Burying Sarah

"Sarah lived one hundred and twenty seven years; these were the years of Sarah. So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, "I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight." And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, "Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead." Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. And he spoke with them, saying, "If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you." Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, "No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!" Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, "If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there." And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, "My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead." And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants. So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place." (Genesis 23:1-20)

The "sons of Heth" are the Caananites; descendants of Heth who was the son of Canaan, Canaan was the son of Ham upon whom the curse fell, and Ham was the son of Noah. Thus, the curse that fell upon Canaan still had its effects on these "sons of Heth" who are Canaanites and not followers of God as was Abraham. Abraham was descended from Noah's son, Shem. The curse, if you recall, was: "Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants he shall be to his brethren." But blessings to the other sons were also attached to the curse that Noah pronounced over his son: "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japeth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; and may Canaan be his servant." (Genesis 9:25-27)

Now, there is a lot of discussion going on about the cave that Abraham wants to purchase for Sarah's tomb, and even though it (and other options) have been offered to Abraham as a free gift that seems to be given out of deference to his status in the country, still Abraham insists on purchasing it rather than being "given" it. He knows the people that he is dealing with, but he has to purchase a secure place for Sarah's burial that will not be contested somewhere down the line by the heirs of the one who "gave" it. He will not receive it as a gift.

We have heard from the cave's owner, Ephron, the Hittite, who is found sitting in the gates of the city, which is the place where business is conducted. Therefore, Ephron is a businessman, first and foremost. He is not a God-fearing man and Abraham will not receive a gift from such as him, nor will he receive a gift from the sons of Heth. The reason is that none of them fear God, none of them can be trusted. And in Ephron's case, especially, his magnanimous gesture towards Abraham is merely affectation, he really wants money; which is why he mentions the amount to Abraham. Abraham quickly pays and the deal is done. Abraham, who is given no inheritance in the land by the Lord, has just purchased a plot of ground for the first time in his long life of following the Lord; and it is only for burying Sarah in.

In those days it was the customary thing for Abraham to do: to leave his tent, go to Sarah's tent and "mourn" at the door of her tent. But this was Abraham's beloved Sarah, and in addition to "mourning," he wept. And, finally, after quite some time, in an effort to stop his weeping, he stands up, with resolve, and hastens to find a burying place in which to place his Sarah; much as the business of making funeral arrangements allows us to "breathe" for a short moment in the midst of our own grieving when a loved one dies. And then, in our case, when the casket is lowered into the ground, and the earthly remains of our loved one is "out of our sight," we carry our grief with us and continue on in the business of living.

It is of note that Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age, death and burial are mentioned; obviously in honor of she who was the spiritual mother of a nation of people whose birth or beginning was "by faith" in the Promise of God.