The Closing of an Age

Good evening from the Panhandle. I have always been told it is not polite to ask a woman her age. But it seems that Sarah is the exception to the rule. Sarah is the only woman whose age is mentioned in the Scriptures. Maybe it is because as the mother of the promised seed she became the mother of all believers. 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), where Abraham had returned back to after a lengthened stay at Beersheba (22:19). So here in Chapter 23 is that account of Sarah's death.

Chapter 23 At A Glance:

Here is,

I. Abraham a mourner for the death of Sarah v. 1-2.

II. Abraham a purchaser of a burying-place for Sarah.

1. The purchase humbly proposed by Abraham v. 3-4.

2. Fairly treated of, and agreed to, with a great deal of mutual civility and respect v. 5-16.

3. The purchase-money paid v. 16.

4. The premises conveyed and secured to Abraham v. 17-18,20.

5. Sarah's funeral v. 19.

(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

Genesis 23

23:1 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, 4 "I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead."

5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 "Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead."

7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 He said to them, "If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9 so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you."

10 Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. 11 "No, my lord," he said. "Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead."

12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 13 and he said to Ephron in their hearing, "Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there."

14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 "Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between me and you? Bury your dead."

16 Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.

17 So Ephron's field in Machpelah near Mamre--both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field--was deeded 18 to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. 19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

The Death And Burial Of Sarah

At the age of 127 Sarah passed away, leaving Abraham bowed in grief. His love for her had been genuine and tender. She was to him "the princess."

They had moved from Beer-sheba to Hebron, a city eighteen miles south of Jerusalem. Isaac was now thirty-seven years old. In his sorrow Abraham revealed something of the dignity of soul that characterizes a strong man of God. Besides wailing and otherwise loudly manifesting his grief, he broke forth into weeping. The Hebrew words for mourn and weep carry both ideas.

In due time, however, Abraham rose up from his mourner's place on the ground and went about the business of procuring a burying place and arranging for the funeral. Instead of taking Sarah's body back to Haran or Ur, he chose to find a sepulcher in the land God had given him. He dealt with the native Hittites and bought, at considerable expense, the cave of Machpelah so that his family might own a choice burying place for all time to come.

(from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)

Ephron offered to make Abraham a present of both field and cave. This was and still is customary in the East. The reason if it is seriously meant at all, is either to obtain a present in return which will abundantly compensate for the value of the gift, or, what is still more frequently the case, to prevent any discount in the price to be asked. The same design is evident in the peculiar form in which Ephron stated the price, in reply to Abraham's repeated statement that he was determined to buy the piece of land: "a piece of land of 400 shekels of silver, what is that between me and thee" (v. 15)? Abraham agreed on the price, and weighed out the price demanded. The shekel of silver "current with the merchant," i.e., the shekel which passed in trade as of standard weight, was 274 Parisian grains, so that the price of the piece of land was a very considerable amount for that time.

The repetition of the statement, that the field with the cave in it was conveyed to Abraham by the Hittites for a burial-place, which gives the result of the negotiation that has been described with, so to speak, legal accuracy, shows the great importance of the event to the patriarch.

The fact that Abraham purchased a burying-place in strictly legal form as a hereditary possession in the promised land, was a proof of his strong faith in the promises of God and their eventual fulfillment. In this grave Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, were buried; Jacob buried Leah there; and there Jacob himself requested that he might be buried, thereby declaring his faith in the promises, even in the hour of his death.

(from Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)