Genesis 23:3-16

Genesis 23:3-16

[3] And Abraham  stood up  from before  his dead,  and spake  unto the sons  of Heth,  saying,  [4] I am a stranger  and a sojourner  with you: give  me a possession  of a buryingplace  with you, that I may bury  my dead  out of my sight.  [5] And the children  of Heth  answered  Abraham,  saying  unto him, [6] Hear us,  my lord:  thou art a mighty  prince  among us:  in the choice  of our sepulchres  bury  thy dead;  none  of us shall withhold  from thee his sepulchre,  but that thou mayest bury  thy dead.  [7] And Abraham  stood up,  and bowed  himself to the people  of the land,  even to the children  of Heth.  [8] And he communed  with them, saying,  If it be  your mind  that I should bury  my dead  out of my sight;  hear  me, and intreat  for me to Ephron  the son  of Zohar,  [9] That he may give  me the cave  of Machpelah,  which he hath, which is in the end  of his field;  money  as it is worth  he shall give it  me for a possession  of a buryingplace  amongst you.  [10] And Ephron  dwelt  among  the children  of Heth:  and Ephron  the Hittite  answered  Abraham  in the audience  of the children  of Heth,  even of all that went in  at the gate  of his city,  saying,  [11] Nay,  my lord,  hear me:  the field  give I  thee, and the cave  that is therein, I give it  thee; in the presence  of the sons  of my people  give  I it thee: bury  thy dead.  [12] And Abraham  bowed down  himself before  the people  of the land.  [13] And he spake  unto Ephron  in the audience  of the people  of the land,  saying,  But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee,  hear  me: I will give  thee money  for the field;  take  it of me, and I will bury  my dead  [14] And Ephron  answered  Abraham,  saying  unto him, [15] My lord,  hearken  unto me: the land  is worth four  hundred  shekels  of silver;  what is that betwixt  me and thee? bury  therefore thy dead.  [16] And Abraham  hearkened  unto Ephron;  and Abraham  weighed  to Ephron  the silver,  which he had named  in the audience  of the sons  of Heth,  four  hundred  shekels  of silver,  current  money with the merchant. 

What does Genesis 23:3-16 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Typically ancient Near Easterners buried family members in their native land. [1] Abraham"s desire to bury Sarah in the Promised Land shows that he had turned his back on Mesopotamia forever ( Genesis 23:4). Canaan was his adopted homeland.
God had made Abraham a powerful person, which his neighbors acknowledged ( Genesis 23:6). [2]
"Abraham has put himself at the bottom of the social ladder, and they put him at the top." [3]
"Their warm and generous reply apparently gave Abraham all he wanted, but permission to bury Sarah was only part of what he had requested. He had asked for a burial plot, not simply for the use of one of their graves. Despite the warmth of their reply, the Hittites, by omitting any mention of this point, probably indicate their reluctance to transfer land to Abraham, for then he would no longer be a landless sojourner." [4]
These Hittites (Hethites) were residents of Canaan, not members of the mighty Hittite Empire that later flourished north of the Promised Land in Syria. [5]
Why did Ephron want to sell Abraham the entire plot of ground in which the cave lay rather than just the cave as Abraham requested ( Genesis 23:8-11)? Hittite law specified that when a landowner sold only part of his property to someone else the original owner had to continue to pay all taxes on the land. However if he sold the entire tract the new owner was responsible to pay the taxes (cf. 1 Chronicles 21:24). Consequently Ephron held out for the entire tract knowing that Abraham needed to make his purchase quickly so he could bury Sarah. [6]
Abraham"s willingness to pay what appears to have been an unusually large price for the land further demonstrates his faith ( Genesis 23:15-16). An average field cost four shekels per acre, and garden land cost40 shekels per acre. [7] Abraham was willing to pay400 shekels. Of course, the text does not give the exact area of the property, but it appears to have been relatively small.
"The piece of property was no bargain for Abraham; 400 shekels would be more than a hundred pounds of silver. David paid only one-eighth that amount-50 shekels of silver-for the purchase of the temple site from Araunah ( 2 Samuel 24:24)." [8]
Ephron"s responses to Abraham"s requests sound very generous, but he was really making it difficult for Abraham to pay less than his asking price. Ephron"s object may have been to get a present from Abraham for having given him the field and cave that would compensate for the value of the land. Such a gift was customary. On the other hand he may have wanted to preclude Abraham"s offering to pay him less than his asking price ( Genesis 23:15). [9]
"Did the patriarchs who forsook everything for the sake of the promises go unrewarded? No, answers our narrative. In death they were heirs and no longer "strangers." A very small part of the Promised Land-the grave-belonged to them; therefore they did not have to rest in "Hittite earth" or in the grave of a Hittite (cf. Genesis 23:6), which Israel would have considered a hardship difficult to bear." [10]
"At a time when the children of Israel were on their way to take possession of the land, Moses did well to remind them how in faith their forefathers had secured at least "a grave which was his own property," and thus to arouse in them the desire to finish the work of taking into full possession what had so long ago been promised to them." [11]