Isaac

Isaac

an Old Testament patriarch, the son of Abraham and Sarah and father of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 17; 21--27)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Isaac

“saved” from being sacrificed by angel of the Lord. [O.T.: Genesis 22:2–13]

See: Rescue

Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Isaac

 

according to Biblical myths, the son of Abraham and Sarah, father of Jacob and of Esau (from whom the Edomites were descended).

At the behest of Yahweh, Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac to him but was stayed by an angel. In modified form the legends of Isaac are reflected in the Koran. The immolation scene has been a frequent subject in the pictorial and plastic arts, for example, the mosaics of the synagogue in Bet Alfa (Israel, sixth century), the relief by Donatello, and the painting by Rem brandt.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.