There are theories that suggest that the Biblical character Isaac, son of Abraham and Sarah, may have been disabled. That one of the most well-known characters of the Old Testament, through whom God delivered the great Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 15:4-5), and who was an ancestor of Jesus, might have had additional needs, is really significant.
One suggestion is that Isaac had some kind of lifelong developmental delay or learning disability. Evidence offered starts by pointing to Isaac being born to older parents, which increases the risk. Isaac was also a relatively largely silent figure, of which few achievements are recorded, when compared to the other Old Testament patriarchs, and he rarely makes decisions or acts independently of others.
As a child he was mocked by his half-brother Ishmael which angered his mother Sarah sufficiently to make her demand that Ishmael and his mother Hagar be sent away (Genesis 21:8-10), and he didn’t resist when his father, an old man, was going to sacrifice him (Genesis 22:1-13).
Later in his story, Rebekah, his wife, is chosen for him (Genesis 24:1-9), which is unusual, and he lived in his mother’s tent as an adult (Genesis 24:67). Sarah cared greatly for Isaac, her son who had been a blessing from God in her old age, and if he was indeed disabled then she was certainly a strong maternal ally.
Further on again, it is Rebekah that receives the covenant promise from God about their children, rather than Isaac (Genesis 25:23).
Isaac is seemingly not trusted to arrange Abraham’s burial alone, with his exiled half-brother, Ishmael, returning to help him bury Abraham in the field Abraham had bought (Genesis 25:7-10).
And in his old age, Isaac, who by then is losing his sight, is deceived by Rebekah and Jacob into giving his blessing to the wrong son (Genesis 27:1-40).
All of this could suggest that Isaac had additional needs and disabilities during his long life. If indeed he did, then he sets a significant early precedent for God working in and through disabled people, and for how their story is equally important in the context of the whole Bible.
Take-away question: How does the way that Isaac was included and cared for by his family, his community, his people, and his God, challenge us to do likewise?
All content © Mark Arnold / The Additional Needs Blogfather, unless stated. Header image courtesy of Lumo Project Films – www.lumoproject.com
See also:
Six Disability Allies In The Bible
https://theadditionalneedsblogfather.com/2019/09/05/six-disability-allies-in-the-bible/
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