1The age and death of Sarah. 3The purchase of Machpelah, 19where Sarah was buried.
1AND Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.
2And Sarah died in 1Kirjath-arba; the same is 2Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham 3came to mourn for Sarah, and 4to weep for her.
1 Other, in the city of Arba. Some do hold, it had this name from a giant so called, the builder thereof. See Joshua 14:15; 15:13.
2 A city, afterwards allotted to the tribe of Judah, located not far from the field of oaks of Mamre, where Abraham had lived a long time. See further, Gen. 13 on verse 18.
3 Namely, into the tent of his wife. See Gen. 18:6, 9.
4 This was an ancient custom amongst the godly to manifest their grief and sorrow, in general, for the miserable condition of mankind, and in particular, for the temporal loss of their friends or any eminent persons. See hereof Gen. 50:3; Deut. 34:8; 1 Sam. 25:1; 2 Sam. 3:22; Acts 9:39, etc., which custom was superstitiously afterwards imitated by unbelievers. See Mark 5:38, 39, etc.
3¶And Abraham stood 5up from before his dead, and spake unto the 6sons of Heth, saying,
5 As a believing patriarch, moderating his grief and mourning over Sarah, and going about now to provide her an honorable interment in a strange country.
6 Other, children, as also verses 5, 7, 10, 11, 16, 18, 20. That is, to the governors or principal men of the Hittites, who were Canaanites, of the race of Heth, the grandchild of Ham. See Gen. 10:15.
4I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: givea me a possession of a buryingplace with you, 7that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
a Acts 7:5.
7 The burial of dead bodies has been a very ancient custom among people, as appears by this and the next verse; nature itself teaching that the one part of the reasonable creature, man ought not to be thrown away to be dishonored or mutilated by any other, and religion exhorts us to lay up and to confine the same against the day of the resurrection from the dead. See Gen. 50:5, 6; Num. 33:4; Deut. 21:23; Job 5:26.
5And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,
6Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty 8prince among us: in the 9choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.
8 That is, with whom God is, as Gen. 21:22, or, a prince of God, that is, an excellent or very eminent lord and prince. See Gen. 13 on verse 10.
9 That is, in the best and choicest graves we have. Compare Jer. 22:7.
7And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.
8And he communed with them, saying, 10If 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 11Zohar,
10 Hebr. is it with your soul? or, if it be with your soul. The word soul does oftentimes signify mind, desire, delight, as Deut. 21:14; 1 Kings 19:3; 2 Kings 9:15; Psalm 27:12; 41:2; 105:22.
11 Hebr. Tsochar, an Hittite, who is to be distinguished from another Zohar, who was the son of Simeon, Gen. 46:10.
9That he may give me the cave of 12Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for 13as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.
12 The proper name of this field, as appears in verses 17 and 19.
13 In regard of the price of the field, and the weight of the money.
10And Ephron 14dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that 15went in 16at the gate of his city, saying,
14 Or, sat. He was not only a citizen and native of the Hittites, but one of the principal men among them, sitting in the assembly before which Abraham had presented himself. Thus the verb to sit is taken for the state or place of the public counselors or governors of a people, as Psalm 119:23.
15 Either where he was born, as Luke 2:3, 4, or, where he lived, as Gen. 24:10; Mat. 9:1.
16 That is, who were citizens or inhabitants of the city. Also verse 18. Compare Gen. 34:24.
11Nay, 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.
12And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.
13And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if 17thou wilt give it, 18I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.
17 Other, but, or, indeed, if thou be it, etc. Namely, the man of whom I speak, to wit, Ephron. It seems that Abraham knew him by name, though not by face, and that Abraham did not know that Ephron was sitting there.
18 Hebr. I have given, that is, I am ready to give it, and lay it down.
14And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,
15My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred 19shekels of silver;b what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
19Shekel was a certain kind of coin, having the name from weighing, and it was twofold: the common, weighing about as much as the fourth part of a rix-dollar, and the holy one, of double the value. See Gen. 20:16, where mention was made of the silver (being of the one price). The sum here then amounts to a matter of an hundred rix-dollars and somewhat better, the speech being here of the common or civil shekel.
b weight, standard: about 0.44 ounce or 12.4 grams*
16And Abrahamc hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham 20weighed 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.
c Gen. 50:13.
20 Of old it was the custom to weigh the money one to another in payments, buying and selling, as now the use is to count it out one to another.
17¶Andd the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were 21made sure
d Acts 7:16.
21 Hebr. stood, or, stood up, that is, it became and it remained to Abraham. As also verse 20.
18Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in 22at the gate of his city.
22 See on verse 10.
19And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah 23before Mamre: the same is 24Hebron 25in the land of Canaan.
23 Hebr. against the face of Mamre.
24 See on verse 2.
25 Which indeed was given of God to Abraham and his seed to possess hereditarily the same in due time; but he, having been hitherto and still continuing a stranger in it, therefore (like to other faithful patriarchs) desires to be buried in it, unto a sign and testimony that they believed the promise of God, touching the possession of this land, which was a pledge unto them of the heavenly Canaan.
20And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.