebrews 11:17-19
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son, / even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” / Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death.

James 2:21-23
Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? / You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did. / And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.

Romans 8:32
He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?

John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

1 Peter 1:19
but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.

Galatians 3:16
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.

Matthew 3:17
And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 4:3
For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

2 Corinthians 5:21
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

Exodus 12:3-13
Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must select a lamb for his family, one per household. / If the household is too small for a whole lamb, they are to share with the nearest neighbor based on the number of people, and apportion the lamb accordingly. / Your lamb must be an unblemished year-old male, and you may take it from the sheep or the goats. ...

Leviticus 16:10
But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement by sending it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.

1 Samuel 2:7-8
The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts. / He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.

2 Chronicles 3:1
Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Treasury of Scripture

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

behind.

Genesis 22:8
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

Psalm 40:6-8
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required…

Psalm 89:19,20
Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people…

in the.

1 Corinthians 5:7,8
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: …

1 Peter 1:19,20
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: …

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Genesis 22

1. Abraham is tested with the command to offer Isaac.
3. He gives proof of his faith and obedience.
11. The angel prevents him.
13. Isaac is exchanged for a ram.
14. The place is called Jehovah-jireh.
15. Abraham is again blessed.
20. The generations of Nahor unto Rebekah.

Berean Study Bible

Then Abraham looked up
The phrase "looked up" signifies a moment of divine revelation and intervention. In Hebrew, the verb "to look" (נָשָׂא, nasa) often implies lifting one's eyes to perceive something beyond the immediate. This act of looking up is not merely physical but spiritual, symbolizing Abraham's readiness to see God's provision. It reflects a moment of faith where Abraham, having been willing to sacrifice his son, is now open to witnessing God's miraculous provision.

and saw behind him
The phrase "behind him" suggests that the provision of God was already in place, waiting to be discovered. This indicates that God's solutions often exist even before we are aware of them. The Hebrew word for "behind" (אַחַר, achar) can also mean "after" or "following," implying that God's provision follows our acts of faith and obedience.

a ram in a thicket
The "ram" (אַיִל, ayil) is significant as it represents a substitutionary sacrifice, a theme that foreshadows Christ's ultimate sacrifice. The "thicket" (סְבַךְ, sebak) symbolizes the entanglements of life and sin, yet the ram is caught, indicating that God provides a way out of our entanglements through His provision. This imagery is rich with symbolism, pointing to the idea that God provides a substitute to take our place, just as the ram took Isaac's place.

caught by its horns
The "horns" (קֶרֶן, qeren) of the ram are significant in biblical symbolism, often representing strength and power. The fact that the ram is "caught" suggests that God's provision is secure and certain. It also implies that the ram was preserved from blemish, suitable for a sacrifice, highlighting the perfection required in offerings to God.

So he went and took the ram
Abraham's action of going and taking the ram demonstrates his obedience and acceptance of God's provision. The Hebrew verb "to take" (לָקַח, laqach) implies receiving what is given. Abraham's willingness to take the ram shows his trust in God's plan and his readiness to act upon God's provision.

and offered it as a burnt offering
The "burnt offering" (עוֹלָה, olah) is a significant act of worship and atonement in the Old Testament. It symbolizes complete surrender to God, as the offering is wholly consumed by fire. This act by Abraham signifies his total devotion and submission to God's will, acknowledging God's sovereignty and grace.

in place of his son
The phrase "in place of" (תַּחַת, tachat) is crucial as it introduces the concept of substitutionary atonement. This act prefigures the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who died in our place. It highlights the depth of God's love and the principle of redemption, where one life is given for another. Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac and the subsequent provision of the ram illustrate the profound truth of God's redemptive plan for humanity.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(13) Behind.--By a slight change in the shape of a consonant, many ancient authorities read one ram instead of a ram behind ("him" is not in the Hebrew). This correction is almost certain, as nowhere else is the word translated behind used as an adverb of place. The ram was probably that with four horns, still common in the East.

A burnt offering in the stead of his son.--We have here the fact of substitution, and the doctrine of a vicarious sacrifice. The ram took Isaac's place, and by its actual death completed the typical representation of the Saviour's death on Calvary. In The Speaker's Commentary it has been well shown, that there is no difficulty in this representation being composed of two parts, so that what was wanting in Isaac should be supplied by the ram. And while it would have been most painful for Isaac to have actually died by his father's hand, the doctrine of the possibility of a vicarious sacrifice would have been even less clearly taught thereby. He therefore rises again to life from the altar, and the ram dies in his stead, and by the two combined the whole mystery is set forth of God giving His Son to die for mankind, and of life springing from His death. Compare the mystery of the two birds, Leviticus 14:4; and the two goats, Leviticus 16:8.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 13. - And Abraham lifted up his eyes (in the direction of the voice), and looked, and behold behind him - either at his back (Furst, Keil, Lange, Murphy), or in the background of the altar, i.e. in front of him (Gesenius, Kalisch). The LXX., Samaritan, Syriac, mistaking אַחַר for אֶחַר, read "one," which adds nothing to the sense or picturesqueness of the composition - a ram - אַיִל; in the component letters of which cabalistic writers find the initial letters of ךאלהִים יִרְאֶהאּלּו, God will provide for himself (Ver. 8; vide Glass, 'Philippians Tract.,' p. 196). In the animal itself the Fathers (Augustine, Tertullian, Origen, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Ambrose) rightly discerned a type of Christ, though it is fanciful to detect a shadow of the Crown of thorns in the words that follow - caught in a thicket by his horns (the sebach being the intertwined branches of trees or brushwood): and Abraham went and took the ram, and (though not directed what to do, yet with a fine spiritual instinct discerning the Divine purpose) offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son - whom be thus received from the dead as in a figure (Hebrews 11:19).

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

Then Abraham
אַבְרָהָ֜ם (’aḇ·rā·hām)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 85: Abraham -- 'exalted father', the father of the Jewish nation

lifted up
וַיִּשָּׂ֨א (way·yiś·śā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take

his eyes
עֵינָ֗יו (‘ê·nāw)
Noun - cdc | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5869: An eye, a fountain

and saw
וַיַּרְא֙ (way·yar)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

behind [him]
אַחַ֕ר (’a·ḥar)
Adverb
Strong's 310: The hind or following part

a ram
אַ֔יִל (’a·yil)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 352: Strength, strong, a chief, a ram, a pilaster, an oak, strong tree

in the thicket,
בַּסְּבַ֖ךְ (bas·sə·ḇaḵ)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5442: A thicket

caught
נֶאֱחַ֥ז (ne·’ĕ·ḥaz)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 270: To grasp, take hold, take possession

by its horns.
בְּקַרְנָ֑יו (bə·qar·nāw)
Preposition-b | Noun - fdc | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7161: A horn, a flask, cornet, an elephant's tooth, a corner, a peak, a ray, power

So [he]
אַבְרָהָם֙ (’aḇ·rā·hām)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 85: Abraham -- 'exalted father', the father of the Jewish nation

went
וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ (way·yê·leḵ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

and took
וַיִּקַּ֣ח (way·yiq·qaḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

the ram
הָאַ֔יִל (hā·’a·yil)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 352: Strength, strong, a chief, a ram, a pilaster, an oak, strong tree

and offered
וַיַּעֲלֵ֥הוּ (way·ya·‘ă·lê·hū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

it as a burnt offering
לְעֹלָ֖ה (lə·‘ō·lāh)
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5930: Whole burnt offering

in place of
תַּ֥חַת (ta·ḥaṯ)
Preposition
Strong's 8478: The bottom, below, in lieu of

his son.
בְּנֽוֹ׃ (bə·nōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1121: A son

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OT Law: Genesis 22:13 Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked (Gen. Ge Gn)