Abraham and Isaac

12th century
Mosaic
Palatine Chapel, Palermo, Sicily

The image closely follows Genesis 22:1-14. On the left God tells Abraham tolle filium tuum qu[e]m diligis ysaac et offeres illum in holocaustum, "Take your beloved son Isaac and offer him as a holocaust" (from verse 2). In the center we see the ass and servants that Abraham left at the base of the mountain on the right, where he has bound Isaac and prepared to sacrifice him. Then the angel of the Lord appears and says abraham abraham ne extendas manum tuam super puerum, "Abraham, Abraham, lay not thy hand upon the boy" (from verse 11). He then looks up and sees the ram tangled in the briers, which he sacrifices in place of his son (verse 13).

View this image in full resolution.
View other panels in the chapel's Genesis sequence.
Read more about Abraham.

Photographed at the chapel by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.