Lexical Summary aqad: To bind, to tie Original Word: עָקַד Strong's Exhaustive Concordance bind A primitive root; to tie with thongs -- bind. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to bind NASB Translation bound (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs I. [עָקַד] verb bind (Late Hebrew id., bind bent limbs together; Arabic  tie, tie fast; Ethiopic  Syriac  and especially  bend, twist; ᵑ7 עֲקַד as Late Hebrew; also kneel, compare Christian Palestinian Aramaic, SchwIdioticon 71); — Qal Imperfect וַיַּעֲקֹד אֶתיִֿצְחָק Genesis 22:9. Topical Lexicon Canonical Context The verb עָקַד appears only once in the Hebrew canon, at the climactic moment of Genesis 22:9: “When they arrived at the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there, arranged the wood, bound his son Isaac, and placed him on the altar atop the wood”. The single use concentrates all its theological weight into the dramatic scene traditionally called “the Binding of Isaac” (Akedah). Literary Setting Genesis 22 crowns the Abraham narratives (Genesis 12–22). Every prior promise—land, offspring, blessing—hangs on Isaac. By having Abraham bind the very child of promise, Scripture spotlights absolute covenantal obedience. The verb occurs after Abraham has twice affirmed, “Here I am” (Genesis 22:1, 22:7), underscoring responsive faith that moves from hearing to doing. The binding precedes the raised knife yet embodies surrender as fully as a completed sacrifice would have done. Theological Significance 1. Ultimate Test of Faith: Hebrews 11:17–19 interprets the episode as a demonstration that Abraham “reasoned that God could even raise the dead.” The binding functions as a visible sign that faith trusts God’s word over visible reality. Christological Foreshadowing • Father and Beloved Son: The language “your son, your only son, whom you love” (Genesis 22:2) parallels “This is My beloved Son” (Matthew 3:17). Practical and Ministry Implications • Worship Requires Surrender: Genuine worship may entail binding our most precious gifts to God’s altar, confident He withholds no good thing (Psalm 84:11). Related Biblical Themes Binding and Sacrifice: Exodus 12 (Passover lamb), Leviticus 1–7 (offerings), Isaiah 53 (the Servant “led like a lamb to slaughter”), and Romans 8:32 (“He who did not spare His own Son”) all develop the paradigm first dramatized when Abraham עָקַד Isaac. Forms and Transliterations וַֽיַּעֲקֹד֙ ויעקד vaiyaaKod way·ya·‘ă·qōḏ wayya‘ăqōḏLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 22:9 HEB: אֶת־ הָעֵצִ֑ים וַֽיַּעֲקֹד֙ אֶת־ יִצְחָ֣ק NAS: the wood, and bound his son KJV: in order, and bound Isaac INT: and arranged the wood and bound Isaac his son 1 Occurrence |
    |