Genesis 23:15 Komentář

Here is, I. Abraham a mourner for the death of Sarah (Gen 23:1, Gen 23:2). II. Abraham a purchaser of a burying-place for Sarah. 1. The purchase humbly proposed by Abraham (Gen 23:3, Gen 23:4). 2. Fairly treated of, and agreed to, with a great deal of mutual civility and respect (Gen 23:5-16). 3. The purchase-money paid (Gen 23:16). 4. The premises conveyed and secured to Abraham (Gen 23:17, Gen 23:18, Gen 23:20). 5. Sarah's funeral (Gen 23:19).

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 23 This chapter treats of the age, death, and funeral of Sarah, and the place of her interment: of her age, Gen 23:1; of her death, Gen 23:2; of the motion Abraham made to the sons of Heth, to obtain a burial place among them, Gen 23:3; of the answer of them to him, giving him leave to bury in any of their sepulchres, Gen 23:5; of a second motion of his to them, to use their interest with Ephron the Hittite, to let him have the cave of Machpelah for the above purpose, Gen 23:7; of Ephron's consent unto it, Gen 23:10; of the purchase Abraham made of it for four hundred shekels of silver, Gen 23:12; and of its being secured unto him, which he interred Sarah his wife, Gen 23:17.

And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah,.... This clearly shows that Machpelah is the proper name of a place or tract of ground, and not an appellative, or to be rendered the double cave, since a field could never be said to be in a cave: and yet some have been so stupid, as Vatablus observes, as to render the words,"the field of Ephron, which was in the double cave,''whereas, on the contrary, the cave was in that field; and so the Vulgate version, to better sense, though not agreeably to the Hebrew text,"the field of Ephron, in which was the double cave:" which was before Mamre; or over against it, the place where Abraham dwelt, which was in Hebron, Gen 13:18, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure; or "rose", or "stood up" (f). Jarchi thinks the reason of this phrase, or way of speaking, is, because this field, with all belonging to it, came into the hands of a greater person; out of the hands of a private man into the hands of a king; and so Abraham indeed is called by some Heathen writers (g); but Aben Ezra and Ben Melech much better interpret it,"it was confirmed and stood;''that is, it was ensured to him, and remained with him, even that, and all upon it and in it, throughout the whole circumference of it. (f) Heb. "surrexit", Munster, Vatablus, Piscator; "stetit", Montanus, Schmidt. (g) Nicolaus Damascenus apud Euseb. Praepar. l. 9. c. 6. p. 417. Justin. e Trogo, l. 38. c. 2.

The age and death of Sarah, Gen 23:1, Gen 23:2. Abraham mourns for her, and requests a burial-place from the sons of Heth, Gen 23:2-4. They freely offer him the choice of all their sepulchers, Gen 23:5, Gen 23:6. Abraham refuses to receive any as a free gift, and requests to buy the cave of Machpelah from Ephron, Gen 23:7-9. Ephron proffers the cave and the field in which it was situated as a free gift unto Abraham, Gen 23:10, Gen 23:11. Abraham insists on giving its value in money, Gen 23:12, Gen 23:13. Ephron at last consents, and names the sum of four hundred shekels, Gen 23:14, Gen 23:15. Abraham weighs him the money in the presence of the people; in consequence of which the cave, the whole field, trees, etc., are made sure to him and his family for a possession, Gen 23:16-18. The transaction being completed, Sarah is buried in the cave, Gen 23:19. The sons of Heth ratify the bargain, Gen 23:20.

The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver - Though the words is worth are not in the text, yet they are necessarily expressed here to adapt the Hebrew to the idiom of our tongue. A shekel, according to the general opinion, was equal to two shillings and sixpence; but according to Dr. Prideaux, whose estimate I shall follow, three shillings English, four hundred of which are equal to sixty pounds sterling; but it is evident that a certain weight is intended, and not a coin, for in Gen 23:16 it is said, And Abraham weighed וישקל vaiyishkol, the silver, and hence it appears that this weight itself passed afterwards as a current coin, for the word שקל is not only used to express a coin or piece of silver, but also to weigh; See note on Gen 20:16.

AGE AND DEATH OF SARAH. (Gen 23:1-2) 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.

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.

Sarah is the only woman whose age is mentioned in the Scriptures, because as the mother of the promised seed she became the mother of all believers (Pe1 3:6). She died at the age of 127, thirty-seven years after the birth of Isaac, at Hebron, or rather in the grove of Mamre near that city (Gen 13:18), whither Abraham had once more returned after a lengthened stay at Beersheba (Gen 22:19). The name Kirjath Arba, i.e., the city of Arba, which Hebron bears here and also in Gen 35:27, and other passages, and which it still bore at the time of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites (Jos 14:15), was not the original name of the city, but was first given to it by Arba the Anakite and his family, who had not yet arrived there in the time of the patriarchs. It was probably given by them when they took possession of the city, and remained until the Israelites captured it and restored the original name. The place still exists, as a small town on the road from Jerusalem to Beersheba, in a valley surrounded by several mountains, and is called by the Arabs, with allusion to Abraham's stay there, el Khalil, i.e., the friend (of God), which is the title given to Abraham by the Mohammedans. The clause "in the land of Canaan" denotes, that not only did Sarah die in the land of promise, but Abraham as a foreigner acquired a burial-place by purchase there. "And Abraham came" (not from Beersheba, but from the field where he may have been with the flocks), "to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her," i.e., to arrange for the customary mourning ceremony.