Genesis 23

The Death of Sarah
Or
Abraham is Either a Great Negotiator,
A Very Respected Man, Or Both


Hello there folks. How are you doing? I hope you’re doing well.

If you’re not busy, I’d like to invite you to take a look through Chapter 23.

Yes, I’m talking to you, so stop reading this now and go read the chapter.

This is not a discussion. Go now.

You’re reading – Very Good.

Keep going. That’s it. You can do it.

So, since you’ve now finished perusing and soaking up the story recounted in those 20 verses, does it seem to you that the Hittites like Abraham?

It does?


I thought it would. That was my first impression as well. And it immediately begged the questions, “Who are these Hittites and why do they like him so much?” Until this chapter, there aren’t any references to Abraham talking to or having interactions with the Hittites, yet it appears that Abraham is quite a revered and honored person amongst their people, enough that they are willing to give up some of their best property for free. A cursory reading of this passage would suggest that Abraham has to finagle them into taking the money from him so that it won’t look like he took the land from them, alleviating any future pressure or misunderstanding about his family’s cemetery for years to come. Thus, if you’re anything like me, you’re quite curious as to how this specific story comes to arrive in the general flow of the book of Genesis. The author of Genesis has never failed to amaze me and neither has the story of Abraham, Sarah, and their descendents.

“He who possesses these three traits is one of the disciples of our father Abraham: a generous eye, a meek spirit, and a humble soul. How do we know that Abraham possessed a meek spirit? While the children of Heth call him a prince, he refers to himself by saying: ‘I am a resident alien among you’ [Gen. 23:4]. It further says: ‘Abraham bowed low before the people of the land’ [Gen. 23:12]. The Hebrew literally says ‘before the am ha-aretz,’ which later came to mean ‘the common people.’ To do what Abraham did is the sign of the great man.” (Plaut, p159)

To begin, the point being made in this portion of midrashic commentary is that Abraham was honored and respected by the Hittites. The burgeoning Jewish people were foreigners on Hittite soil, and thusly, had no claim to any land, any property, or any legal rights. Abraham needed a place to bury his deceased wife and had to purchase property to do so, something that was quite difficult to achieve in many ancient cultures. (Walton, Matthews, & Chavalas, p54) While the bulk of the conversation is representative of a typical Near Eastern economic transaction (i.e. haggling), the fact that Abraham, as an outsider, is allowed to make such a request to purchase land is quite notable. (Berlin & Brettler, pp 47)

“Perhaps the narrative reflects no more than a specific commercial transaction. Nowhere is there any mention of God. The narrative gives no hint of any theological intention. It may best be left at that. In any case, beyond the actual securing of the grave, one may note the almost humorous style of negotiations, governed by the verb ‘give’ (vv. 4, 9, 11, 12) which is only a euphemism for buying and selling. If there is one thing neither party intends to do, it is to ‘give’ anything away. This tone is culminated by the speech of Ephron (v. 15). He finally, reluctantly, names an amount, probably a high amount and in effect says, ‘What is 400 shekels among friends?’ The answer is, ‘A lot.’ But that is the basis of the settlement. (The maneuvering for a suitable settlement is reminiscent of intense bargaining between Abraham and God in 18.23-33). (Brueggemann, p195)

Therefore, even with all of the consideration and respect that the Hittites afford Abraham, it seems that the Patriarch still must pay a premium for the land on which he will bury his wife Sarah. And as a good, dutiful, loving husband, he is willing to do everything in his power to honor her memory. Consider all that Sarah experienced as the wife of Abraham: 1) She followed him to Haran, then across the desert to Canaan; 2) she was declared barren when we are first introduced to her, yet God chose her to bear the child of promise that would begin the Jewish nation, a promise that she often laughed at and didn’t believe; 3) she suggested that her handmaiden Hagar become Abraham’s concubine, yet when she realized how she had set domestic disputes into motion, she cast her out of her house twice; 4) she had her life put into jeopardy twice by her husband concerning her beauty; and 5) bore the child of promise at the not-so-young age of 90, only to have God ask her husband to sacrifice Isaac as some sort of test. (Plaut, p158) Abraham wants to commemorate his wife and their life together by securing her a proper burial place and not just some random place in the desert near where their tents had been pitched. Such a strong, beautiful, flawed, yet virtuous woman deserved nothing less.

Abraham’s status as a loving husband notwithstanding, the Hittite Ephrom openly, yet acting fully within cultural norms, exploits Abraham’s willingness to pay a premium price to obtain a burial place for his beloved wife. Robert Alter, in his translation and commentary Genesis, notes that, from the outset the conversation between Abraham and Ephron is quite typical of land purchasing agreements in the ancient Near East. (p110) Thus, Abraham is not manipulated by Ephron into paying an exorbitant price; he is more than willing to engage in these negotiations with the landowner because he knows that any purchase he makes for his family must be beyond reproach and be indisputable in the eyes of the people in whose land he resides as a foreigner. (Alter, p110) Furthermore, some theorize that Abraham could be looking to buy whatever small piece of land is available as a symbolic representation of his family’s beginning to possessing the land that God had been promising him and his progeny for 67 years. (Brueggemann, p 196) But no matter how noble Abraham’s reasons were, Ephrom is attempting to secure from Abraham whatever Abraham is willing to pay.

“‘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.’ Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants. … After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.” (Genesis 23:15-16, 19-20, ESV)

Abraham and Ephron pull no punches with each other during the course of the negotiations. Ephron seems to know or intuit just how badly Abraham needed to purchase the land he so desired. Abraham keeps offering the same amount over and over again, in full realization that his bid was quite inflated and well above the market rate. (Berlin & Brettler, p 48) These are two quality, competent, and well-informed negotiators who are both were aware of where the other stands in relation to Canaan’s cultural milieu – Abraham, as the resident alien, needs to purchase the land outright and not be beholden to the native Hittite inhabitants, while Ephron, knowing that Abraham desires the independence inherent in land ownership and will gladly pay nearly any price to get the land, tests the strength and determination of Abraham’s bartering tactics, hoping to extract the maximum amount of silver from this respected outsider.

What’s that you’re saying?

You don’t know what this story is really about? And you’re wondering just what’s going on here with Abraham, his deceased wife’s body, this Hittite named Ephron, and a cave on some land?

Don’t worry. I had the exact same questions and concerns. So here’s what I feel the writer of this book was attempting to convey through this story.

Throughout this story, Abraham’s determination shines through every issue and every discussion. To some, this whole chapter simply delineates a cultural quirk of the ancient Near East – Abraham didn’t belong officially, so he had to jump through several hoops, including (possibly) paying more for the land than what it was worth, in order to purchase a bit of land on which to bury his wife. But if you look through that story, and not past it in an attempt to dismiss its content, you will view a man who is in love with his wife and will do anything within his power to display his love, respect, and affection for her. Some commentators have reflected upon the curiosity present in Abraham’s having to purchase land from others that God had already promised to him. (Berlin & Brettler, p47 & Brueggemann, p196) Still others muse upon the possibility that Abraham was simply trying to act appropriately as a foreigner in his attempt to purchase land for the family cemetery. (Alter, p110) However, while not debating the veracity and depth of those passages of commentary, what exudes out of Abraham, in my opinion, is the love of a husband for his wife – all other observations are simply trying to make the issues more complex and more worthy of quirky and esoteric conjecture.

“Perhaps the narrative should be left in this restrained way, as an actual report of a transaction without more meaning intended.” (Brueggemann, p195-196)

Yes, Walter, I think that I agree with that statement.