Sarah died when she was 120 years old. However, the Bible celebrates her life before mentioning her death.
(Genesis
23:1) Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of
Sarah.
Sarah
died having lived a full life, after she enjoyed her son Isaac for 37 years. She
died in Hebron
(Genesis
23:2) And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron )
in the land of Canaan
BURIAL PLACE
Being
a foreigner, Abraham did not own any land as his property. They lived a life of
wandering. However, when Sarah died, Abraham looked for a place to bury her.
The problem was that he could not do it legally.
As
a foreigner, Abraham did not have the legal right to purchase land in Canaan . Knowing this, he decided to make an appeal before
the Hebron
(Genesis
23:3-4) And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the
Hittites, (4) "I am a sojourner and foreigner among
you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead
out of my sight."
Abraham
had been living in the region for many years. He had gained the respect of the
locals. That is why they responded in a positive way…
(Genesis
23:5-6) The Hittites answered Abraham, (6)
"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."
They
offered him what seemed to be a generous offer, but Abraham did not want to
bury Sarah in someone else’s grave. He wanted a private one, one that belonged
to his own family. That is why he made the following offer:
(Genesis
23:7-9) Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the
land. (8) And he said to them, "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, (9) 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."
Abraham
was a man of vision. He was not only thinking about a place to bury Sarah and
provide for an immediate need. He was also thinking about him and his children.
Besides, Abraham was not asking to be given anything for free; he was willing
to pay a fair price for the land. He was doing everything that was possible to
purchase a piece of land that would become his first property in the Promised
Land.
NEGOTIATING WITH EPHRON
The
piece of land Abraham was requesting belonged to Ephron, one of the leaders of
their people. He was there in the assembly at the city gate, and this is how he
responded:
(Genesis
23:10-11) Now
Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham
in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his
city, (11) "No, my lord, hear me: I give you the
field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my
people I give it to you. Bury your dead."
Ephron’s
offer was generous: he offered Abraham that piece of land without having to pay
for it.
The
interesting part is that Abraham did not accept his offer…
(Genesis
23:12-13) Then
Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. (13)
And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land,
"But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from
me, that I may bury my dead there."
What
was the reason 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.
Abraham
was wise and did not accept an obliging present. He was willing to pay a fair
price for it.
Ephron
seemed to be a generous man, but his true intention surfaced further into the
negotiation. Finally, Ephron agrees to sell the cave but he charges a very high
price for it.
(Genesis
23:14-15) Ephron
answered Abraham, (15) "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
accepted the offer and paid for the land four hundred shekels of silver, which
was very expensive. At that time a laborer earned approximately 8 to 10 shekels
per year. Therefore, Abraham paid the equivalent of a man’s salary for about 40
years of work.
(Genesis
23:16-18)
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. (17)
So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the
field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field,
throughout its whole area, was made over
(18) to Abraham as a possession
in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his
city.
Having
purchased the land, Abraham was finally able to bury Sarah.
(Genesis
23:19-20) 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
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.
 |
| Patriarch's Tomb (today) |
HEBRON
*
After Abraham returned from Egypt ,
Hebron
(Genesis 13:18) So
Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron
*
All three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, lived there at some point in
their lives.
(Genesis 35:27) And
Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron
*
All three patriarchs were buried in Hebron
*
This was the first piece of land in the Promised Land that legally belonged to Abraham
and his descendants.
* Hebron
(Joshua
14:13-15) Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron Hebron
became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day,
because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel Hebron
* Hebron was one of the cities chosen to be a “Levite City ” and as a “City of Refuge
(1 Chronicles
6:54-56) These are their dwelling places according to their
settlements within their borders: to the sons of Aaron of the clans of
Kohathites, for theirs was the first lot,
(55) to them they gave Hebron in
the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands, (56)
but the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son
of Jephunneh.
* Hebron
(2
Samuel 2:11) And
the time that David was king in Hebron over the
house of Judah
After
seven years of ruling from Hebron David moved the capital of the kingdom to Jerusalem
(2
Samuel 5:4-5) David
was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. (5) At
Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel
and Judah
Today:
* During
the Six Day War, Israel gained
control of Hebron Israel ’s defense forces are present only to
protect the Jewish district in Hebron
BOUGHT
AND PAID IN FULL
A
Hebrew text from the III Century reads (Rabbi Yudan, Bereshit Rabba79):
“Three
places, although part of God's promise to the Jewish people, were bought for
money. Why? Because one day the nations are going accuse you of stealing their
land. These three places are destined to be contentious between the Jews and
other nations. But we will answer that we bought them and paid in full".
The
three cities mentioned here are: Hebron , Jerusalem and Joseph’s tomb in Shechem (Nablus
Comments
Post a Comment