יָדַ֣עְתִּי יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֛י לֹ֥א לָאָדָ֖ם דַּרְכּ֑וֹ לֹֽא־לְאִ֣ישׁ הֹלֵ֔ךְ וְהָכִ֖ין אֶֽת־צַעֲדֽוֹ׃
Aku tahu, ya Yang Mahakekal, bahwa jalan manusia tidak berada dalam kuasanya sendiri; tidak ada dalam kuasa orang yang berjalan untuk menentukan langkahnya.
Akeidat Yitzchak
Despite many opinions to the contrary, the events related in our verse did indeed take place. Abraham did not see all these events only in his mind's eye. True, there are occasions in the Bible when visions described very graphically-- such as Ezekiel's trip to Jerusalem (Ezekiel Chapter 8)-- were in fact merely visions. Those instances do not prove that all supernatural encounters of outstanding men were merely visions of the mind and spirit. The wealth of detail reported about these encounters, such as reports of sitting, standing, running, etc. bear out the claim that these events took place physically. There are numerous reasons for the visions and encounters Abraham was granted which are listed at the beginning of our Parshah: