Chapter Twenty-Three

The death of Sarah

Genesis 23:1. Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah; As the wife of Abraham and the mother of all believers (Isa 51:2; 1 Pet 3:6), Sarah is the only one among Old Testament women whose years are recorded in Sacred Scripture.

Genesis 23:2. And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba, [which is in the valley,] now called Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Resolving some confusion as to why Sarah died in Hebron rather than in Beersheba, where Abraham lived and from which he came to mourn her, Metropolitan Philaret thinks that Abraham, toward the end of his life, had two places of residence, in which he alternately lived with his flocks: in one of these residences, namely in ancient Kirjath-arba, distinguished by better climatic conditions, lived the aged Sarah in peace, while Abraham himself was more often in another place where his main herds were concentrated — that is, in Beersheba. Regarding the name of the city of Hebron itself, see above the note to verse 18 of chapter 13. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. That is, he spent a certain length of time fulfilling the burial customs of his country, which serve as a natural expression of sorrow over loss, and at the same time as a tribute of gratitude and respect to the deceased (Gen 27:41; 1 Sam 13:29-30; Jer 16:5; Eccl 7:2 and others).

The purchase of the cave of Machpelah, the place of Sarah’s burial

Genesis 23:3. And Abraham rose up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, and said: These are evidently the very Hittites of whom, as descendants of Ham and Canaan, it was spoken above (Gen 10:15). Therefore, in the subsequent context, “the daughters of Heth” are not distinguished from “the daughters of Canaan” (Gen 27:46). At present, scholars have discovered traces of a rich and developed Hittite culture, created by a people who inhabited ancient Syria and Palestine and established here a vast and powerful kingdom with many provinces and colonies, one of which was probably Hebron.

Genesis 23:4. I am a sojourner and resident with you; Abraham, to whom God himself repeatedly gave promises to possess all Palestine, humbly calls himself a sojourner and resident in a foreign land. He believes that God’s promises will be fulfilled in time and shows no impatience concerning their slow fulfillment. Truly a touching combination of strong faith with deep humility. Give me property as a burial place among you, so that I may bury my dead out of my sight. “The acquisition of a burial place in Palestine was an important act in the life of the patriarchs because it tangibly reminded the future people of Israel that Palestine is the promised land, that there the Almighty granted a portion to His people. That is why both Jacob (Gen 49:29) and Joseph (Gen 50:25) commanded that their bodies be carried there, to the land of blessing” (Vlastov).

Genesis 23:6. Listen to me, my lord; you are a great prince among us; bury your dead in the finest of our burial places; The Hebrew word “Elohim,” translated here in the sense of reference to God, actually should more correctly be translated as an adjective: “mighty, powerful,” and then the entire phrase would take on the proper meaning and would be fully understandable in the mouth of the pagan Hittites: “you are the mightiest prince among us.” Such an address, as well as the whole subsequent proposal of the Hittites about the free provision of the finest burial plot, testifies to their great respect for Abraham.

Genesis 23:8–9. And Abraham said to them and said: If it is your will that I bury my dead, listen to me, and ask Ephron the son of Zohar for me, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he has at the end of his field, that for the full price he may give it to me in your presence for a burial possession. The Slavic text seemingly gives a translation of the Hebrew proper name, saying: “and let him give me the double cave” (Machpelah). Valuing the burial place as an inalienable possession, Abraham refuses to accept it as a gift, but desires to acquire it for money — that is, by a more certain and permanent way — after which the right of ownership of Abraham becomes clear and undisputed to all.

Genesis 23:10–16. And Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth, all those entering the gate of his city, and said: No, my lord, listen to me: I give you the field and the cave in it; I give it to you in the presence of my people — I give it to you; bury your dead. Abraham bowed before the people of the land and said to Ephron in the hearing of [all] the people of the land and said: But if you will listen to me, I will give you the price of the field; accept it from me, and I will bury my dead there. And Ephron answered Abraham and said to him: My lord, listen to me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that between me and you? Bury your dead. The entire biblical scene depicted in these verses is full of artistic truth. Even now in the East the free sons of the desert conduct their barter trade and various commercial transactions without any papers and conditions, but on honest word and in the presence of living witnesses. That is why the contract concluded by Abraham with the Hittites concerning the purchase of Machpelah was never violated by anyone, despite the long absence of the Hebrews from Palestine during the two-century Egyptian slavery. And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, the current money of merchants. In the opinion of most learned archaeologists, the coining of money among the Hebrews began only after the Babylonian captivity; but there is no doubt that trade existed among them on a considerable scale, and moreover not only barter, but also buying and selling. The role of money here was played by pieces or rings of gold or silver of a certain weight, by which payment was made. It is certain that pieces of the same type were the four hundred shekels for which Abraham made his purchase. If we assume that the value of the shekels remained stable throughout this time, it would come out that Abraham paid for his purchase about 300 rubles.

Genesis 23:17–18. So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, facing Mamre, the field and the cave in it and all the trees in the field, throughout all its boundaries round about, became the possession of Abraham in the sight of the sons of Heth, all who entered the gate of his city. It is evident from this that Abraham’s possession was not the cave alone, but also the field with trees, so that it may be supposed that a part of the grove of Mamre passed to him.