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Burial of Sarah - Genesis 23:1-20

While it may appear this chapter is simply about a detailed business transaction over a piece of land for a burial, it is much, much more. Abraham insisted on purchasing land at "full price" to insure that he and his inheritance would dwell in the land God promised. This is not a chapter to quickly skim over.

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Burial of Sarah - Genesis 23:1-20

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  1. An expositional study taught by Harry Morgan

  2. For those of you online post your comments or questions in the “comment section” on your screen. As time affords they may be read to the class.

  3. Sarah’s death at Hebron (1–2) Machpelah negotiated for Sarah’s burial (3–16) Abraham requests a burial site (wayyāqom, “rose”) (3–6) Abraham transacts a burial site (wayyāqom, “rose”) (7–16) Machpelah “deeded” over (wayyāqom) (17–18) Sarah’s burial at Hebron (19–20) Mathews, K. A. (2005). Genesis 11:27–50:26 (Vol. 1B, p. 313). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

  4. 1. Why does Genesis 23:1 begin with the conjunction “and”? 1And Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. Genesis 22:19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. Genesis 22:23 And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. “In 22:23 Rebekah is mentioned: one sun rising before the other sets.” Bullinger, E. W. (2018). The Companion Bible: Being the Authorized Version of 1611 with the Structures and Notes, Critical, Explanatory and Suggestive and with 198 Appendixes (Vol. 1, p. 31). Bellingham, WA: Faithlife.

  5. Terah Haran Abraham Sarah Nahor Mikcah Bethuel Isaac Rebekah

  6. 2. How is Sarah significant to Jews? Isaiah 51:1–2 “Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. 2Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him alone and blessed him and increased him.”  She is the 1stof the four matriarchs of the Jewish nation.  She is widely referred to as Sarah Imeinu, “Sarah Our Mother.”

  7. 3. How is Sarah significant to Christians? 1 Peter 3:3–6 Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—4rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. 5For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, 6as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.

  8. 4. How is Sarah significant to Muslims? ةراس (Sāra) • Sarah is the cousin of Abraham rather than sister due to Haran being her father who was a cousin to Terah • Sarah is not mentioned by name in the Qur’an. However, it mentions the annunciation of the birth of Isaac and that Sarah laughed when the angels gave her the glad tidings of Isaac: And his wife was standing (there), and she laughed: But we gave her glad tidings of Isaac, and after him, of Jacob. She said: "Alas for me! shall I bear a child, seeing I am an old woman, and my husband here is an old man? That would indeed be a wonderful thing!" — Qur'an, Sura 11 (Hud), ayat 69-72

  9. 5. How old was Sarah when she died? Why is this significant? 1Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. The only woman whose age is mentioned in the Bible. 127

  10. 6. Where did Sarah die? 2So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. • Kiriath-arba = literally “City of Four” (cf. 35:27; Neh. 11:25) • Named after a hero of the gigantic Anakin, Arba, father of the giants. • Tradition about the “children of Heth. • Caleb later captured the city and renamed it (Josh. 14:14, 15)

  11. 7. Why is this place so important to Abraham? 2So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. • Hebron, David’s 1stroyal city – capital, 19 miles SW of Jerusalem. • Midway between Jerusalem & Beersheba

  12. 8. Why is this place so important to Abraham? 2So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. • Divinely promised to Abraham (12:1; 12:7; 13:14–17; 17:8. • Abraham built altars (12:7, 8; 13:18) • Abraham planted a tree (21:33). • Abraham dug a well (21:25–32)

  13. 9. What is the history of this place, before and after Abraham? Joshua 14:14–15 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. 15And the name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim). Then the land had rest from war. Numbers 13:22 And they went up through the South and came to Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

  14. 10. Why is Zoan mentioned? What is the connection between Zoan and Hebron? Numbers 13:22 And they went up through the South and came to Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

  15. Zoan • “place of departure” • Called Djanet & Raamses “store cities” (Ex. 1:10,11) by the Egyptians, Tanis by the Greeks, and Sân el- Hagar today. • Capital of the Hyksos • God preformed “marvelous things” here (Psalm 78:12,43)

  16. 11. Where had Abraham and Sarah lived for the previous 37 years? Genesis 20:1 And Abraham journeyed from there (Mamre) to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. Genesis 21:32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 33Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.

  17. 12. How did Abraham mourn for Sarah? 2So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. דַפָס (sā·p̄ ǎḏ) = mourn, lament, i.e., be in a state of sorrow, which includes outward expressions such as weeping, sobbing, and flailing, either in spontaneous emotion or in a ritualized form הָכָב (bā·ḵāh) = weep, wail, cry, sob, mourn, i.e., to well- up tears in the eyes and have mild convulsions or spasms of the diaphragm, and often make vocal sounds of soft groaning or loud wailing, as a sign of sorrow and mourning

  18. 12. How did Abraham mourn for Sarah?

  19. 13. What does the phrase “stood up from before his dead” mean? 3Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth… וֹ ֑ תֵמ יֵֵ֣נְּפ (pā·něh mûṯ) = leaning over the face of his dead • Position of the mourner is described as sitting on the ground. Job 2:13 So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great. • “His dead” refers to the corpse of Sarah.

  20. 14. Who were the “sons of Heth”? Heth “terror, dread” • Noah’s great grandson • Genesis 10:15–18 Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth; 16the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; 17 the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; 18the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.

  21. 15. Who were the “sons of Heth”? 3Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth…

  22. 16. What did Abraham request of the sons of Heth? 4“I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

  23. 17. Why is it ironic for Abraham to ask the Hittites for land to buy Sarah? Genesis 12:1–3 Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. 2I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

  24. 18. Contrast how Abraham described himself and how the children of Heth described him. How do both descriptions characterize us as Christians? 4“I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 6“Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.”

  25. 18. Contrast how Abraham described himself and how the children of Heth described him. How do both descriptions characterize us as Christians? 4“I am a foreigner and a visitor” רֵג (gēr) = alien, stranger, foreigner, a person living out of his own country “foreigner” (tô·šāḇ) = temporary resident, sojourner, stranger בָשוֹתּ “visitor”

  26. 18. Contrast how Abraham described himself and how the children of Heth described him. How do both descriptions characterize us as Christians? 6“You are a mighty prince” “mighty” (ʾělō·hîm) = majesty or stateliness םיִהלֱֹא אי ִִׂ֨ שְּנ “prince” (nā·śîʾ) = leader, ruler, chief, prince Who are you? Are you what others think of you? Are you what you think of yourself?

  27. Who am I? They often tell me I would step from my cell's confinement calmly, cheerfully, firmly, like a squire from his country house. Dietrich Bonhoeffer June 1944 Who am I? They often tell me I would talk to my warders freely and friendly and clearly, as though it were mine to command. Who am I? They also tell me I would bear the days of misfortune equably, smilingly, proudly, like one accustomed to win.

  28. Am I then really all that which other men tell of? Or am I only what I know of myself, restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage, struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat, yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds, thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness, trembling with anger at despotisms and petty humiliation, tossing in expectation of great events, powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance, weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making, faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?

  29. Who am I? This or the other? Am I one person today, and tomorrow another? Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others, and before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling? Or is something within me still like a beaten army, fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved? Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine. Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am Thine. [Bonhoeffer, Letters & Papers from Prison, pp. 347-48]

  30. 19. How did they respond to Abraham? 5And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6“Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.” 9 skeletons discovered in a 3,600-year-old Canaanite tomb in Megiddo https://www.ancient-origins.net/news- history-archaeology/

  31. 20. What is a sepulcher? 6“Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.” Latin sepulcrum, a noun derived from the verb sepelire, meaning "to bury." Tomb near Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Western Wall

  32. 21. Why did Abraham reject the Hittites’ gracious offer to use one of their burial chambers for Sarah’s interment? 7Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.” רֶבֶק “burial place” (qě·ḇěr) = to dig. This is the first mention of a grave in Scripture.

  33. 22. What specific plot of land did Abraham want to purchase? 8“…hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field.” הָל ֵפְּכ ַמַה “Machpelah” = double case, which may indicate a double cave, located in the district near Mamre (v. 17).

  34. 23. Where is Machpelah believed to be located today?

  35. 23. Where is Machpelah believed to be located today? 2So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan “There are a large number of traditional sites about Hebron. … At the foot of this hill is the Ager Damascenus, from which was obtained the red earth of which Adam was made” A Dictionary of the Bible, edited by James Hastings, M.A., D.D The red earth from which Adam was created may have have come from Hebron! See Anthony Hilhorst (2007) “Ager Damascenus: Views on the Place of Adam’s Creation” Warszawskie Studia Teologiczne http://digital.fides.org.pl/Content/460/Hilhorst.pdf

  36. 24. What was Abraham referring to when he said, “If it is your wish”? 8And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me...” “wish” (ně·p̄ěš) = soul שֶפֶנ (soma) (psyche)

  37. 25. Why did Abraham speak through “the people of the land” rather than to Ephron, the son of Zohar, directly? 7Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me...” “meet” עַגָפ (pā·ḡǎʿ) = intercede, intervene, plead with

  38. 26. What words or phrases are repeated and essential to the “public filing” of a land contract? 10Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, 11“No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!” 18to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

  39. 26. What words or phrases are repeated and essential to the “public filing” of a land contract? 6“Hear us, my lord…” 8And he (Abraham) spoke with them, 10Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham… 13And he (Abraham) spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying… 14And Ephron answered Abraham, saying… 16And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth

  40. 26. What words or phrases are repeated and essential to the “public filing” of a land contract? 6“Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.” 11“No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!” 15“My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.”

  41. An expositional study taught by Harry Morgan

  42. For those of you online post your comments or questions in the “comment section” on your screen. As time affords they may be read to the class.

  43. 27. Who is Ephron? 8And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me” • ( ṣō·ḥǎr) = splendor, brightness, radiance 8“the son of Zohar” רַחֹצ Ra – the Egyptian sun god (2,500 - 3,000 BC) Mithra – the Persian / Itu – the Hindu (>3,500 BC)

  44. 27. Who is Ephron? 10Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city… • 8“the son of Zohar” רַחֹצ brightness, radiance •10 “dwelt among the sons of Heth” = 2ndson of Canaan, the grandson of Noah (Gen. 23:3,7) •10 “the Hittite” (י ִ תִּח ḥit·tî) = terrors, terrible ( ṣō·ḥǎr) = splendor,

  45. 28. Who is Abraham to Ephron? Genesis 14:13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. 1) Hebrew word ʿiḇ·rî) = “opposite side.” י ִ רְּבִע ( 2) Jewish rabbis teach that Abraham came from the other side, crossed over the river; not a native Canaanite. 3) Eber was a great-grandson of Noah’s son Shem; the father of Peleg. According to Jewish tradition, Eber, refused to help with the building of the Tower of Babel, so his language was not confused when it was abandoned.

  46. 29. Where did this business transaction between Abraham and Ephron take place? 10Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city… (šǎ·ʿǎr ʿîr) וֹוריִע־רַע ַש Large stones at the base of the Abrahamic period gate complex

  47. 30. How did Ephron respond to Abraham? 10Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, 11“No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!”

  48. 31. Why did Abraham insist on paying for the land for a burial ground when the land was offered to him for free? 12Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; 13and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.” ןַתָנ(nā·ṯǎn) in the perfect tense = transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to another; place in the control of another; in this context means “give for a price” or “sell” “give”

  49. 32. How much did Abraham pay for the land? 15“My lord, listen to me (Ephron); the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” 16And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants. 9that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.”

  50. 33. What is a “shekel”? 16…and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants. • During the time of Abraham – a shekel was a unit of weight approximately 11 ½ - 14 ½ grams or about 4/10 ounce. • In New Testament times – a shekel became a coin of the same weight struck in gold. • The total weight of silver given by Abraham for the purchase of the land was about 10 pounds.

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