6 `Hear us, my lord; a prince of God `art' thou in our midst; in the choice of our burying-places bury thy dead: none of us his burying-place doth withhold from thee, from burying thy dead.'
and Jehovah hath blessed my lord exceedingly, and he is great; and He giveth to him flock, and herd, and silver, and gold, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and camels, and asses;
And Abram heareth that his brother hath been taken captive, and he draweth out his trained domestics, three hundred and eighteen, and pursueth unto Dan.
and Abraham and Sarah `are' aged, entering into days -- the way of women hath ceased to be to Sarah;
And it cometh to pass at that time that Abimelech speaketh -- Phichol also, head of his host -- unto Abraham, saying, `God `is' with thee in all that thou art doing;
and she saith unto her father, `Let it not be displeasing in the eyes of my lord that I am not able to rise at thy presence, for the way of women `is' on me;' and he searcheth, and hath not found the teraphim.
and commandeth them, saying, `Thus do ye say to my lord, to Esau: Thus said thy servant Jacob, With Laban I have sojourned, and I tarry until now; and I have ox, and ass, flock, and man-servant, and maid-servant, and I send to declare to my lord, to find grace in his eyes.'
And they say unto him, `No, my lord, but thy servants have come to buy food;
Is not this that with which my lord drinketh? and he observeth diligently with it; ye have done evil `in' that which ye have done.'
and Aaron saith, `Let not the anger of my lord burn; thou -- thou hast known the people that it `is' in evil;
And she saith, `Let me find grace in thine eyes, my lord, because thou hast comforted me, and because thou hast spoken unto the heart of thy maid-servant, and I -- I am not as one of thy maid-servants.'
Thus said Jehovah, `The labour of Egypt, And the merchandise of Cush, And of the Sebaim -- men of measure, Unto thee pass over, and thine they are, After thee they go, in fetters they pass over, And unto thee they bow themselves, Unto thee they pray: Only in thee `is' God, And there is none else, no `other' God.
See ye what love the Father hath given to us, that children of God we may be called; because of this the world doth not know us, because it did not know Him; beloved, now, children of God are we, and it was not yet manifested what we shall be, and we have known that if he may be manifested, like him we shall be, because we shall see him as he is;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 23
Commentary on Genesis 23 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 23
Ge 23:1, 2. Age and Death of Sarah.
1. Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old, &c.—Sarah is the only woman in Scripture whose age, death, and burial are mentioned, probably to do honor to the venerable mother of the Hebrew people.
2. Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, &c.—He came from his own tent to take his station at the door of Sarah's. The "mourning" describes his conformity to the customary usage of sitting on the ground for a time; while the "weeping" indicates the natural outburst of his sorrow.
Ge 23:3-20. Purchase of a Burying-Place.
3. Abraham stood up, &c.—Eastern people are always provided with family burying-places; but Abraham's life of faith—his pilgrim state—had prevented him acquiring even so small a possession (Ac 7:5).
spake unto the sons of Heth—He bespoke their kind offices to aid him in obtaining possession of a cave that belonged to Ephron—a wealthy neighbor.
9. Machpelah—the "double cave."
10. Ephron dwelt—literally, was "sitting" among the children of Heth in the gate of the city where all business was transacted. But, though a chief man among them, he was probably unknown to Abraham.
11-15. Ephron answered, Nay, my lord, &c.—Here is a great show of generosity, but it was only a show; for while Abraham wanted only the cave, he joins "the field and the cave"; and though he offered them both as free gifts, he, of course, expected some costly presents in return, without which, he would not have been satisfied. The patriarch, knowing this, wished to make a purchase and asked the terms.
15. the land is worth four hundred shekels, &c.—as if Ephron had said, "Since you wish to know the value of the property, it is so and so; but that is a trifle, which you may pay or not as it suits you." They spoke in the common forms of Arab civility, and this indifference was mere affectation.
16. Abraham weighed … the silver—The money, amounting to £50 was paid in presence of the assembled witnesses; and it was weighed. The practice of weighing money, which is often in lumps or rings, each stamped with their weight, is still common in many parts of the East; and every merchant at the gates or the bazaar has his scales at his girdle.
19. Abraham buried Sarah—Thus he got possession of Machpelah and deposited the remains of his lamented partner in a family vault which was the only spot of ground he owned.