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Isaac

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Biblical patriarch, son of Abraham and Sarah, central to covenant narratives and father of Jacob and Esau in Genesis.

Detailed Definition
Isaac was nearly sacrificed by Abraham and later deceived by Rebekah and Jacob. He represents the covenant’s quiet continuity. In poetry, Isaac embodies obedience, the trauma of near-sacrifice, and the generational transmission of promise amid human frailty.
Example
Example in poetry:
In John Milton’s "Paradise Lost," Isaac’s binding (Genesis 22) prefigures Christ’s sacrifice; In William Blake’s "The Ghost of Abel," Isaac symbolizes the spared son; In Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s "The Seraphim," Isaac’s obedience models trust; In George Herbert’s "The Church-porch," Isaac’s wells illustrate patient persistence; In John Keble’s "Lyra Innocentium," Isaac represents the child of promise; In Christina Rossetti’s "Advent," Isaac’s ram prefigures substitutionary atonement.
Additional Notes
Isaac: Son of Abraham and Sarah; nearly sacrificed (Genesis 22), father of Jacob and Esau. In poetry, Isaac embodies passive obedience, the child of promise, and the quiet patriarch. His digging of wells (Genesis 26) symbolizes persistence in contested spaces—ideal for poems on inheritance, peaceable resolve, or the trauma and trust of near-sacrifice. Later tradition sees him as a type of Christ.
Also Known As
Isaac son of Abraham Isaac the Patriarch
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