Book of Jasher, Chapter 23 — The Binding of Isaac upon Mount Moriah; Satan's Assaults on the Road; Sarah's Death
1At that time the word of the Lord came to Abraham, and he said to him, Abraham. And he said, Here I am.
2And he said to him, Take now your son, your only son whom you love, even Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which shall be shown to you; for there you will see a cloud and the glory of the Lord.
3And Abraham said within himself, How shall I separate my son Isaac from Sarah his mother, in order to bring him up as a burnt offering before the Lord?
4And Abraham came into the tent, and he sat before Sarah his wife, and he spoke these words to her:
5My son Isaac is grown up, and he has not for some time studied the service of his God. Now tomorrow I will go and bring him to Shem, and to Eber his son, and there he will learn the ways of the Lord — for they will teach him to know the Lord, and to know that when he prays continually before the Lord, the Lord will answer him; therefore there he will know the way of serving the Lord his God.
6And Sarah said, You have spoken well. Go, my lord, and do with him as you have said — but do not take him a great distance from me, nor let him remain there too long, for my soul is bound within his soul.
7And Abraham said to Sarah, My daughter, let us pray to the Lord our God, that he may do good with us.
8And Sarah took her son Isaac, and he remained with her all that night, and she kissed and embraced him, and gave him instructions until morning.
9And she said to him, O my son, how can my soul separate itself from you? And she still kissed him and embraced him, and she gave Abraham instructions concerning him.
10And Sarah said to Abraham, O my lord, I pray you, take heed of your son, and place your eyes over him; for I have no other son or daughter but him.
11O do not forsake him. If he is hungry, give him bread; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. Do not let him go on foot, nor let him sit in the sun.
12Do not let him go by himself on the road; do not force him from whatever he may desire, but do for him whatever he asks of you.
13And Sarah wept bitterly the whole night on account of Isaac, and she gave him instructions until morning.
14And in the morning Sarah selected a very fine and beautiful garment, from those garments she had in the house, which Abimelech had given her.
15And she dressed her son Isaac in it, and she put a turban upon his head, and she set a precious stone in the top of the turban; and she gave them provision for the road, and they went out, and Isaac went with his father Abraham, and some of their servants accompanied them to see them on their way.
16And Sarah went out with them, and she accompanied them on the road to see them off; and they said to her, Return to the tent.
17And when Sarah heard the words of her son Isaac, she wept bitterly, and Abraham her husband wept with her, and their son wept with them, a great weeping; those also who went with them wept greatly.
18And Sarah caught hold of her son Isaac, and she held him in her arms, and she embraced him and continued to weep with him; and Sarah said, Who knows if after this day I shall ever see you again?
19And they still wept together — Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac — and all those who accompanied them on the road wept with them; and Sarah afterward turned away from her son, weeping bitterly, and all her menservants and maidservants returned with her to the tent.
20And Abraham went with Isaac his son, to bring him up as an offering before the Lord, as he had commanded him.
21And Abraham took two of his young men with him — Ishmael the son of Hagar, and Eliezer his servant — and they went together with them; and while they were walking on the road, the young men spoke these words between themselves:
22And Ishmael said to Eliezer, Now my father Abraham is going with Isaac to bring him up as a burnt offering to the Lord, as he commanded him.
23And when he returns, he will give me all that he possesses, to inherit after him — for I am his firstborn.
24And Eliezer answered Ishmael and said, Surely Abraham cast you away with your mother, and swore that you should not inherit anything of all he possesses. And to whom will he give all that he has, with all his treasures, but to me, his servant — who has been faithful in his house, who has served him night and day, and has done all that he desired of me? To me he will bequeath, at his death, all that he possesses.
25And while Abraham was proceeding with his son Isaac along the road, Satan came and appeared to Abraham in the figure of a very aged man, humble and of contrite spirit; and he approached Abraham and said to him, Are you silly, or foolish, that you go to do this thing this day to your only son?
26For God gave you a son in your latter days, in your old age — and will you go and slaughter him this day, though he committed no violence, and will you cause the soul of your only son to perish from the earth?
27Do you not know and understand that this thing cannot be from the Lord? For the Lord cannot do such evil to man upon earth, as to say to him, Go, slaughter your child.
28And Abraham heard this, and knew that it was the word of Satan, who was trying to draw him aside from the way of the Lord; but Abraham would not listen to the voice of Satan, and Abraham rebuked him, so that he went away.
29And Satan returned and came to Isaac; and he appeared to Isaac in the figure of a young man, handsome and well favored.
30And he approached Isaac and said to him, Do you not know and understand that your silly old father is bringing you to the slaughter this day for nothing?
31Now therefore, my son, do not listen or pay attention to him, for he is a silly old man; do not let your precious soul and beautiful figure be lost from the earth.
32And Isaac heard this, and said to Abraham, Have you heard, my father, what this man has spoken? Even so has he spoken.
33And Abraham answered his son Isaac and said to him, Take heed of him, and do not listen to his words, nor pay attention to him — for he is Satan, trying to draw us aside this day from the commands of God.
34And Abraham still rebuked Satan, and Satan went from them; and seeing he could not prevail over them, he hid himself from them, and went and passed before them on the road; and he transformed himself into a large brook of water in the road; and Abraham and Isaac and his two young men reached that place, and they saw a brook, large and powerful as the mighty waters.
35And they entered the brook and passed through it, and the waters at first reached their legs.
36And they went deeper into the brook, and the waters reached up to their necks, and they were all terrified on account of the water; and while they were crossing the brook, Abraham recognized that place, and he knew that there had been no water there before.
37And Abraham said to his son Isaac, I know this place, in which there was no brook or water. Now therefore it is this Satan who does all this to us, to draw us aside this day from the commands of God.
38And Abraham rebuked him and said to him, The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! Be gone from us, for we go by the commands of God.
39And Satan was terrified at the voice of Abraham, and he went away from them, and the place became dry land again, as it was at first.
40And Abraham went with Isaac toward the place that God had told him.
41And on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place at a distance, which God had told him of.
42And a pillar of fire appeared to him, reaching from the earth to heaven, and a cloud of glory upon the mountain, and the glory of the Lord was seen in the cloud.
43And Abraham said to Isaac, My son, do you see on that mountain, which we perceive at a distance, that which I see upon it?
44And Isaac answered and said to his father, I see — and behold, a pillar of fire and a cloud, and the glory of the Lord is seen upon the cloud.
45And Abraham knew that his son Isaac was accepted before the Lord for a burnt offering.
46And Abraham said to Eliezer and to Ishmael his son, Do you also see that which we see upon the mountain in the distance?
47And they answered and said, We see nothing more than the other mountains of the earth. And Abraham knew that they were not accepted before the Lord to go with them; and Abraham said to them, Stay here with the donkey while I and Isaac my son go to that mountain and worship there before the Lord, and then return to you.
48And Eliezer and Ishmael remained in that place, as Abraham had commanded.
49And Abraham took wood for a burnt offering and placed it upon his son Isaac; and he took the fire and the knife, and they both went to that place.
50And as they were going along, Isaac said to his father, Behold, I see here the fire and wood — and where then is the lamb that is to be the burnt offering before the Lord?
51And Abraham answered his son Isaac, saying, The Lord has made choice of you, my son, to be a perfect burnt offering instead of the lamb.
52And Isaac said to his father, I will do all that the Lord spoke to you, with joy and cheerfulness of heart.
53And Abraham again said to Isaac his son, Is there in your heart any thought or counsel concerning this that is not proper? Tell me, my son, I pray you; O my son, do not conceal it from me.
54And Isaac answered his father Abraham and said to him, O my father, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, there is nothing in my heart to cause me to deviate either to the right or to the left from the word that he has spoken to you.
55Neither limb nor muscle has moved or stirred at this, nor is there in my heart any thought or evil counsel concerning this.
56But I am of joyful and cheerful heart in this matter, and I say, Blessed is the Lord who has this day chosen me to be a burnt offering before him.
57And Abraham greatly rejoiced at the words of Isaac, and they went on and came together to the place that the Lord had spoken of.
58And Abraham approached to build the altar in that place; and Abraham was weeping, while Isaac took stones and mortar, until they had finished building the altar.
59And Abraham took the wood and placed it in order upon the altar which he had built.
60And he took his son Isaac and bound him, in order to place him upon the wood which was upon the altar, to slay him as a burnt offering before the Lord.
61And Isaac said to his father, Bind me securely, and then place me upon the altar, lest I should turn and move and break loose from the force of the knife upon my flesh, and thereby profane the burnt offering. And Abraham did so.
62And Isaac still said to his father, O my father, when you have slain me and burned me for an offering, take with you what remains of my ashes, to bring to Sarah my mother, and say to her, This is the sweet-smelling savor of Isaac. But do not tell her this if she should be sitting near a well or upon any high place, lest she cast her soul after me and die.
63And Abraham heard the words of Isaac, and he lifted up his voice and wept when Isaac spoke these words; and Abraham's tears gushed down upon Isaac his son, and Isaac wept bitterly, and he said to his father, Hurry, O my father, and do with me the will of the Lord our God, as he has commanded you.
64And the hearts of Abraham and Isaac rejoiced at this thing which the Lord had commanded them; but the eye wept bitterly while the heart rejoiced.
65And Abraham bound his son Isaac, and placed him on the altar upon the wood; and Isaac stretched out his neck upon the altar before his father; and Abraham stretched out his hand to take the knife, to slay his son as a burnt offering before the Lord.
66At that time the angels of mercy came before the Lord, and spoke to him concerning Isaac, saying,
67O Lord, you are a merciful and compassionate King over all that you have created in heaven and in earth, and you sustain them all. Give therefore ransom and redemption instead of your servant Isaac, and pity and have compassion upon Abraham and Isaac his son, who are this day performing your commands.
68Have you seen, O Lord, how Isaac, the son of Abraham your servant, is bound down to the slaughter like an animal? Now therefore let your pity be roused for them, O Lord.
69At that time the Lord appeared to Abraham, and called to him from heaven, and said to him, Do not lay your hand upon the lad, nor do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, in performing this act, and in not withholding your son, your only son, from me.
70And Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw — and behold, a ram was caught in a thicket by its horns. That was the ram which the Lord God had created in the earth on the day that he made earth and heaven.
71For the Lord had prepared this ram from that day, to be a burnt offering instead of Isaac.
72And this ram was advancing toward Abraham when Satan caught hold of it and entangled its horns in the thicket, so that it might not advance to Abraham — in order that Abraham might slay his son.
73And Abraham, seeing the ram advancing toward him and Satan withholding it, fetched it and brought it before the altar; and he loosened his son Isaac from his binding, and he put the ram in his place, and Abraham killed the ram upon the altar, and brought it up as an offering in the place of his son Isaac.
74And Abraham sprinkled some of the blood of the ram upon the altar, and he exclaimed and said, This is in the place of my son, and may this be considered this day as the blood of my son before the Lord.
75And in all that Abraham did on this occasion by the altar, he would exclaim and say, This is in the place of my son, and may it this day be considered before the Lord in the place of my son. And Abraham finished the whole of the service by the altar, and the service was accepted before the Lord, and was accounted as if it had been Isaac; and the Lord blessed Abraham and his seed on that day.
76And Satan went to Sarah, and he appeared to her in the figure of an old man, very humble and meek — while Abraham was still engaged in the burnt offering before the Lord.
77And he said to her, Do you not know all the work that Abraham has made with your only son this day? For he took Isaac, and built an altar, and killed him, and brought him up as a sacrifice upon the altar; and Isaac cried and wept before his father, but he did not look at him, nor did he have compassion over him.
78And Satan repeated these words, and he went away from her; and Sarah heard all the words of Satan, and she imagined him to be an old man from among the sons of men who had been with her son, and had come and told her these things.
79And Sarah lifted up her voice and wept, and cried out bitterly on account of her son; and she threw herself upon the ground, and she cast dust upon her head, and she said, O my son, Isaac my son, O that I had died this day instead of you! And she continued to weep, and said, It grieves me for you, O my son, my son Isaac — O that I had died this day in your place.
80And she still continued to weep, and said, It grieves me for you, after I have reared you and brought you up; now my joy is turned into mourning over you — I who had a longing for you, and cried and prayed to God until I bore you at ninety years old; and now you have served this day for the knife and the fire, to be made an offering.
81But I console myself with you, my son, in its being the word of the Lord — for you performed the command of your God; for who can transgress the word of our God, in whose hands is the soul of every living creature?
82You are just, O Lord our God, for all your works are good and righteous; for I also am rejoiced with your word which you commanded — and while my eye weeps bitterly, my heart rejoices.
83And Sarah laid her head upon the bosom of one of her handmaids, and she became as still as a stone.
84She afterward rose up and went about making inquiries, until she came to Hebron; and she inquired of all those whom she met walking on the road, and no one could tell her what had happened to her son.
85And she came with her maidservants and menservants to Kireath-arba, which is Hebron, and she asked concerning her son; and she remained there while she sent some of her servants to seek where Abraham had gone with Isaac; they went to seek him in the house of Shem and Eber, and they could not find him; and they sought throughout the land, and he was not there.
86And behold, Satan came to Sarah in the shape of an old man, and he came and stood before her, and he said to her, I spoke falsely to you — for Abraham did not kill his son, and he is not dead. And when she heard the word, her joy on account of her son was so exceedingly violent that her soul went out through joy; she died, and was gathered to her people.
87And when Abraham had finished his service, he returned with his son Isaac to his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba, and they came home.
88And Abraham looked for Sarah, and could not find her; and he made inquiries concerning her, and they said to him, She went as far as Hebron to seek you both, where you had gone — for so she was informed.
89And Abraham and Isaac went to her at Hebron; and when they found that she was dead, they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly over her; and Isaac fell upon his mother's face and wept over her, and he said, O my mother, my mother, how have you left me — and where have you gone? O how, how have you left me!
90And Abraham and Isaac wept greatly, and all their servants wept with them on account of Sarah, and they mourned over her a great and heavy mourning.