TEMPTATION Q. Does God ever tempt anybody? Compare Gen. 22:1, and James 1:13. A.: Gen. 22:1, “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham, and he said, Behold, here I am.”
James 1:13, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” The word tempt has more than one meaning. It does not always mean to entice to do evil. In the Genesis text, the Hebrew word is nacah; it is a primary root word meaning to prove, to assay, to test, or to tempt. God was proving Abraham, testing him. hlh