1And Sarah’s life was a hundred years and twenty years and seven years: the years of Sarah’s life.
2And Sarah died in Kiriath Arba—it is Hebron—in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came to grieve for Sarah and to weep for her.
3And Abraham got up from in front of his dead, and he spoke to the children of Heth, saying,
4“I’m an alien and a visitor with you. Give me a possession for a tomb with you so I may bury my dead from in front of me.”
23:4. alien. (On the meaning of this term, see the comment on 15:13.) Here it is Abraham who is the alien in the land. This is ironic because one day this land will belong to his descendants, and so they are commanded some fifteen times in the Torah to treat aliens well. That is, the Israelites must be fair to non-Israelites who live in Israel because once they were the aliens there, and because they were aliens in Egypt: “You know the alien’s soul, because you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Exod 23:9).
23:4. visitor. Meaning: a sojourner, a person who is staying in a place temporarily. With the hendiadys of “an alien and a sojourner,” Abraham emphasizes to the Hittites that he recognizes that he is an outsider in their territory. Even though the deity has already told Abraham that the land of the Hittites will one day belong to his descendants, Abraham deals with them respectfully and courteously.
5And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,
6“Listen to us, my lord. You’re a chieftain of God among us. Bury your dead in the choice of our tombs. Not a man of us will hold back his tomb from you, from burying your dead.”
7And Abraham got up and bowed to the people of the land, to the children of Heth,
8and he spoke with them, saying, “If it’s acceptable to you to bury my dead from in front of me, listen to me, and intercede for me with Ephron, son of Zohar,
9that he’ll give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, that is at the edge of his field. For full price let him give it to me among you as a possession for a tomb.”
10And Ephron was sitting among the children of Heth, and Ephron, the Hittite, answered Abraham in the ears of the children of Heth, for all who were coming to his city’s gate, saying,
11“No, sir. Listen to me: I’ve given the field to you, and I’ve given the cave that’s in it to you. I’ve given it to you before the eyes of the children of my people. Bury your dead.”
23:11. I’ve given the field to you. But he has not given it to him. They are bargaining, and Ephron follows the practice of adopting an extraordinarily gracious opening position. But one is not supposed to take him up on it, and Abraham in fact does not. This in turn sheds light on the extraordinary offer that Lot makes, to give his daughters to the people of Sodom for abuse (see the comment on Gen 19:8).
12And Abraham bowed in front of the people of the land,
13and he spoke to Ephron in the ears of the people of the land, saying, “Just if you’ll listen to me: I’ve given the money for the field. Take it from me so I may bury my dead there.”
14And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,
15“Sir, listen to me. Land worth four hundred shekels of silver: what’s that between me and you?! And bury your dead.”
23:15. four hundred shekels of silver: what’s that between me and you?! He says it as if this were a paltry sum. But it is in fact a great deal.
16And Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the money that he had spoken in the ears of the children of Heth: four hundred shekels of silver, at the merchant’s current rate.
17And Ephron’s field that was in Machpelah, which faces Mamre, the field and the cave that was in it and every tree that was in the field, that was in all of its border all around, was established
18for Abraham as a purchase in the eyes of the children of Heth, among all who were coming to his city’s gate.
19And after that Abraham buried Sarah, his wife, at the cave of the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre—it is Hebron—in the land of Canaan.
23:19. it is Hebron. Why does the story of Sarah’s death and burial begin and end with a notice that it is at Hebron (23:2,19)? Because Abraham’s purchase of this land establishes unquestionable title to property at Hebron, and this is a basis of Israel’s return to the land after the years of slavery in Egypt. Thus, when Moses sends spies into the land, they go to Hebron, which is singled out among all cities of Canaan with a verse of description (Num 13:22).
20And the field and the cave that was in it were established for Abraham as a possession for a tomb from the children of Heth.
