Burying Sarah - Genesis 23

23:1-20 - The timeline we have is that Abraham is older than Sarah, but they are both very elderly, and it gets to a point where no matter who is older, longevity can’t be quantified. Even though he is older, it is Sarah who dies first, when she “was an hundred and seven and twenty years old.” The tradition is that Sarah was so distraught over the ordeal with Isaac being sacrificed that the stress killed her. The place that they were living at the time that she died was Hebron, and I don’t know why there is a whole chapter about this, but Abraham wants to bury her in Hebron where they were staying. I’ve listened to a lot of discourses on this chapter and why it’s important, and there are some interesting points made about why there is so much documentation about thus purchase of land. The first point made was that we have to remember that even though Abraham has been promised his own land, a very special one at that, he still hasn’t received it. Wherever he’s lived he’s been a stranger there, he doesn’t have a home of his own, which can be disheartening to a lot of people, it also leaves it open to see in later generations that this was the first land that Abraham owned ever, therefore it is important. Because he doesn’t own any land, he has to go to “the sons of Heth” and ask to buy “a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” Now this is a very delicate dance because anciently, and probably even now, selling away a piece of land to a foreigner would be disgraceful, and giving it away to them would be unforgiveable. So the person involved in this land deal would have already have people questioning him, and there could be disputes over ownership for generations to come, so it had to be handled very carefully. But maybe because the Lord softened their hearts, they recognized that Abraham was “a mighty prince” which the TG interprets to mean “a prince of God,” and agree to sell him some of their land so that he could bury Sarah. Maybe that’s why Sarah had to die first, because if Abraham had died first, they wouldn’t have done business with a woman, nor anyone not specifically Abraham. Anyway, they recognized Abraham as being close to God so agreed that he could have “the cave of Machpelah, “which is in the end of his field.” Abraham offered to buy the land from them “for as much money as it is worth.” The negotiator responded with “the field I give thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee.” Very generous to offer to just give the land to Abraham, maybe it’s because he knows that it will be disputed later and they will get the land back, or maybe he is really just a nice guy who is being incredibly generous. Abraham knows better though, and wants to have this land forever, so he counters with “I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field.” Now why doesn’t Abraham just say “I’ll pay you $xxx” whatever it is worth? Because in later generations the people of Heth will go back and say that Abraham offered them a lower price than what the land was worth, therefore he dealt with them unjustly and there would have had to be a fight for the land to change hands. It was the negotiator who had to set the price, which he did when he answered Abraham “the land if worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee?” Basically he’s giving a vastly bloated price for the land without saying “if you really want the land you’ll pay an extorted price.” Abraham picks up what he’s putting down and counts out 400 shekels of silver, and the deal is done. Apparently this place ends up being important for many reasons, one of which is because it ends up being the burial place for Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah.