זוהר בראשית — דף קיט ע”ב

The Zohar continues with the verse “He commands the deliverances of Jacob” and explains that messengers coming from the side of mercy do not carry out missions of judgment: the angel who appeared to Balaam was mercy for Israel and turned into judgment toward Balaam. Rabbi Abba applies the verse to Israel in exile and to Isaac. The text then examines “After these things, God tested Abraham”: why Abraham and not Isaac is named, how water and fire came to be joined, and what the accusation of the evil inclination consists of. It also explains “your son, your only one” and “the land of Moriah.”