קח נא. אֵין נָא אֶלָּא לְשׁוֹן בַּקָשָׁה, אָמַר לוֹ בְּבַקָּשָׁה מִמְּךָ, עֲמֹד לִי בְּזֶה הַנִּסָּיוֹן, שֶׁלֹּא יֹאמְרוּ הָרִאשׁוֹנוֹת לֹא הָיָה בָהֶן מָמָּשׁ: קח נא TAKE NOW — The word נא is used as a request: God said to him, “I beg of you, stand firm for me in this trial, so that people may not say that the previous trials were no real tests” (Sanhedrin 89b).
את בנך. אָמַר לוֹ שְׁנֵי בָנִים יֵשׁ לִי, אָמַר לוֹ אֶת יְחִידְךָ; אָמַר לוֹ זֶה יָחִיד לְאִמּוֹ וְזֶה יָחִיד לְאִמּוֹ, אָמַר לוֹ אֲשֶׁר אָהַבְתָּ; אָמַר לוֹ שְׁנֵיהֶם אֲנִי אוֹהֵב, אָמַר לוֹ אֶת יִצְחָק (סנהדרין פ"ט). וְלָמָּה לֹא גִּלָּה לוֹ מִתְּחִלָּה? שֶׁלֹּא לְעַרְבְּבוֹ פִּתְאוֹם וְתָזוּחַ דַּעְתּוֹ עָלָיו וְתִטָּרֵף, וּכְדֵי לְחַבֵּב עָלָיו אֶת הַמִּצְוָה וְלִתֵּן לוֹ שָׂכָר עַל כָּל דִּבּוּר וְדִבּוּר: את בנך THY SON — Abraham said to God, “I have two sons”. “He answered him, “Thine only son”. Abraham said, “This one is the only son of his mother and the other is the only son of his mother”. God then said, “the one whom thou lovest”. Abraham replied, “I love both of them”. Whereupon God said “even Isaac”. Why did He not disclose this to him at the very first? So as not to confuse him suddenly lest his mind become distracted and bewildered and in his confused state he would involuntarily consent, when there would have been no merit in his sacrifice, and so that he might more highly value God’s command and that God might reward him for the increasing sacrifice demanded by obedience to each and every expression used here (Genesis Rabbah 55:7).
ארץ המוריה. יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, וְכֵן בְּדִבְרֵי הַיָּמִים לִבְנוֹת אֶת בֵּית ה' בִּירוּשָׁלִַם בְּהַר הַמּוֹרִיָּה (דברי הימים ב ג'). וְרַבּוֹתֵינוּ פֵּרְשׁוּ עַל שֵׁם שֶׁמִּשָּׁם הוֹרָאָה יוֹצְאָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל. וְאֻנְקְלוֹס תִּרְגְּמוֹ עַל שֵׁם עֲבוֹדַת הַקְּטֹרֶת שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ מוֹר נֵרְדְּ וּשְׁאָר בְּשָׂמִים: ארץ המוריה THE LAND OF MORIAH — This is Jerusalem, and so we find in Chronicles (2 Chronicles 3:1) “To build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah”. Our Rabbis have explained that it is called Moriah — Instruction — because from it (i.e. from the Temple built on that mountain) instruction הוראה came forth to Israel (Genesis Rabbah 55:7). Onkelos translates it by “the land of the Divine Service”. He takes it as having reference to the offering of incense brought in the Temple on Moriah in which there were myrrh (מור) nard and other spices.
והעלהו. לֹא אָמַר לוֹ שְׁחָטֵהוּ, לְפִי שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה חָפֵץ הַקָּבָּ"ה לְשָׁחֳטוֹ אֶלָּא לְהַעֲלֵהוּ לָהָר לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ עוֹלָה, וּמִשֶּׁהֶעֱלָהוּ אָמַר לוֹ הוֹרִידֵהוּ: והעלהו AND OFFER HIM (literally, bring him up) — He did not say, “Slay him”, because the Holy One, blessed be He, did not desire that he should slay him, but he told him to bring him up to the mountain to prepare him as a burnt offering. So when he had taken him up, God said to him, “Bring him down” (Genesis Rabbah 56:8).
אחד ההרים. הַקָּבָּ"ה מַתְהֵא הַצַּדִּיקִים וְאַחַר כָּךְ מְגַלֶּה לָהֶם; וְכָל זֶה כְּדֵי לְהַרְבּוֹת שְׂכָרָן, וְכֵן אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ (בראשית י"ב), וְכֵן בְּיוֹנָה וּקְרָא עָלֶיהָ אֶת הַקְּרִיאָה (יונה ג ב): אחד ההרים ONE OF THE MOUNTAINS — The Holy One, blessed be He, first makes the righteous expectant and only afterwards discloses fully to them his intention — and all this in order to augment their reward. Similarly we have (Genesis 12:1) “[Go to] the land which I will show thee”, and similarly in the case of Jonah 3:2 “Make unto it the proclamation which I shall bid thee” (Genesis Rabbah 55:7).