Yaratılış 23:6 Yorum

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.

Hear us, my lord,.... One of them spake in the name of the rest, who calls Abraham not "our lord", but "my lord"; addressing him very honourably, and desires he would hear what he had to say on the behalf of others with himself; "hear us", representing not the body of the common people, but the princes among them, the heads of their families: thou art a mighty prince amongst us; though he was pleased to call himself a stranger and a sojourner, yet they had an high opinion of him, as a person of great wealth and substance, and of great power and authority; and who lived like a prince, and was a potent one, having a large train of servants under him: or, "a prince of God" (x), as it may be rendered; one raised up to grandeur and dignity by him; with whom he was, find in whose sight he had favour, and was very grateful and acceptable; and by whom he was highly honoured, and had in great esteem as a friend of his: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; as they had many, every family a distinct sepulchre for itself, they made offer of them to him, to bury his dead in the choicest of them, the most grand and magnificent, or in which of them soever he pleased; which was very kind, generous, and respectful: none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead; there is not a man among us but what has such a regard for thee, that he will not deny thee the use of his sepulchre to bury thy dead in; and therefore need not scruple to make use of any that may be judged most proper and convenient: no doubt the speaker full well knew the mind of those in whose name he addressed Abraham. (x) "princeps Dei", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Vatablus, Drusius, Schmidt, &c.

Sarah’s death was the occasion for the patriarch’s first instance of acquiring land. Sacred Scripture in fact shows us in every case the patriarch’s virtue, in that he passed all his time as an alien and a nomad. And it mentions this latest item for us to learn that the man who enjoyed so much assistance from on high, who had become so famous and had increased in number to such a vast multitude, could not call a place his own, unlike many people today, who give all their attention to acquiring land, whole towns and great wealth beyond telling. You see, he had sufficient riches in his attitude, and he put no store by these other things. Let those heed this who in the twinkling of an eye take to themselves every conceivable thing and, so to say, stretch out in all directions their passion for avarice. Let them also imitate the patriarch, who had not even a place to inter Sarah’s remains until, under pressure of very necessity, he bought the field and cave from the Hittites. For proof that he was in fact respected by the inhabitants of Canaan, listen to the words addressed to him by the Hittites: “You are king among us by God’s appointment; bury your dead in our best tombs. None of us, after all, will keep this tomb from you.”

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.

Thou art a mighty prince - נשיא אלהים nesi Elohim, a prince of God - a person whom we know to be Divinely favored, and whom, in consequence, we deeply respect and reverence.

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.

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.