Genesis 24:4 | 59
23:4 a Ge 17:8 ; 1Ch 29:15 ; Ps 105:12 ;
Heb 11:9 , 13
23:6 b Ge 14:14-16 ; 24:35
23:8 c Ge 25:9
23:10 d Ge 34:20-24 ; Ru 4:4
23:11 e 2Sa 24:23 23:15 f Eze 45:12
23:16 g Jer 32:9 ; Zec 11:12
23:17 h Ge 25:9 ; 49:30-32 ; 50:13 ;
Ac 7:16
23:20 i Jer 32:10 24:1 j ver 35
24:2 k Ge 39:4-6 l ver 9 ; Ge 47:29
24:3 m Ge 14:19 n Ge 28:1 ; Dt 7:3
o Ge 10:15‐19
24:4 p Ge 12:1 ; 28:2
3 Then Abra ham rose from be side his dead wife and spoke to the Hit tites . a He said , 4 “ I am a for eigner and stranger a among you . Sell me some prop erty for a burial site here so I can bury my dead .”
5 The Hit tites re plied to Abra ham , 6 “ Sir , lis ten to us . You are a mighty prince b among us . Bury your dead in the choic est of our tombs . None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead .”
7 Then Abra ham rose and bowed down be fore the peo ple of the land , the Hit tites . 8 He said to them , “ If you are will ing to let me bury my dead , then lis ten to me and in ter cede with Ephron son of Zo har c on my be half 9 so he will sell me the cave of Mach pe lah , which be longs to him and is at the end of his field . Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you .”
10 Ephron the Hit tite was sit ting among his peo ple and he re plied to Abra ham in the hear ing of all the Hit tites who had come to the gate d of his city . 11 “ No , my lord ,” he said . “ Lis ten to me ; I give b e you the field , and I give b you the cave that is in it . I give b it to you in the pres ence of my peo ple . Bury your dead .”
12 Again Abra ham bowed down be fore the peo ple of the land 13 and he said to Ephron in their hear ing , “ Lis ten to me , if you will . I will pay the price of the field . Ac cept it from me so I can bury my dead there .”
14 Ephron answered Abraham , 15 “ Lis ten to me , my lord ; the land is worth four hun dred shekels c of sil ver , f but what is that be tween you and me ? Bury your dead .”
16 Abra ham agreed to Ephron ’ s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hear ing of the Hit tites : four hun dred shek els of sil ver , g ac cord ing to the weight current among the merchants .
17 So Ephron ’ s field in Mach pe lah near Mamre h — both the field and the cave in it , and all the trees within the bor ders of the field — was deeded 18 to Abra ham as his prop erty in the pres ence of all the Hit tites who had come to the gate of the city . 19 Afterward Abraham bur ied his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Mach pe lah near Mamre ( which is at Hebron ) in the land of Ca naan . 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded i to Abra ham by the Hit tites as a burial site .
Abraham ’ s link with Hebron is first mentioned in 13:18 . 23:3 Hittites . Here the term designates the inhabitants of Kiriath Arba ( see NIV text note ). This name appears to have been used of different people groups , the best known being the Hittites of Anatolia and Syria . It seems unlikely that the Hittites of Hebron are closely related to those of Anatolia and Syria . 23:4 a foreigner and stranger among you . Abraham recognizes that he has no legitimate claim to any land in Canaan . For 62 years he has adopted a seminomadic lifestyle , refusing to settle in any of the towns of Canaan . He now looks to make a permanent claim to some land by buying property close to Hebron . Heb 11:9 – 10 attributes Abraham ’ s wandering lifestyle to his theological beliefs : “ He was looking forward to the city with foundations , whose architect and builder is God ” ( v . 10 ). 23:6 Although Abraham plays down his status ( v . 4 ), the Hittites view him as someone of standing , and they generously offer to let him bury Sarah in one of their own tombs . mighty prince . Or “ prince of God ”; the title is highly fitting in the light of the unique royal lineage that will come from Abraham ( 17:6 ; Matt 1:1 – 17 ).
Isaac and Rebekah
24 Abra ham was now very old , and the Lord had blessed him in ev ery way . j 2 He said
to the sen ior ser vant in his house hold , the one in charge of all that he had , k “ Put your hand un der my thigh . l 3 I want you to swear by the Lord , the God of heaven and the God of earth , m that you will not get a wife for my son n from the daugh ters of the Ca naanites , o among whom I am liv ing , 4 but will go to my coun try and my own rel a tives p and get a wife for my son Isaac .”
a 3 Or the descendants of Heth ; also in verses 5 , 7 , 10 , 16 , 18 and 20 |
b 11 Or sell |
c 15 That is , about 10 pounds or about |
4.6 kilograms |
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23:7 – 9 Careful not to offend the Hittites in view of their generous offer , Abraham tactfully requests that he be permitted to buy a cave from its owner , Ephron . Abraham seeks permission from the Hittite population as a whole , possibly because selling property to a non-Hittite required communal approval . Without their support , Ephron would not have been able to sell the cave to Abraham . 23:10 gate . It was usual for transactions requiring public approval to take place at the entrance to the settlement ( Ruth 4:1 – 11 ). 23:11 – 15 In spite of Ephron ’ s willingness to give Abraham the cave and the field attached to it , Abraham insists on buying it for its full value . He wants to ensure that they will formally recognize the property as belonging to him and his descendants in perpetuity . 23:15 four hundred shekels of silver . Abraham readily agrees to what appears to be a substantial price ( Jer 32:9 ). Later in Genesis , Joseph as a slave is valued at 20 shekels ( 37:28 ). 23:20 burial site . The cave of Machpelah was the burial site for Abraham ( 25:9 ) and Isaac ( 35:27 – 29 ; 49:29 – 31 ) and Jacob ( 49:29 – 30 ; 50:13 ).
24:1 – 67 Isaac and Rebekah . Reported in exceptional detail , the account of Rebekah becoming Isaac ’ s wife not only underlines how God providentially directs Abraham ’ s servant to her but also portrays Rebekah as following in Abraham ’ s footsteps by leaving her family and country in order to settle permanently in Canaan . 24:1 the Lord had blessed him in every way . This opening statement confirms that God has fulfilled his earlier promise to bless Abraham ( 12:2 ). 24:2 – 8 Genesis usually describes the Canaanites negatively ( 9:25 – 27 ; 13:11 – 13 ); the inhabitants of Sodom ( 13:13 ) and Gomorrah are prime examples ( 18:20 – 32 ). For this reason , Abraham does not want Isaac to be influenced by a Canaanite wife . Too old to undertake the journey himself , he charges his most senior servant with the task of traveling to Abraham ’ s homeland , Harran in northern Mesopotamia . While Abraham refers to this region as “ my country ” ( v . 4 ), he prohibits Isaac from going there . Trusting in God ’ s covenantal guarantee ( 15:18 – 21 ), Abraham is convinced that his future descendants will inhabit the land of Canaan . Moreover , he believes that God will enable his servant to successfully find a wife for Isaac .