Yitzhak is the son of Avraham and Sarah, the second of Israel's patriarchs: Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov.
Yitzhak's birth is foretold by God, and is named by God before he is even conceived. Upon hearing God's declaration that he and Sarah will have a son, Avraham laughs. God proceeds to tell Avraham that he will indeed have a son whom he will name Yitzhak, a name presumably based on the Hebrew word for laughter- “tzehok.” (Parashat Lekh Lekha).
Yitzhak's mother also laughs when she hears she will be a 90 year old mother. Yitzhak is born and becomes the first person to enter the covenant of God on his eighth day of life. Yitzhak is victimized in some way by his older half-brother Yishmael, leading to the banishment of Yishmael. The most dramatic event of Yitzhak's life is God's command to Avraham to sacrifice him as an offering in an episode known as Akeidat Yitzhak - the Binding of Yitzhak. Avraham takes his son and travels to an unknown location, all the while keeping the true purpose of the mission a secret from Yitzhak. Avraham binds Yitzhak and places him on the altar. The father takes the knife and prepares to slaughter his son but his hand is stayed by an angel who stops him at the last moment. A ram is sacrificed in Yitzhak's stead (Parashat Vayera).
Avraham sends a servant to Aram Naharayyim to find his son a wife. The servant returns with Rivka who meets Yitzhak in a field. Yitzhak loves Rivka and her presence is comforting when his mother dies. Upon his father's death, Yitzhak joins his brother Yishmael in burying Avraham (Parashat Hayyei Sarah).
Yitzhak is 40 years old when he marries Rivka and the couple is childless for 20 years after that. Yitzhak prays to God on his wife's behalf and she conceives and gives birth to twins. Esav is born first and Yaakov is second. Yitzhak prefers Esav over Yaakov since Esav provides Yitzhak with meat from the hunt. During a famine in Canaan, Yitzhak takes his family to the territory of Avimelekh, king of the Plishtim in Gerar. To protect himself, Yitzhak follows a pattern set by his father and tells people that Rivka is really his sister. Later, Avimelekh catches Yitzhak flirting with Rivka and realizes that he has been deceived. Eventually, Yitzhak becomes financially successful causing jealousy among the Plishtim. Nevertheless, Avimelekh forges a pact with Yitzhak as he did with Avraham. Old and poor-sighted, Yitzhak decides the time has come to bless his oldest son Esav before he dies. He summons Esav and instructs him to hunt and prepare an animal for Yitzhak to eat before blessing him. Rivka overhears this conversation and tells Yaakov to impersonate Esav and thus receive his blessing. Yaakov obeys and Yitzhak is tricked, although he suspects something is amiss when he hears Yaakov's voice (prompting the famous declaration “the voice is that of Yaakov, but the hands are those of Esav”). When Esav later appears and Yitzhak realizes what has happened, he trembles with emotion and tries to bless Esav as well. Later, Yitzhak agrees with Rivka's plan to send Yaakov to Lavan household to protect him from Esav's rage and to prevent him from marrying a Canaanite woman (Parashat Toldot).
After a twenty-two year absence, Yaakov returns to Canaan to see his father in Kiryat Arba. Yitzhak dies at the age of 180 and is buried in Me’arat Ha-Makhpela (the Mahpela Cave) by his sons Esav and Yaakov (Parashat Vayishlach).
Adapted from Tanakhprofiles.org by HaTanakh.com Staff