Genesis 23 Study Notes

23:1-2 Indicative of Sarah’s importance is the fact that she is the only woman in the Bible whose age at the time of her death is reported. Kiriath-arba (“City of Four”) was the name for the city later known as Hebron.

23:3-6 When a family member died in Abraham’s culture, the survivors were obliged to preserve the deceased’s bones, ideally in a cave where all other family members could later have their remains preserved. Though God had promised this land to Abraham, and Abraham had lived there over sixty years, he still owned no land in Canaan, so he had to obtain burial property from the Hethites to bury Sarah (on Hethites, see note at 15:18-21). Like the Philistines earlier (21:22), the Hethites recognized that Abraham was a prince of God among them. Perhaps in order to guarantee the favor of Abraham’s God, they offered Abraham the right to use the region’s finest burial place.

23:7-11 In the market square at the gate of Kiriath-arba, Abraham showed his respect for the Hethites, placing his head at the level of their feet. The patriarch was wealthy and highly respected, but he played the role of one who was unworthy to speak to the landowner whose property he desired. Accordingly, he asked the Hethites to ask Ephron on his behalf for the right to purchase the cave of Machpelah. Though Abraham was a skilled bargainer (18:23-32), he offered to pay the full price for the property. This gesture signaled respect for the Hethites and the desire to avoid undignified haggling. Matching Abraham’s decorum, Ephron the Hethite spoke directly to Abraham and offered to give him not only the cave, but also the field.

23:12-18 With both parties in agreement, Abraham bowed again respectfully and repeated his willingness to pay the full price of the field—even though he did not yet know how much that would be. Four hundred shekels of silver—perhaps the price of eight healthy adult male slaves (Lv 27:3)—may or may not have been a reasonable valuation. Either way, Abraham agreed to the price. The amount represented a weight that in Moses’s time equaled ten pounds; we do not know how much it was at the Hethites’ commercial rate. The piece of land was particularly valuable because it contained both a cave and trees.

23:19-20 Following the successful negotiations, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave . . . at Machpelah. Others who would be buried there included Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob (49:31; 50:13).