Genesis 23: the Passing of a Matriarch and the Purchase of a Cemetery Plot

Genesis 23: The Passing of A Matriarch and the Purchase of a Cemetery Plot

In our study last week we saw the trial of Abraham with Isaac. Upon returning home Abraham had some visitors with news of family he had left behind in Haran. The sweetness of this visit was a reminder that God was at work in preparation for the next stage in his life as well as a test, all unbeknown to Abraham.

DAY ONE: Read Gen 23 all the way through. Trivia facts: Sarah is the only woman listed in the Bible with her age and death and place of burial; also she was only one to have a name changed.

1.  Give the name of the place in which Abraham lived prior to this according to Gen 21:33 and where he is now living according to Gen 23:1. According to Gen 21 Abraham was living in Beer-sheba which will prove to be important in the life of Isaac later. He then it appears moved to Hebron or as noted: Kiriath Arba

1. Gen 23:1 is a narrative sharing with us that Abraham’s wife, Sarah died. Give her age at this time _127 yrs old___How old was her only son Isaac at the time of her death? Use Gen 17: 17 plus Gen 23:1 to compute his age. __approximately 37 ____

1. What dilemma lays before Abraham using the facts of Gen 22 and the fact of Sarah’s death in Gen 23:1? After hearing the news of his extended family and knowing that they would want to share in the mourning Abraham was faced with the question: do I take Sarah back to bury her there? Abraham’s desire to bury Sarah in the land God had promised him shows that he had finally turned his back on Mesopotamia ..never to return.

4.  This is the first example of one mourning. How did and do Middle Easterner’s mourn? See John 11:35 to see what Jesus did as well as Luke 7:11-13. mourning customs of his day: tearing clothes, cutting his beard, spreading dust on his head, and fasting in the presence of the body . Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus: Jn 11:35 Jesus wept. In Luke we see a response from Jesus to the widow of Nain: 7:11 Soon afterward Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. 7:12 As he approached the town gate, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother (who was a widow), and a large crowd from the town was with her. 7:13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

5.  PERSONAL QUESTION:When was the last time you experienced death of a family member? What do westerner’s do at the time of death? Westerners weep but are stoic, and often with joy if deceased is a believer. Do we respond as Jesus did? What does Paul tell us? Rom 12:15. Paul says: 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep

DAY TWO: The Bargaining for a Burial Plot: Gen 23:3-6

1. Where did this story take place? Gen 23:1 and vs 18. Who are the sons of Heth: Gen 10:15?

This story took place in Hebron or Kiriath –Arba’s city gate. The sons of Heth are the descendants of one of the sons of Noah (Ham) who bore Canaan. The sons of Heth then are descended from Noah indirectly.

1. What is the significance of vs 4’s statement: “bury my dead”? see also vs 9 & 12.

Abraham said “bury my dead”…was he potentially considering others who may need aburial site or himself or just Sarah? In vs. 9 the words are “burial site”...which could mean available to others as well. Was he considering himself, Isaac, Ishmael?

1. How did Abraham perceive himself and how did the sons of Heth perceive him? Gen 23: 4; 6; 11; 14. Give some reasons why Abraham perceived himself in this way.

Abraham saw himself as a stranger/alien and a sojourner. He did not see himself as a permanent resident and thus without that title he could not own property.

In contrast the sons of Heth saw him as nesi Elohim, a prince of God-a person whom we know to be Divinely favoured, and whom, in consequence, we deeply respect and reverence Dr. Constable: Abraham has put himself at the bottom of the social ladder, and they put him at the top.

1. PERSONAL QUESTION: Are you a sojourner or a settler? Give some examples of each to prove what you are. 2Co 5:8 Thus we are full of courage and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Phi 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven – and we also await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

DAY THREE: Abraham’s Politeness in the Bargain: Gen 23: 7—9

1. Give two titles that the sons of Heth used in discussing this delicate matter with Abraham.

In all translations other than the NET and the NIV, it is listed as “my lord” In the NET and NIV it is listed as“sir”, “mighty prince”,

1. What did Abraham want to purchase and how much was he willing to pay? From whom did he want or need to purchase? Give some reasons that Abraham might want to purchase only the cave?

Abraham wanted to purchase the cave in the field that Ephron owned. Abraham must have been aware of this cave for some time but now it was imperative that he purchase a “cemetery plot”.

It appears that Ephron the son of Zophar owned this land. In vs 10- it appears that he was a major political figure in Hebron for he too was sitting with the sons of Heth at the city gate where all transactions of purchase/selling took place. This was the “seat of gov’t”.

If Abraham was successful in just purchasing the cave he would not have to pay the taxes on the land on which the cave stood but if he purchased both the taxes would have to come out of his pocket. However, if he purchased just the cave his access to it might also be limited. Did Abraham consider that angle? We are not told.

1. Assess the importance of Abrham’s note in vs 9: “sell it to me publicly”. Abraham did not want anyone to be able to come to him and question his purchase and also it was the standard business practice of the day to arrange for a purchase such as this before all the elders of the city.

1. Give some practical lessons from this interchange between Abraham and the sons of Heth that you could use in a business proposition with ‘unbelievers’. Abraham was gracious yet insistent and that gives us a model to follow. He bowed before the local people thus showing them reverence. He also sought an appeal from the sons of Heth. He sought for an intermediary to complete the deal for him.

DAY FOUR: The Bargaining Continues : Gen 23:10-15

1. Prior to vs 10 we see Abraham dealing with the sons of Heth but he does not speak directly to Ephron who was the principal owner of the Cave and the field. Now the conversation moves from a general to the specifics in which Ephron speaks up. Explain why he wanted to sell both to Abraham? The main reason is the tax issue.

1. What was the value of the price of the field that Abraham wanted to buy along with the cave? In Ephron’s eyes it was worth an extravagant amount..400 shekels whereas a field normally sold for 4 shekels and a garden for 40 shekels per acre. But, this was unusual. Abraham wanted the cave only but Ephron bargained for both.

Dr. Constable: Ephron’s responses to Abraham’s requests sound very generous, but he was really making it difficult for Abraham to pay less than his asking price. Ephron’s object may have been to get a present from Abraham for having given him the field and cave that would compensate for the value of the land. Such a gift was customary. On the other hand he may have wanted to preclude Abraham’s offering to pay him less than his asking price (

1. What was Ephron really saying in vs 15? Do you think he was offering Abraham a fair and just deal? Let’s analyze this from several perspectives:

a. Gen 14 and Abraham before the King of Sodom: We remember that Abraham would not take a gift in order that the King of Sodom could come back later and say he had made Abraham rich. So too in this story Abraham did not want to be obligated to a pagan.

b. Gen 37:28: Joseph sold by his brothers for: _ 37:28 So when the Midianite merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.______

c. Matt 27:3 Judas sold Jesus for: _ the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders, 26:14 Then one of the twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 26:15 and said, “What will you give me to betray him into your hands?” So they set out thirty silver coins for him.______

d. 2 Sam 24:24 David purchases a field for the Temple for: So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver______

e. Jer 32:9 Jeremiah purchases a field for __ 32:9 So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver______

DAY FIVE: Sarah is buried: Gen 23: 16-20

17.  What did Abraham purchase in the end? Gen 23:17 23:17 So Abraham secured Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border

1. Using John 11:23-25, Luke 24:24, 1Thess 4:13-17 and Heb 11: 10-15 give some reasons why Abraham did not return to Haran to bury Sarah. What do these verses tell us that should encourage us?

In each of these verses below one thread teaches us that death is only temporary in this time frame. There will be a resurrection and we will be reunited. Abraham now knows this fact and he, like Martha will see Sarah again.

Jn 11:23 Jesus replied, “Your brother will come back to life again.” 11:24 Martha said, “I know that he will come back to life again in the resurrection at the last day.” 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, 11:26 and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

Luke 24:24 Then some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.

IThess 4:13 Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope. 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians. 4:15 For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep. 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 4:17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

Heb 1:10 For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11:11 By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, he received the ability to procreate, because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. 11:12 So in fact children were fathered by one man – and this one as good as dead – like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore. 11:13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth. 11:14 For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 11:15 In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.

Give a practical application for this section of scripture for your own life as you prepare for a loved one’s departure or your own. Are you prepared for your own passing and that of your loved ones or do you have to pay and exorbitant amount like Abraham because you did not plan ahead? Abraham prepared not only for Sarah but others to follow: himself, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. Rachael is buried in Bethlehem (Gen 35:19) and Joseph in Shechem (Joshua 24:32).

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