FRAMEWORKS:
Genesis 23: The Death & Burial of Sarah
v.1,2
Sarah Dies
v.3-7
Abraham requests to buy a tomb from the Hittites
v.8-11
He requests a particular cave and is offered it free
v.12-16
Abraham insists on paying for it
v.17-20
He buys the field & cave and buries Sarah
v.1,2
Sarah Dies
v.1
Sarah
lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old.
v.2
She
died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan,
and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
[Notes:
The
start of the end of this couple and the cause of negotiations
that follow.]
v.3-7
Abraham requests to buy a tomb from the Hittites
v.3 Then
Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.
He said,
v.4
“I
am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for
a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”
v.5
The
Hittites replied to Abraham,
v.6
“Sir,
listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead
in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb
for burying your dead.”
v.7
Then
Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the
Hittites.
[Notes:
Hebron,
south of Jerusalem, is the home of an ethnic group called the
Hittites at this time. It is clear [v.6] that Abraham who is very
rich is highly respected in the land and so they agree to let
him have the best of their tombs.]
v.8-11
He requests a particular cave and is offered it free
v.8,9
He
said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then
listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf
so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him
and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the
full price as a burial site among you.”
v.10
Ephron
the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham
in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of
his city.
v.11
“No,
my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give you the field, and I
give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence
of my people. Bury your dead.”
[Notes:
For
an undisclosed reason, Abraham has his eye on a particular cave
that has been marked out for a future tomb, and offers to buy
it. The owner offers to give it to him plus the field in which
it is sited.]
v.12-16
Abraham insists on paying for it
v.12,13
Again
Abraham bowed down before the people of the land and he said to
Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay
the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead
there.”
v.14
Ephron
answered Abraham,
v.15
“Listen
to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver,
but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
v.16
Abraham
agreed to Ephron's terms and weighed out for him the price he
had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels
of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.
[Notes:
Abraham
declines this kind offer, insisting on paying for it and so they
agree a price.]
v.17-20
He buys the field & cave and buries Sarah
v.17,18
So
Ephron's field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the
cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was
deeded to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites
who had come to the gate of the city.
v.19
Afterward
Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah
near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
v.20
So
the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites
as a burial site.
[Notes:
Thus
the field was bought and owned by Abraham and Sarah was buried
there. The chapter really reveals the esteem in which Abraham
is held by the locals.]
Lessons
or Challenges to Ponder from Genesis Chapter 23
1.
The death of Sarah confronts us with the anguish of losing those
closest to us, and nothing diminishes that, although God's grace
can help us through it.
2.
Abraham goes to some effort to buy land to bury Sarah; it is a
way of honouring her. When you have walked decades with your partner,
the years earn respect, loyalty and honour, built on that foundation
of love.
Continue to Chapter 24