Genesis 23

1 old. Sarah is the only woman whose complete age is mentioned in the Scriptures. At her death Isaac was thirty-seven years old.

2. Kirjath-arba. Abraham had therefore emigrated northward again. Hebron (El Khalil) is still a place of importance.

3 sons of Heth. Elsewhere called the Hittites.

6 bury thy dead. This was probably only a form of Oriental politeness; for the tribes of Palestine jealously restricted the use of their burying-places to their own people.

18 for a possession. These transactions between Abraham and the Hittites find a parallel in the manners of the people to this day. They negotiate through a third party (ver. 8), they make offers which it is understood will not be accepted (ver. 11), they settle their bargains at the gates, the place of public resort (ver. 10), they ask a price in a most courteous form (ver. 13). They secure witnesses, whose testimony is sufficient even if there be no written deeds (ver. 18), and in their purchases they are most explicit in matters of detail (ver. 17).

assurance that “he loved her” who thus became his wife—are all vivid pictures of Eastern life. See Thomson, The Land and the Book, sec. 38, pp. 403-406.