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1After these things, God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”

He said, “Here I am.”

2He said, “Now take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of.”

3Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his donkey; and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went to the place of which God had told him. 4On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place far off. 5Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there. We will worship, and come back to you.” 6Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. He took in his hand the fire and the knife. They both went together. 7Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, “My father?”

He said, “Here I am, my son.”

He said, “Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

8Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they both went together. 9They came to the place which God had told him of. Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, on the wood. 10Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to kill his son.

11Yahweh’s angel called to him out of the sky, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

He said, “Here I am.”

12He said, “Don’t lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

13Abraham 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. 14Abraham called the name of that place “Yahweh Will Provide”. As it is said to this day, “On Yahweh’s mountain, it will be provided.”

15Yahweh’s angel called to Abraham a second time out of the sky, 16and said, “‘I have sworn by myself,’ says Yahweh, ‘because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17that I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your offspring greatly like the stars of the heavens, and like the sand which is on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gate of his enemies. 18All the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring, because you have obeyed my voice.’”

19So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba. Abraham lived at Beersheba.

20After these things, Abraham was told, “Behold, Milcah, she also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Person

James (Brother of Jesus)

Biography | Hershel Wayne House

There are several people mentioned in the New Testament named James. The name "Jacob" is a Latinized version of Yakob - or Jacob, a very common Jewish name. Here, the person in question is the brother of Jesus. In order to distinguish him from the other people named James in the NT, the early Church gave him the moniker "the Just." Although the Church later argued that James was the son of Joseph through a marriage previous to Mary or that "brother" actually means "cousin" (owing to the belief that Mary was a perpetual virgin), the Bible gives no indication that he was not the natural son of Joseph and Mary, and the actual brother of the Lord Jesus.

Almost nothing is known of James' early life. He grew up in Nazareth, and at first apparently did not believe (Mark 3:31-35; John 7:5). After the death and resurrection of Jesus, James became a leader of the church in Jerusalem. Paul is reported to have met with James just after his conversion (Gal 1:18-20), and later Paul mentions James among the "pillars" of the church who "recognized the grace" of his call (Gal 2:9-10). James was also present at the Council of Jerusalem that decided Gentiles did not need to become Jews in order to follow Jesus (Acts 15:1-30). Finally, before Paul's arrest in Jerusalem, he met with James and "all the elders" (Acts 21:17-25). According to both Josephus and other early Church historians, James was martyred around A.D. 62 by being thrown from the "pinnacle of the Temple" and then stoned to death. He was said to have been buried and "his monument" was still present "by the temple" in the 4th century A.D.

In 2002 it was announced that an ossuary (bone box) had been found bearing the inscription, written in Aramaic, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." Although its authenticity has been challenged by some skeptics, experts have demonstrated that it is almost certainly authentic. Although the names "James (Yakob), "Joseph (Yoseph)," and "Jesus (Yeshua)" were very common in first century Judea, the specific combination written on the ossuary is unique, making the probability that it is indeed James' very high.

Person & place data: Theographic Bible Metadata by Robert Rouse (Viz.Bible), CC BY-SA 4.0.