...burying the dead...

Sarah’s Death and Burial

“1 Sarah lived for one hundred and twenty-seven years; this was the length of Sarah’s life. 2 And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 Abraham rose up from beside his dead, and said to the Hittites, 4 ‘I am a stranger and an alien residing among you; give me property among you for a burying-place, so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.’ 5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 ‘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 any burial ground for burying your dead.’ 7 Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. 8 He said to them, ‘If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me Ephron son of Zohar, 9 so that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as a possession for a burying-place.’ 

10 Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, 11 ‘No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it; in the presence of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.’ 12 Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13 He said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, ‘If you only will listen to me! I will give the price of the field; accept it from me, so that I may bury my dead there.’ 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 ‘My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.’ 16 Abraham agreed with Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, passed 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, in the presence of all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 The field and the cave that is in it passed from the Hittites into Abraham’s possession as a burying-place” Genesis 23:1-20.

Dear friends, arable land was so precious in the ancient world that owners usually refrained from selling it to anyone outside the extended family group. But Abraham is not trying to buy farmland, only property for a burial site. Village cultures used burial chambers. Most often a family tomb was used by several generations. A body was laid in a prepared shelf along with grave goods (food, pottery, trinkets, weapons, tools, and other personal items). Later the skeletal remains were removed and placed in another chamber or an ossuary box or simply swept to the rear of the tomb to accommodate another burial on the same shelf.

Four hundred shekels of silver is a substantial price — equivalent to about seven and a quarter pounds of silver. Abraham’s payment was more likely viewed as exorbitant rather than discounted, for rather than negotiating, he pays the inflated initial quote. Abraham refuses the offer to receive the land as a gift because then Ephron’s heirs could reclaim the land after Ephron’s death. In fact, Abraham is likely anxious to pay full price because a discounted price could be later connected to family debt problems and also allow the heirs of Ephron to reclaim the land. A laborer or artisan at ten shekels per year would not expect to make this much in a lifetime.

So Abraham negotiates a very expensive field from Ephron who clearly would have preferred to keep the valuable land, so instead, Ephron quoted Abraham a very expensive, even exorbitant, price — and Abraham paid it knowing that it was his land forever! But I also feel that this showed Abraham’s great love for his wife, Sarah — a touching, final tribute, indeed!

When I lived in Africa with the Sukuma they buried their kin outside the entrance to their homes, or very close to the entrance. At the bottom of the hole they then dug another grave to the side at the bottom. They then laid grass on the floor of the grave, and after placing the body wrapped in a shroud, they placed a walking stick, acknowledging that the dead were taking their last safari — or journey — to God in heaven. This, the need for a walking stick.

Every culture takes great care of burying their dead, deliberately following careful and deliberate traditions. I have buried hundreds of people in my lifetime, even assisting in the digging of the grave. Today, then, I invite you in your time of prayer to ask the Lord to grace you — to bless you — with as much care with the living as you do with the dead. We must do all we can to love everyone as Christ loves us!

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.