Paying the price

Return to Genesis 23. After our  two month diversion into Malachi, we now come back to Genesis and to the times just before the falling-out between Jacob and Esau that initially took us to the book of Malachi.

While reading about the the death of Sarah I noted that this chapter is 20 verses long but only 4 are about Sarah and the rest is about Abraham haggling over the price of the land near Hebron where she was to be buried! I found this slightly insulting and perplexing and I realized I did not really understand the importance of this chapter at all. Consequently, I looked at what others have written on this topic and found some very interesting thoughts in Ana B Contreras' "Divine Seasons" blog which I encourage you to read. The following comments below area based on some of her content in combination with my own thoughts. 

Sarah's death

When Sarah died at 127 years of age while in Hebron (Kirjath Arba), Abraham traveled up from Beersheba (Gen 22:19) to mourn her and then bury her. The problem was that Abraham did not own any land in which to bury her in Canaan because he was a foreigner. 

No legal right

As a foreigner, Abraham did not have the legal right to purchase land (even though God had promised this land to him) and he had to appeal to those in authority in Hebron to allow him to purchase some land in order to bury Sarah (Gen 23:3-4). Fortunately Abraham had gained the respect of those around him and they responded positively declaring: "Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead." (Gen 23:5-6)

Their offer to bury Sarah in the choicest tombs was generous, but Abraham did not want to bury Sarah in someone else’s family grave. He wanted a tomb that would belong to his own family and that is why he asked: "If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar,that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place." (Gen 23:8-9). Abraham may have known of this cave because they had lived in the area many years before (Gen 13:18).

Abraham didn't come expecting he would be given anything for free and he was prepared to pay a fair price for the cave that what as the end of Ephron's field.  Consequently, "Ephron answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites.  '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.'" (Gen 23:10-11).

This was very significant, Ephron was now offering not only the cave but the field, and he had declared his intent to give the land to Abraham in front of witnesses. However what "giving" actually meant was still to be determined.  

Abraham then acknowledged their generosity by bowing down to the "people of the land". To avoid any further confusion, Abraham clearly said to Ephron in the hearing of the people, "But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there."(Gen 23:12-13).  Most likely Abraham would have only wanted the cave but he was maneuvered into a position where he had to buy the complete field and thus effectively giving Ephron the right to set any price he liked.

Nothing is free

Ana states in her blog: "Abraham didn’t accept the field as a gift because he knew that if he did not pay for it, he would have no legal right over it and it could be taken away from him as easily as it was given to him. Besides, Abraham would have been indebted to Ephron and his family for such a generous gift ... Ephron seemed to be a generous man, but his true intention surfaces further into the negotiation when Ephron agrees to sell the cave but he charges a very high price for it. 'Ephron answered Abraham, "My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.' (Gen 23:14-15)." 

It is hard to know just how overpriced the price was but it is worth noting that King Abimelech offered Abraham 1000 shekels restitution when he discovered Sarah was his wife (Gen 20:16). This suggests that 400 shekels was a high price for a plot of land in remote Hebron.

Ephron shows a degree of  insouciance with the comment "what are 400 shekels between you and me?". Ephron was effectively challenging Abraham's desire to honor Sarah at any price. In addition, Ephron would have been very aware of the precedent he was setting by allowing a foreigner to own land. He knew that by suggesting an absurdly high price it might deter Abraham and force him to accept the lesser option of using existing tombs and become beholden to him. Sadly, Ephron also knew that there was some urgency to properly bury Sarah so Abraham would  be prepared to pay anything to complete this important task. 

At this point Abraham simply accepts the price and then weighs out 400 shekels of silver for the land and the deal is done and finally, Abraham was able to bury Sarah.

As a side note, it is interesting that the verses that follow read like a modern property title and clearly state what was purchased by Abraham: "So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all of its borders, were deeded to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city." (Gen 23:17-18).  

So what is the point of this chapter? 

I think the main point of this chapter is to show how Abraham continued living by faith even during one of the most trying times of his life.  Abraham was  prepared to pay the cost of living faithfully. Abraham would have been aware that God had promised this land to him and his descendants but he never expected God to give him a comfortable "free ride". From the the time Abraham left Haran he gave up certainty and comfort in order to trust God to lead and guide his life. We see this trust in action:

• when God asked him to leave his home and extended family in Haran (Gen 12:1),
• when he gave Lot the choicest grazing lands and was left with dry desert (Gen 13),
• when he refused to accept any reward from the King of Sodom after he had recovered all the people and possessions taken by King Chedorlaomer (Gen 14),
• when he had to send his first son Ishmael away because of conflict with Isaac (Gen 21), and
• when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac.

This deep faith is attested to in Hebrews 11: 8-10 where it states that: "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (Heb 11:8-10). 

It does not appear that Abraham was consciously trying to purchase the land in order to start the possession of Canaan but, ironically, this is what happened. To quote Ana's blog:

"It is strange that the Torah should dedicate so much space to the description of the burial site. Its importance comes from the fact that this was the first piece of land that the patriarchs acquired in the Promised Land."

Notes:

Illustration: 

• From the 1728 Figures de la Bible; illustrated by Gerard Hoet (1648-1733) and others. Published by P. de Hondt in The Hague. Image courtesy Bizzell Bible Collection, University of Oklahoma Libraries via Wikimedia.

Other commentary: 

• Why was Abraham so adamant to pay for the land to bury Sarah? (link).
• The Double Cave and the Bible's Art of Dialogue - Meir Sternberg (link).