Genesis 22:6

Gen 22:6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid [it] upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

Ver. 6. And laid it upon Isaac his son.] Who was herein a lively type of Christ, bearing the cross whereon he was offered up. Tω σωματι των χολαζομενων εχαστος εκφερει τον εαυτου σταυρον, , saith Plutarch, speaking of the Roman fashion of crucifying malefactors. And surely it was by a wonderful providence of God that the Jews brought our Saviour to Pilate to be put to death; since they hated nothing more than to confirm or countenance the Roman tyranny among them by any means. Hence Gamaliel gave counsel to dismiss the apostles. {Act 5:38} And hence the chief priests and rulers took it as so exceedingly heinous that Paul was taken out of their hands by the chief captain. {Act 23:10} But God had a hand in it, that this and other types and scriptures might be fulfilled, that foretold the very manner of his death on a tree. Let the Jews stumble now at the cross, and fall backward. Let the Gentiles jeer us, as Lucian {a} doth, for that we deny the multitude of their gods, and yet believe in a crucified God, {b} Let us desire to know nothing but Christ, and him crucified; and if ever we desire to be kings in heaven, - and every man must be aut Caesar, aut nullus , a king or a captive, - let us seek by the eye of faith to see the Sun of Righteousness in the west (as Strato’s servant taught him): let us look upon Christ hanging on the cross, dying on that altar, and we shall live for ever.

{a} Aνασκολοπισμενον ( horreo dicere) σοφιστην προσκυνουνθες - In Vita Peregr.

{b} Omnis homo aut est cum Christo regnaturus, aut cum diabolo crucianduv . - Aug. Justin, lib. 18.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 22:6. Isaac’s carrying the wood was a type of Christ, who carried his own cross, while Abraham, with a steady and undaunted resolution, carried the fatal knife and fire.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 6. Took the wood - and laid it upon Isaac] Probably the mountain-top to which they were going was too difficult to be ascended by the ass; therefore either the father or the son must carry the wood, and it was most becoming in the latter.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. laid it upon Isaac] Isaac carries the heavy weight of the wood; Abraham, the more dangerous burden of the fire (i.e. a brazier) and the knife.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering,.... Which Josephus (a) says was laid upon the ass, and carried by that; and if so, he took it from thence: but it is probable it was carried by his two servants, since it was not more than Isaac himself afterwards carried, as in the next clause:

and laid it upon Isaac his son: who was a grown man, and able to carry it: in this also he was a type of Christ, on whom the wood of his cross was laid, and which he bore when he went to be crucified, Joh 19:17; and this wood may be also a figure of our sins laid on him by his Father, and which he bore in his body on the tree, Pe1 2:24; and which were like wood to fire, fuel for the wrath of God, which came down upon him for them:

and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; a vessel in one hand, in which fire was to kindle the wood with, and a knife in the other hand to slay the sacrifice with; the one to slay his son with, and the other to burn him with; and to carry these for such purposes must be very trying. This is the first time we read in Scripture of fire for use, or of a knife. Some say the first inventor of fire was Prometheus, others Phoroneus (b), from whence he seems to have his name; but according to Sanchoniatho (c), the immediate posterity of Cain first invented it, whose names were light, fire, and flame; and these, he says, found out the way of generating fire, by rubbing pieces of wood against each other, and taught men the use of it. "Knife", in the Hebrew language, has its name from eating and consuming, as Ben Melech observes; some render it a "sword" (d), but wrongly, and which has led the painter into a mistake, to represent Abraham with a sword in his hand to slay his son:

and they went both of them together; from the place where they left the young men, to the place where the sacrifice was to be offered.

(a) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 13. sect. 2. (b) Pausan. Corinthiaca sive, l. 2. p. 119. (c) Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 1. c. 10. p. 34. (d) "gladium", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Isaac, though called a lad, Gen 22:5, was now a grown man, at least five and twenty years old, and therefore well able to bear that burden; and in this act he was an eminent type of Christ, who carried that wood upon which he was crucified.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. The wood… upon Isaac — How does this suggest the only-begotten Son of God bearing his wooden cross to Calvary! Joh_19:17. Fire in his hand — Either a stick of wood that would long endure as a burning ember, or coals in a firepot.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; instinctively the mind reverts to the cross-bearing of Abraham"s greater Son (Joh_19:17) and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife (to him terribly suggestive weapons); and they went both of them together. Doubtless in silence on Abraham"s part and wonder on Isaac"s, since as yet no declaration had been made of the true purpose of their journey.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Isaac's carrying the wood was a type of Christ, who carried his own cross, while Abraham, with a steady and undaunted resolution, carried the fatal knife and fire.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

המאכלת — means a knife. It is called מאכלת from אכל to eat, because it devours the meat, — just as you say, (Deuteronomy 32:42 “And my sword shall devour (תאכל) flesh”— or because it makes animal flesh fit for eating (מאכלת) (by killing the animal; because while the animal is living its flesh is unfit for eating). Another explanation: זאת נקראת This knife is called מאכלת (and the term is never used of an ordinary knife) because Israel still eats of the reward given for it (Genesis Rabbah 56:3).

וילכו שניהם יחדיו AND THEY WENT BOTH OF THEM TOGETHER — Abraham who was aware that he was going to slay his son walked along with the same willingness and joy as Isaac who had no idea of the matter.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ויקח, he did not take the donkey along so that the lads should not think that they were going to a distant location. Also, there would not be anyone guarding the donkey at the time when he would be occupied with binding and slaughtering Yitzchok. Furthermore, he did not want the donkey to enter such sacred precincts.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.