Faith
The entire purpose of the play is to show the strength of Abraham's almost blind faith in God and the way in which he proves himself faithful. Abraham loves his son very much, but his faith in God's plan overrides this love. God tells him to kill his son and so he plans to do so. This is a demonstration that if you have faith in God, God will not let you down. At first, on hearing the he is to be the sacrifice, Isaac understandably pleads for his life, but once he hears that it is God's will that he be sacrificed, he, too, has faith that this is all part of the plan, and even hurries his father along so that they do not keep God waiting to prove their faith.
Jewish Tradition
There is a tradition of sacrifice in the Old Testament and this is shown in the play. Abraham makes the ultimate sacrifice - his beloved only son - and Isaac is prepared to sacrifice himself. At the end of the play, when God tells Abraham that he has shown his faith to be strong, and that he no longer has to sacrifice his son, they then find a ram to sacrifice instead. This is one of the Jewish traditions that is evident in the play. Abraham is also one of the most important players in Jewish tradition, having been the founding father of the Covenant, which is the special relationship between Jewish people and God.
