22:20–24 The account of Nahor’s family belongs here as part of the larger toledot of Terah (cf. Gen. 11:27). As noted above, the listing of his offspring takes us back in time, contrasting Sarah’s barrenness with the eminent fertility of Nahor’s wife and his concubine—between them Milcah and Reumah produce no fewer than twelve heirs for Nahor, without any miraculous divine intervention (22:20–22). However, this account also looks forward by introducing Nahor’s granddaughter Rebekah, who will become the wife of Isaac (cf. ch. 24); the report mentioned here is important in informing Abraham of his wider family’s growth and prosperity, which leads him to send his servant to those relatives in search of a suitable wife for his son. The promise of blessing to the nations (22:18) will come not only through Abraham and Isaac but also through Nahor and Rebekah. Since Milcah, Nahor’s wife, is the daughter of Abraham’s brother Haran, all three branches of Terah’s line have a part to play in the story.

Included in Nahor’s family is Kemuel, who is credited with being the founder of Aram (v. 21). Aram will play an important role in Israel’s future as the location of Jacob’s twenty-year sojourn (31:18–21), as well as subsequently becoming one of Israel’s staunch enemies. Uz, the firstborn son, shares his name with the land where Job lives, though it is uncertain whether there is a connection to that figure of unknown lineage.

23:1–2 A good death, in biblical terms, is one that comes after a full life, surrounded by family and friends and at peace, followed by a decent burial in one’s own land (cf. Gen. 25:8–10).312 Measured by these categories, Sarah’s death qualifies as a good death (23:1). She is 127 years old, with a husband and a son; she does not die in a tragic accident or at a young age. Her importance to the biblical account is made clear by the fact that she is the only woman in the Bible whose age at death is mentioned. She dies in Kiriath-arba, the city that will later be renamed Hebron, in the land of Canaan, the land that God had promised to give to her and Abraham (v. 2).

Yet there is something profoundly tragic even about the best of deaths in this broken world. Death is not a natural part of living but a result of the divine curse that has come into the world through sin (3:19). So it is fitting that Abraham goes in to mourn and weep for Sarah (23:2). They have endured many things together, sometimes working well together and at other times in conflict, but always together. Death often results in a sense of deep sadness and loss on the part of those left behind.

23:3–20 Yet the death of Sarah and Abraham’s subsequent mourning for her are not the central focus of the chapter. A key part of the good death—burial in one’s own land—must still be accomplished. Despite the Lord’s promise to give the land of Canaan to Abraham and Sarah, they still own precisely none of it. As a result, Abraham goes to the Hittites, among whom he is dwelling, to request the purchase of a suitable piece of land to serve this purpose (v. 3). The Hittites here are not to be confused with the Hittite empire of Syria but are a smaller local group, the “sons of Heth.”313 The tension in the story comes from the fact that as a “sojourner and foreigner” among the inhabitants of the land Abraham has few rights, and in general property was not for sale in the ancient world; it was inherited from one’s family. The bonds between a family and its land were deep and often inviolable, unless in exceptional circumstances (cf. 1 Kings 21). Why should anyone sell his family patrimony to a mere sojourner?

Initially the Hittites offer to allow Abraham temporary use of any of their tombs (Gen. 23:6). These tombs were likely caves cut in the rock that could be used multiple times. Normally they would be used for members of only one particular family, so it is a mark of deep respect that the Hittites make this offer. They regard Abraham as a “prince of God,” or perhaps a “mighty prince,” among them (cf. KJV; NASB 1995; the phrase need not have a religious sense314). Essentially they are inviting him to identify his family with their community in the most permanent way possible.

Abraham cannot accept their generous offer. He is not about to give up his status as a “sojourner and foreigner” in their midst, living in their world but not of it; that is God’s calling to him. That which Abraham wants to purchase from them is something more lasting than a temporary tomb; he is seeking to buy a piece of property that will serve as an ʾakhuzzat qeber, a permanent burial site (vv. 4, 9, 20). The Hebrew ʾakhuzzah carries with it the idea of land as a permanent inheritance, passed down from one member of the family to the next.315 Abraham does not want simply a temporary repository for Sarah’s bones; he wants a place that will belong to him and his family permanently, a little piece of the Promised Land that will finally be his. Nonetheless, since the Hittites have agreed in principle to allow him to bury his dead on their land, discussions can now proceed further.

The whole negotiation is carried out with the utmost courtesy and deference, as would have been customary in that culture. It is conducted as between equals who seek to outdo each other in extravagant displays of respect. Abraham therefore bows to the Hittites, who are called the “people of the land” (ʿam haʾarets). This term can be used to denote either the whole population or, perhaps more likely here, a smaller group of elders and other leaders in the community who must witness and approve any property transfer that will take place (cf. Ruth 4:1–9).316

At this point Abraham introduces his request, which is that Ephron the Hittite sell him the cave of Machpelah at the end of his field at full price as a permanent burial place (Gen. 23:8–9; ʾakhuzzat qeber). This is an invitation to Ephron to name his price, but customary politeness requires Ephron first to offer it to Abraham free of charge (v. 11). Even if this is a serious offer—and most commentators doubt so (cf. 2 Sam. 24:18–25 for a similar negotiation)—a gift would not meet Abraham’s need, since it could be revoked or disputed at some point in the future.317 So Abraham asks Ephron again to name his price. There is a catch, however; in his “free” offer Ephron linked together the field and the cave (Gen. 23:11), so now Abraham requests the price for both the field and the cave (v. 13), not merely the cave for which he originally asked.

Ephron’s price may well be astronomical—400 hundred shekels of silver,318 more than a year’s wages for a normal worker—though it is hard to be sure what the going rate for such a property was at that time. His audacious request remains cloaked in the most profound politeness: “What is that between you and me?” (v. 15). He probably expects Abraham to make a counteroffer, haggling for a better price, but Abraham does not want anyone to be able to claim that he has somehow cheated Ephron out of the property. He is willing to pay the full asking price in order to establish the clearest possible title to the property in question, and he weighs out the money in front of witnesses so there can be no questions later (v. 16).

In this way Abraham acquires the cave of Machpelah along with the field and all the trees in it,319 to become a permanent burial site for the family and its first foothold of ownership in the Promised Land. Sarah will be the first occupant to rest there (v. 19), but she will be joined later by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as by Rebekah and Leah (49:31). Their bodies are all committed to the earth there, in hope of the heavenly fulfillment of the promise of the land, which they never see completed in their own lifetimes. As John Calvin puts it, “While they themselves were silent and speechless, the sepulchre cried aloud, that death formed no obstacle to their entering on the possession of it.”320