By [having] faith, he became an alien in the foreign country that had been promised to him. He lived in tents, along with Isaac [his son] and Jacob [his grandson], who [also] were to receive the same inheritance he had been promised.

By [having] faith, when Abraham was tested [by God], he offered Isaac [as a sacrifice]. [Even though] he had received the promises [of having many descendants], he was ready to offer his only conceived [and eventually born] son,

[even though] he had been told [by God, Gen. 21:12], "Your descendants will be traced through Isaac."

[So], he reasoned that God was able to raise up [Isaac] from the dead, which, in a sense, he did receive him back [from the dead].

By [having] faith, Isaac pronounced a future blessing on Jacob and Esau. [See Gen. 27:26-40].

For you recall how, even after he [later] wanted to inherit the blessing, Esau was rejected [by his father Isaac. See Gen. 37:35-40]. For he was not able to get his father to change his mind, even though he tearfully begged him [or, "he was not able to change the situation, even though he shed tears over his loss"].