Following on from an earlier post about Daniel being flung into the lions’ den when he was in his 80’s contrary to some artistic interpretations that portray him as a young man, here is an idea that may correct our usual image of another famous biblical incident: Isaac could have been 30 when Abraham bound him and placed him on an altar and raised a knife above him ready to kill him on Mount Moriah, not a child or a youth in our way of thinking and measuring such things. Other traditions and commentators say he could have been 18. Impossible to prove? Sure. However, going by some phrases in the biblical text to do with the passing of time before this incident  and the fact that the death of Sarah, Isaac’s mother, at the age of 127 is the next chronological detail we are told after the story of Mount Moriah, I think the suggestion that we should think of him as a “young man” rather than a”young boy”  is a sensible one to make. A young man could have carried the considerable weight of wood required for a sacrifice on his shoulders, a young boy could not.  The word used to describe Isaac could be translated either as “young boy” or “young man.”

As a young man,  with the physical strength to climb a mountain while carrying heavy wood upon his shoulders, Isaac could have easily overpowered his Father at several points in the story, but didn’t. That is extreme meekness. Not weakness, but meekness. Did Isaac not have plans  for his life? Dreams? Of course!