Isaac

Isaac
Isaac digging for the wells, imagined in a Bible illustration (c. 1900)
Prophet, Seer, Second Hebrew Patriarch, Father of Israel, Father of the Jews
Born	c. 1700 BCE Canaan
Died	c. 1500 BCE Canaan
Venerated in	Judaism Christianity Islam
Influences	Abraham
Influenced	Jacob, the Twelve Tribes of Israel as well as many Jews, Christians and Muslims

Isaac
Grave Isha
Prophet, Seer, Second Hebrew Patriarch, Father of Israel, Holy Forefather
Venerated in	Judaism Christianity Islam
Major shrine	Isaac Blessing Jacob, painting by Govert Flinck (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam)

Isaac (/ˈaɪzək/;Hebrew: יִצְחָק, Modern Yitshak, Tiberian Yiṣḥāq, ISO 259-3 Yiçḥaq, "[he] will laugh"; Ancient Greek: Ἰσαάκ Isaak; Arabic: إسحاق‎‎ or إسحٰقʼIsḥāq) as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, was the second son of Abraham, the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and the father of Jacob and Esau. According to the Book of Genesis, Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, and Sarah was past 90.

Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites. Isaac was the only biblical patriarch whose name was not changed, and the only one who did not move out of Canaan. Compared to Abraham and Jacob, the Bible relates fewer incidents of Isaac's life. He died when he was 180 years old, making him the longest-lived of the three.

The anglicized name Isaac is a transliteration of the Hebrew term Yiṣḥāq which literally means "He laughs/will laugh."Ugaritic texts dating from the 13th century BCE refer to the benevolent smile of the Canaanite deity El. Genesis, however, ascribes the laughter to Isaac's parents, Abraham and Sarah, rather than El. According to the biblical narrative, Abraham fell on his face and laughed when God (Hebrew, Elohim) imparted the news of their son's eventual birth. He laughed because Sarah was past the age of childbearing; both she and Abraham were advanced in age. Later, when Sarah overheard three messengers of the Lord renew the promise, she laughed inwardly for the same reason. Sarah denied laughing when God questioned Abraham about it.