When a traditional Jew reads a biblical story, he or she likely sees a story very different from the story that someone from another tradition sees. The rough spot could be a gap, or an unusual wording, or a passage that seems strange or to contradict another part of scripture. There are several of these triggers in the Aqedah story. Each one of the excerpts below tries to answer a specific question put to the text. Remember, nothing is meaningless.
Every word is important.
Midrash Rabbah on Genesis offers a similar explanation based on two other cues in the text. Misgivings were experienced on that occasion. Plays on words are frequently used by midrashic interpretation. Remember, nothing is meaningless. This interpretation is followed immediately by another interpretation that notices an apparently superfluous conjunction in the text.