Genesis 23: 1 – 20
Funeral arrangements
23 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, 4 “I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 “Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.” 7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.” 10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, 11 “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!” 12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; 13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.” 14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” 16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants. 17 So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.
A socialist professor asked his class this question, ‘If I have $10 and you have $20 dollars how much money do I have? You might be saying to yourself, ‘Are you kidding me, the answer is simple he has $10 –WRONG! A socialist point of view is that he wants all your money, so he looks at it like he now has $30.
In today’s study we are going to learn about the death of Sarah and Abraham’s haggling of the purchase of a cave where he and her dwelt together for many years in order to use it for a family crypt.
A good line is that there are two things that we cannot escape – Death and Taxes. Even when you die these greedy crooks still want a share of your estate. Having dealt with a lot of funeral homes and cemeteries as a Pastor, I can tell you that there are big bucks in this profession. An area in which I am hand cuffed is that I can not recommend any funeral home over another. People would cry foul that I play favorites. Yet one thing I do advised a grieving family guardian is that whichever funeral homes they choose do not let them know that your love one had funeral insurance. Do you know why? They will run up the bill to milk you of every penny in the insurance plan. You will get the Cadillac of funeral home accessories.
Consumers are at a big disadvantage when conducting business in unfamiliar venues. For most of us, happily, that includes shopping for funerals. As a result, the funeral home business is rife with exploitative practices, despite fairly strict federal regulations governing the industry. In fact, a recent round of undercover visits to funeral homes by the FTC has confirmed that none of us should wait until it’s too late to learn about the business of death.
Because those making arrangements are generally coping with the loss of a loved one, consumers tend to let down their guard when it comes to making decisions about funerals. And given how expensive a funeral can be — the total cost often exceeds $10,000 — the stakes are high and opportunities for abuse ample. “Between the emotional state in which many people find themselves when a loved one passes away and the infrequency of this happening in one’s lives, there’s a lack of awareness,”
Since the 1980s, consumers have had a measure of protection. Federal law requires that funeral homes promptly present consumers with a price list (that can be taken home for consideration) of the various services offered before getting down to business. However, many families that are forced into seeking help are usually never in a position to go shopping. Most deal with a funeral home that has possibly been used in the past by other friends and family members.
Today we are going to witness how Abraham is also thrown in the quick decision mode. We are going to go over the conversation of the land owner and Abraham? In fact the owner is so slick he will not just sell Abraham the cave. He insists that the land around the cave also has to be in the selling price. Although it seems like Abraham and the guy are haggling over price in reality Abraham isn’t into doing this. He ultimately just pays the high price in which the guy asks.
23 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.
As I mentioned in a previous study I believe that our Holy Creator God did not only make Sarah’s womb young again, I believe that He also made Sarah completely young. This theory of mine gives a good idea as to why a 90 some women is so beautiful that a local king wants to kidnaper her and put her in his harem.
I think that this point is also valid in that we see that after the birth of her son Isaac, Sarah nurses him until the boy is three years old. Then I think the Lord kicks into gear again the aging process. In our Lord’s Great Mercy He allows Sarah 30 plus years to watch her son grow up.
2 So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
We see from this verse that Abraham ‘Came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.’ The mourning was an intensely personal moment for him. He deeply loved her.
‘Kiriath Arba’. was an earlier name for Hebron and means ‘the city of four’ or ‘the city of Arba’ (see Joshua 14.15). It is stressed that it is in the land of Canaan, the promised land.
3 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, 4 “I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
After observing his wife’s death Abraham rises up and seeks out the leadership of the people of the land at the city gate (v.10). There the leaders, who know his purpose, are gathered in their official function to consider his request.
This is a unique moment in Abraham’s life. He is about to seek official ownership of part of the land of Canaan. He states clearly the situation. He is ‘a stranger and sojourner’. He has no land rights. But now he seeks to become an official landowner holding the deeds of the property.
No one would have hindered him from burying Sarah. People were being buried all the time and its necessity was recognized. But this is something different. Abraham wants to cease being ‘a stranger and a sojourner’. He wants ‘a possession’. He wants to become a recognized inhabitant of the land with certain rights and responsibilities accruing.
5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 “Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.”
Their reply, while couched in polite terms, gives consent to his suggestion. At a price they are willing to consider giving him ownership of a piece of land and thus altering his status in their eyes.
They recognize and tell him that ‘You are a mighty prince (literally ‘a prince of God’) among us.’ Recognition is given to the fact that Abraham is a man of means and of some power. They are prepared to deal with him as an equal and as having the status to be accepted. There may also be some recognition here of his prophetic status.
The remaining flowery language is not to be taken literally. The last thing that they expect is that Abraham will make use of their sepulchers for free. They are simply saying that they recognize that it is reasonable for him as ‘a mighty prince’ to want a sepulcher for burying important members of his own family.
7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.”
Abraham already knows the land that he wants to buy and specifically describes it. In typical fashion he speaks of being ‘given’ the cave. Talking of buying and selling would have been frowned on. But he also makes clear that he expects to pay a fair price and none of them would have doubted it for a moment. It was typical Eastern courtesy.
10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, 11 “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!”
The conversation is taking place before the leading officials of the city. This is a public sale requiring the say so of the elders of the city, and especially so because it will alter Abraham’s status. He will now become one of them.
Ephron continues negotiation. He acts as if he is willing simply to give Abraham the field. But all parties know that that is not the intention. It is really saying that he is willing, but that if Abraham wants the cave he must also buy the field it is in. The ‘giving’ was not expected to be taken literally. They are in fact engaging in hard bargaining.
12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; 13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.”
With full acknowledgement to the elders Abraham agrees to buy the field as well as the cave, and to pay whatever price is demanded.
14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.”
Ephron seemingly offhandedly, but really in deadly earnest, names his price and it appears to be a stiff one. Omri will later buy the site of the whole city of Samaria for six thousand shekels (1 Kings 16.24). Jeremiah will buy a field for seventeen shekels (Jeremiah 32.9). David will pay fifty shekels for a threshing floor and oxen (2 Samuel 24.24. So either the field was very large or Ephron has his eyes on a big profit. He is well aware that Abraham is gaining more than a field. Indeed, the price is such that probably both were true. From now on Abraham will own a substantial area of land, which includes the cave. He has become a major landowner, a man of property.
16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.
Abraham feels the price well worth paying, and pays up before witnesses. We have here a demonstration of how rich Abraham was. He could afford the price without argument.
17 So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.
This is the legal jargon by which the property transfer took place, outlining precisely what property was being sold together with its contents. Together with the stating of the price it is the centre of the sales record. From now on the field and the cave are legally Abraham’s. The children of Heth were solemn witnesses to the transaction, confirming its legality.
19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.
The record summarizes with satisfaction the successful conclusion of the transaction, stressing that Abraham now owns property in the land which will benefit future generations, and there he buries his wife with due honor. She is buried in land owned by the family, and not just in a common grave, as befitted a ‘princess’.
‘It is possibly difficult to appreciate how much this must have meant to Abraham. His wife was not buried in a foreign land but in land which belonged to him which he held in possession (note how this was stressed). Now he and his descendants will possess the land, their own land, in death until the final promise of YHWH is fulfilled.
