your only one. Some
scholars, bothered by the technical inaccuracy of the term, have followed an
ancient reading of Yadid, “favored one,” instead of the Masoretic yaḥid. This seriously misses the point that in regard to Abraham’s
feelings, Isaac, this sole son by his legitimate wife, is his only son. The
phrase “your son, your only one,” will return as a thematic refrain at the end
of the story (verses 12, 16). (Robert
Alter, The Hebrew Bible, 3 vols. [New York: W. W. Norton & Company,
2019], 1:72)
