Jewish perspectives In rabbinical tradition, Isaac was 37 years old at the time of his bound, which contrasts with popular depictions of Isaac as a kid. According to one interpretation of Genesis 21:21, God told Abraham to offer Isaac in place of himself because God knew that through Abraham all the nations on earth would be blessed (see Ge 22:18). After the binding of Isaac, Abraham prayed, "Now I know that God can bring about anything that he wants, so even if he wanted me to sacrifice my son, I would do it." Judaism teaches that every human being is valued and worthy of respect regardless of age or physical appearance. It is true that the Bible says that we should show compassion to those who are older or younger than ourselves. But it also says that we should not avenge ourselves against people who have done us no harm. Rather, we should focus on helping those who need our assistance. From a biblical perspective, there is no reason why someone could not serve as both father and mother to their children. In the Old Testament, God repeatedly tells the Israelites to take care of their elderly and disabled people by providing for them. In fact, one of the main ways that the Israelites were forgiven for their sin was by taking care of their elderly and disabled people.