After this the holy son of Thare, chief of the Ebrews,
was a dweller in the Filistine nation for a long time,2835
alone amid strangers. The Lord of the Angels showed
him a dwelling-place which the men dwelling in the city
called the land of Bersaba. There the pious man built
a high hall, constructed a place of shelter and planted2840
a grove, erected an altar and on the sacrificial stone
made an offering, an oblation, at once, to his Master
who had given him a prosperous life under the sky.
Then the powerful King began to try this hero,2845
tested stringently what the noble one's fortitude was,
and spoke to him in stern words with his voice:
"Go forth now speedily, Abraham, hasten thy steps,2850
and take with thee thine own child. Thou shalt thyself
offer up Isaac to me, thy son as a sacrifice. After thou
ascendest on foot the steep dune, the bordering circle of
that high land which I shall show thee from here, there2855
thou shalt prepare a funeral pyre, the death-pile of thy
son, and then thyself sacrifice thy son with the edge
of the sword and then burn his dear body with black
flame, and thus make offering to me."
He did not decline the expedition, but straightway
began to hasten the procedure: the word of the King2860
of Angels was sacred to him, and his Master was beloved.
Then the pious Abraham forsook his nightly repose,
with no resistance at all to the command of the Saviour,
but the holy man girded himself with his grey sword2865
and declared that the fear of the Keeper of Spirits
dwelt in his breast. Worn with age, the dispenser of
gold began to harness his asses, and bade two young men
go with him: his own son was the third and he himself
the fourth. Without delay he then set out to lead Isaac2870
from his own home, the ungrown child, as the Lord
bade him; hastened exceedingly and hurried forth on
the way, as the Lord showed him the paths over the
wastes, until the glorious beginning of the third day2875
arose across deep water. There the worthy man saw
a high dune rise, as the King of Glory had foretold to
him. So Abraham spoke to his servants:
"My men! Remain ye here in this place. We shall2880
return, after we have offered to the King of Spirits what
was entrusted to us both."
The noble man then departed with his own son toward2885
the designated spot which the Lord showed him, striding
through the forest; the son bore the wood, the father
fire and sword. Then the man young in years began
to ask Abraham about the affair, in these words:
"We have here fire and sword, my lord: where is the2890
noble victim that you expect to bring as a burnt-offering
to God?"
Abraham replied (he had once for all decided that he
would do as the Lord directed him):
"That the True King, Guardian of mankind, will2895
himself provide, as it seemeth to him meet."