Genesis 23.7-11-Abraham Negotiates with Ephron for Purchase of Burial Plot

Wednesday March 29, 2006

Genesis: Genesis 23:7-11-Abraham Negotiates with Ephron for Purchase of Burial Plot

Lesson # 124

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 23:1.

On Sunday morning, we studied Genesis 23:1-2, which records the death of Abraham’s wife Sarah.

Genesis 23:1, “Now Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.”

Genesis 23:2, “Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.”

Sarah’s death presents Abraham with a problem in that since he was an “alien and a stranger” in the land of Canaan, he did not own any property in the land of Canaan so as to bury his dead.

Abraham did not take Sarah back to her homeland for burial but rather he wanted her to be buried in Canaan as a testimony to both the people of the land and their own descendants that Canaan was to be their home from then on.

The fact that Abraham seeks to buy a burial plot for Sarah, himself and his descendants manifested that he trusted in the promises that the Lord made to him that he and his descendants would possess the land of Canaan.

The Lord’s promise to give Abraham the land of Canaan is called by theologians, the “Palestinian Covenant.”

The “Palestinian” covenant is in fact an extension of the “Abrahamic” covenant.

Genesis 12:7, “The LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.”

Genesis 13:14, “The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward.’”

Genesis 13:15, “for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.”

Genesis 15:7, “And He said to him, ‘I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.’”

Genesis 15:18, “On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.’”

It appears that since the Lord delivered on His promise to give him and Sarah a child, Abraham trusted that the Lord would deliver on His promise to give him the land of Canaan as a permanent possession.

Therefore, the fact that Abraham is attempting for the first time to purchase land in Canaan demonstrates his faith in the Lord’s promise to him to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan for a permanent possession.

The piece of land that Abraham seeks to purchase was in Hebron, which was a place of happy memories for both Abraham and Sarah.

It was in Hebron, at the oaks of Mamre that the Lord promised Abraham and Sarah that Isaac would be born one year later as recorded in Genesis 18:1-15.

In fact, Abraham was residing at the oaks of Mamre in Hebron when he received the promises from the Lord as recorded in Genesis 13:14-18, 15:1-6 and 17:1-8.

The purchase of this burial plot in Hebron was the first step toward Abraham and his descendants possessing the land of Canaan.

So last evening we studied Genesis 23:3-6, which records the first round of negotiations between Abraham and the Hittites where Abraham requests from the Hittites not only a grave but also a piece of property as a permanent possession.

In response to this the Hittites offer simply a tomb expressing their reluctance to part with their property.

This reluctance by land owners in the Middle East in Abraham’s day to sell their property was a pervasive and deep rooted attitude throughout the Middle East.

Genesis 23:3-4, “Then Abraham rose from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, ‘I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.’”

Genesis 23:5-6, “The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, ‘Hear us, my lord, you are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.’”

“The sons of Heth” is another term for “Hittite” and were descendants of Heth who was the son of Canaan (See Genesis 10:15), who were in possession of Hebron where at that time Abraham was residing in.

In Genesis 23:4, Abraham asks for a “burial site,” which is composed of: (1) Noun `achuzzah (hZ*j|a&) (akh-ooz-zaw), “property, possession” (2) Noun qever (rb#q#), which means, “tomb, grave.”

In Genesis 23:6, the Hittites offer Abraham the “choicest of our tombs,” which is composed of: (1) Noun mivchar (rj*b+m!), “the best, something choice” (2) Noun qever (rb#q#), which means, “tomb, grave.”

Therefore, we can see that Abraham requested “a piece of property for a burial site” whereas the Hittites offered simply their “best tomb.”

The change of terms suggests that while the Hittites respected Abraham and were willing to grant him the right to bury his dead on their land, they were reluctant to give him a permanent possession there.

Therefore, there is a snag in the negotiations between Abraham and the Hittites.

Abraham wants to not only buy a grave for Sarah but also wants to secure a piece of property as permanent possession whereas the Hittites are willing to sell him a tomb but not a piece of property as a permanent possession.

This evening we will study Genesis 23:7-11, which records the second round of negotiations between Abraham and the Hittites in which Abraham requests Ephron’s cave and in response Ephron offers his cave and field.

Genesis 23:7, “So Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth.”

The fact that Abraham “rose” and then “bowed” to the ground before the Hittites indicates that the negotiations between himself and the Hittites were conducted sitting down on the ground.

Also, Genesis 23:10 records that these negotiations were conducted at the gate of the city where legal transactions usually took place in the Middle East (See Ruth 4:1-11).

The fact that Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites after being called by them a “prince of God” demonstrates Abraham’s great manners and humility and signifies his gratitude towards their complimenting him and offering him a tomb to bury Sarah.

Genesis 23:8-9, “And he spoke with them, saying, ‘If it is your wish for me to bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and approach Ephron the son of Zohar for me that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in your presence for a burial site.’”

“Approach” is the verb pagha (ug^P*) (paw-gah), which means, “to go plead with someone,” and is used to denote the act of applying non-physical form of pressure.

Therefore, Abraham is requesting that the Hittites act as mediators in these negotiations in order to put pressure on Ephron by speaking to him about selling the cave of Machpelah to him.

“Ephron the son of Zohar” was among the crowd of Hittites who had come to the gate of the city where these negotiations were taking place.

The fact that Ephron’s father is named is rare for a non-Israelite and suggests that his father Zohar was an outstanding individual among the Hittites.

“Give” is the verb nathan (/t^n*) (naw-than), which is incorrectly translated since these negotiations were done in a polite and dignified manner where Abraham was seeking to make a legal purchase of land from the Hittites to bury his dead and so it means, “to sell” (see Genesis 23:4, 9, 13).

The name “Machpelah” means, “double” or “split cave.”

“Machpelah” is located west of modern Hebron on the outskirts and the city is situated on the eastern slope of a narrow valley, which runs north and south and is surrounded by rocky hills.

Hebron was located nineteen miles southwest of Jerusalem, on the way to Beersheba and was 3,040 feet above sea level, dominating a beautiful and fruitful area and ancient oaks (terebinths) filled the area.

The cave itself was located at the end of a field and Josephus mentioned a “monument of the patriarchs,” which stood in Hebron in the days of Jesus.

The cave of Machpelah is the world's most ancient Jewish site and the second holiest place for the Jewish people, after Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The double cave, a mystery of thousands of years, was uncovered several years ago beneath the massive building, revealing artifacts from the Early Israelite Period (some 30 centuries ago).

The structure was built during the Second Temple Period (about two thousand years ago) by Herod, King of Judea, providing a place for gatherings and Jewish prayers at the graves of the Patriarchs.

This uniquely impressive building is the only one that stands intact and still fulfills its original function after thousands of years.

Foreign conquerors and invaders used the site for their own purposes, depending on their religious orientation: the Byzantines and Crusaders transformed it into a church and the Muslims rendered it a mosque.

About 700 years ago, the Muslim Mamelukes conquered Hebron, declared the structure a mosque and forbade entry to Jews, who were not allowed past the seventh step on a staircase outside the building.

Upon the liberation of Hebron in 1967, the Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces, the late Major-General Rabbi Shlomo Goren, was the first Jew to enter the cave of Machpelah.

Since then, Jews have been struggling to regain their prayer rights at the site, still run by the Muslim Waqf (Religious Trust) that took control during the Arab conquest.

Many restrictions are imposed on Jewish prayers and customs at the Tomb of the Patriarchs despite the site's significance, primacy and sanctity in Jewish heritage and history.

Over 300,000 people visit the cave annually and is divided into three rooms and presently Jews have no access to the largest room, with the exception of ten days a year.

Abraham’s statement, “which is at the end of his field” indicates that it is only a small portion of Ephron’s property that needs to be sold to him and won’t interfere with Ephron’s activities or break up his property.

The fact that Abraham requests a specific portion of a specific individual’s property, namely, the cave of Machpelah owned by Ephron, indicates that he had been checking out the area for the best possible site to bury his dead.

Abraham repeats his request “for a burial site” indicating that Abraham is insisting on not only buying a tomb but also a burial site or a “piece of property as a permanent possession.”

The phrase “for the full price” is a legal expression signifying full payment for an irrevocable sale indicating once again that Abraham is not only interested in buying a tomb but also that he wants to own the land in which the tomb resides.

Genesis 23:10-11, “Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth; even of all who went in at the gate of his city, saying, ‘No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.’”

Ephron does not wait for the leaders to act as mediators and directly replies to Abraham’s request.

This direct response from Ephron demonstrates that he is selling the cave and the field of his own volition without any social pressure, making Abraham’s claim to the property even more incontestable.

The phrase “in the hearing of the sons of Heth” indicates that the Hittites were witnesses to this transaction between Abraham and Ephron and indicating that these negotiations were proper and legal.

As we have noted before, the gate of the city was the place that legal transactions between individuals occurred.

Now, notice that Ephron offers to give the cave and the field to Abraham as a “gift.”

This is important to note since a gift, as opposed to a sale, places the recipient under obligation to the donor.

So if Abraham accepted the cave and the field as a free gift from Ephron, he could find himself indebted to him in other ways.

There is no indication that Ephron was being deceitful but rather simply was being gracious.

Abraham did not think that Ephron was being deceitful either but simply wanted to buy the property rather than receive it as a gift so as to insure that there would be no legal problems down the road for him and his descendants.

Even though Ephron was gracious, Abraham wanted to make the transaction legal and irrevocable in order to secure it for future generations in his family demonstrating his faith in the Lord’s promises to give him as a permanent possession the land of Canaan.

Tomorrow evening we will conclude our study of Genesis 23 by noting Genesis 23:12-20.

Genesis 23:12-16 records Abraham’s third round of negotiations with Ephron and the Hittites as witnesses.

Genesis 23:17-18 recounts the deed of sale.

Genesis 23:19 presents to us a summary of the burial of Sarah.

Lastly, Genesis 23:20 presents the conclusion of Abraham’s acquisition of the cave of Machpelah.