Righteous Patriarch Isaac

Isaac is the second of the three great patriarchs of the Old Testament, the son of Abraham and Sarah, the husband of Rebecca, and the father of Jacob and Esau. The Orthodox Church venerates him among the righteous forefathers of Christ, and his life is drawn from the book of Genesis (notably 17:17-22, 22:1-13, 24:67, and 25:19-26). He is distinct from the later ascetic Isaac the Syrian.

According to the Genesis account, Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age, fulfilling the covenant promise that God had made to Abraham. The defining episode of his early life is God's testing of Abraham, when Abraham was commanded to offer his son in sacrifice; at the last moment an angel stayed Abraham's hand and a ram was provided in Isaac's place. In Christian and Orthodox interpretation this binding is read typologically, with Isaac understood as a prefigurement of Christ, the obedient son led toward sacrifice.

Isaac married Rebecca, who was chosen for him through Abraham's servant, and from this marriage were born the twin sons Esau and Jacob, through whom the line of the covenant continued. Isaac lived his life in the land of Canaan. By the witness of Scripture he was the longest-lived of the patriarchs, and was buried by his sons.