Isaac

Isaac (/ˈaɪzək/ EYE-zək; Biblical Hebrew: יִצְחָק‎, romanized: Yīṣḥāq; Ancient Greek: Ἰσαάκ, romanized: Isaák; Arabic: إسحٰق/إسحاق, romanized: Isḥāq; Classical Syriac: ܐܝܨܚܩ, romanized: Iṣḥāq; Amharic: ይስሐቅ) is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in which he is the son of Abraham and Sarah, the father of Jacob and Esau, and the grandfather of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Isaac's name means "he will laugh", reflecting the laughter, in disbelief, of Abraham and Sarah, when told by God that they would have a child. He is the only patriarch whose name was not changed, and the only one who did not move out of Canaan. According to the narrative, he died aged 180, the longest-lived of the three patriarchs.

Recent scholarship has discussed the possibility that Isaac could have originally been an ancestor from the Beersheba region who was venerated at a sanctuary.