37 Abraham, however, did not flinch. He did not allow himself to become sad nor put off the task of the killing. He is "drunk" with love and did not weep bitterly at the perceptive questions asked by his îhîdayâ or "only one." Jacob exhorts his audience to see in Isaac the image (surtâ) of Jesus. He makes allusion to Jesus' abandonment to the will of the Father: "Not my will but yours" (Lk 22:42b).
Section 17-19
[21]
With steadfastness that Jacob parallels to Jesus' obedience, Abraham answers Isaac's question in verse 8 of the text: "God will provide for [lit. will see to] the lamb for the sacrifice, my Son. . . .38 Jacob asserts:
For if it were not with the mystical symbol of the Son that Isaac was clothed / in what time would Abraham see the day of the Son? / How did he fix his eyes and see the crucifixion? / Except if on his son it was drawn mystically / when and where was he glad in the Messiah or how / Except in that type that was drawn on his only one.39
[22]
One can perceive again the play on term, îhîdayâ, juxtaposing Isaac and Jesus. In section 19, Abraham lets Isaac know that God's task is to provide; what Isaac's part will be he will see. Abraham placed it all in the Lord's hands, and Isaac willingly accepted.
Section 20
[23]
Having arrived at the spot on the mountain, Abraham sets about building the altar for the holocaust. He knew the spot because the "visible glory of the mystical symbols" (shkîntâ drazê) dwelt there. Abraham is likened to the master builder who carefully lays out the stones for the "house of mystical symbols" (baytâ drazê) wherein the altar would be built. Isaac helps him, according to Jacob, which causes him to exclaim: "Who has ever seen a lamb who builds the altar for his killing!"40
Section 21-27
[24]
At the prompting of the mystical symbol, Abraham prepares to raise his knife and kill his son. Jacob emphasizes the action of the mystical symbol. The razâ is not static, but is an important agent in the unfolding of the story. Isaac notes that everything is ready, but there is still no lamb. In Jacob's reconstrual of the story, Isaac then tells his father that he will willingly accept whatever it is his father will do to him. Jacob insists that it would have been easy for the youth to flee, but he does not. Rather, Isaac is a rational youth, intelligent and excellent in speech; he is a brave one ready for sacrifice. He feared no harm, so he did not hold back. Like a necklace he wore the mystical symbols so that he could show forth the image (yuqnâ) of Jesus. He stretched out his throat while he rejoiced. Abraham knew because of the mystical symbol that Isaac was to be the lamb, and Isaac freely held out his hands to be bound.
[25]
Having bound him and placed him on top of the wood, Abraham lets Isaac know what is to happen: "It is right that you rejoice since behold I have given you as a sacrifice to the Lord."41 As he lowers Isaac's head under the knife, Abraham tastes and smells a sweetness and sees not gloom, but life. Abraham's mind works faster than his deeds: for in his mind, Isaac is already killed and the colors of the mystical symbol shine forth for him.
Section 27-28
[26]
Just as Abraham is to lower the knife, he hears the twofold call of his name, and he took away the sword from Isaac without his being wounded. God calls Abraham that he not continue with his sacrifice. God tells Abraham that it would be senseless to kill Isaac because his blood does not save. Rather, because Abraham so desired it, God showed him the mirror of mystical symbols that he might see what God would do by Jesus's death.42 God says to Abraham:
The shadow is given to you that you would see the type / Rejoice in the image and observe the equivalence to that which is his.43
[27]
It is Christ the Strong One (hasînâ) who will shatter the fetters of hell and destroy Hades.
Section 29
[28]
Jacob begins the next to last section with a summary of the point of his exegesis:
Abraham rejoiced in the day of the Son that he saw in his son / And he understood in the whole matter the reason of the crucifixion / The hidden mystical symbols were explained to him in the sacrifice of his son / And by means of the figures that happen there he came to an insight.44
[29]
Jacob finishes out his explication of the text with verses 13-14 of the Genesis text that tells of Abraham's spying a ram caught in a bush nearby that he offers to God. Isaac's dialogue tells the audience that indeed there was nothing around before, but now there is the miraculous appearance of the ram. In Jacob's imagination, the ram is another of the figures or signs whereby Abraham sees the day of Jesus. For Jacob, the miraculous appearance of the ram reveals God's salvation in Jesus: his conception, birth, passion, death and resurrection. Jacob exhorts Abraham, "If you wish to see his birth look out at the tree / And if also his death and his sacrifice, behold it is before you!"45
Section 30
[30]
The concluding section notes that the binding of Isaac made a proclamation to the world about its salvation. In place of Isaac, Abraham bound and killed the ram, which itself depicted the pasch of Christ. The mêmrâ ends with a blessing of the passion of the Only One (îhîdayâ), Jesus, at whose day Abraham rejoiced.