22:1 God did tempt. This is the first occurrence of the word “tempt” (Hebrew nacah). It does not mean “tempt to do evil” (James 1:13), but is usually translated “prove.” Although God knew what Abraham would do, it must be “proved” to all (including even Abraham himself) that he loved God more than anyone else and that his faith in God’s Word was absolute, thus demonstrating the validity of God’s selection of him as father of the chosen nation.