Genesis 23
PATAbraham spared not bis only son? In all like cases therefore, which exceed the angelic«il dignity, we arc always to understand some such words as these here mentioned, Xeuni Jehovah, thus saith the Lord. Ver. 1G. By myself have 1 sworn, &c] I observed upon xii. 7. and xvii. G. that God enlarged his mercies to Abraham, proportionable to his obedience; which is apparent in this great and last trial of all, the offering his son, which was rewarded by the ratification of God’s former promise or covenant, by a most solemn* oath: By myself have I sworn, I will multiply thy seed, &x. This was promised before, but not confirmed by an oath: and, besides, the very promise is now more affectionate (if I may so style it); " in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thee," &c. In the latter end also of the blessing, there seems to be couched the highest of all blessings, that God would make his own only Son such a sacrifice as Abraham was..ready to have made his son Isaac; that " all the nations of the world. (ver. 18.) might be blessed in him;" i. e. all that would follow the faith of Abraham. So Abarbinel himself interprets it upon xii. 3. decent custom of the age and country where they lived. Then they rose up, as Abraham here did, to take care of the interment of his wife. Seven days, in after ages, were the common time of mourning: and for illustrious persons they mourned thirty days. Spake unto the sons of Heth.] In whose country he now lived: concerning whom, see x. 15. By the sons are meant the principal persons of that nation.,
Genesis 23:1
JjlND Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty, &c. The whole verse may be thus translated, " And the years of the life of Sarah were (in the whole) a hundred twenty and seven years:" it being usual with the Hebrews to repeat a word (as life is here) when they would signify any thing to be complete. And Sarah is the only woman whose entire age is set down in Scripture.
Genesis 23:2
Kirjath-arba. i. e. The city of Arba, who was a famous man among the Anakims, (as we read, Josh. xiv. ult.) and either built this city, or made it the place of his residence; from whence it took his name. It doth not appear when Abraham left Beer-sheba, and removed to this place. The same is Hebron.] A very ancient city, as appears from Numb. xiii. 22. When it assumed this name, instead of Kirjath-arba, is not certain: but some conjecture it might be after Abraham purchased a burial-place in this country. (See xiii. 18.) Abraham came.] Some fancy he was in some other part of the country, w T hen his wife died. And several of the Jews have a conceit, that he came from Mount Moriah, (which is confuted by what we read, xxii. 19.) where Sarah, hearing he was gone to sacrifice her son, died with grief. But Maimonidcs speaks better sense, when he says, Abraham came from his own tent, which was separate (as I noted before, xviii. 9.) from his wife’s: as appears further from xxiv. G7. To mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.] The first relates to private sorrow, the other to the public, especially at the funeral solemnities; when they made great lamentation. After Abraham had performed the former, he made preparations for the latter: but what the rites of mourning were in those days wc do npt know. It is likely they shut themselves up from company, neglected the care of their bodies, abstained from their ordinary food: which, with many others, were the customs of Abraham’s posterity; who made it a paTt of their religion to mourn for the dead.
Genesis 23:3
And Abraham stood up from before his dead. By this it seems to be apparent, that in Abraham’s time they sat upon the ground while they mourned, as it is certain they did in future ages. In which posture they continued till they had satisfied natural affection, and the
Genesis 23:4
I am a stranger and a sojourner with yon.) Though I am not a native of your country, yet I have lived long enough among you to be known to you. Give me possession of a burying-place, &c] I do not desire any large possessions among you, being but a sojourner; let me have only a place, which I may call my^ OAvn, wherein to bury those of my family which die.
Genesis 23:5
And the children (or sons) ofHeth answered, &c. Ey one of their body, who spake in the name of the rest: as appears by the first words of the next verse, ** Hear us, my lord:" in which form they were wont to address themselves to great men, (ver. 11. 13. 15, 16.)
Genesis 23:6
Thou art a mighty prince. We have a great honour for thee. In the choice of our sepulchres, &c] Make choice of any one sepulchre; and nobody will deny to let thee have it. Every family (at least great ones) had their proper place for burial: which, I suppose, were sometimes so large, that they might spare others a part of them; or, of the ground wherein they were made.
Genesis 23:7
Abraham stood up. It seems they had desired him to sit down among them, while they treated this business: which when they granted, he stood up to thank them. And bowed himself] The Hebrew word signifies the bowing of the body; and there are other words in that language proper to the bowing of the head, or of the knee.
Genesis 23:8
Entreat for me to Ephron, &c. He desires them to mediate between him and this man (who, perhaps, was not then present in the assembly) for a purchase of a convenient place in his ground.
Genesis 23:9
Cave of Machpelah. We take this word Machpelah for a proper name, as many others do: but the Talmudists generally think it to have been speluncam duplicem, (as the Vulgar Latin also, with the LXX. understand it,) a double cave. Yet they cannot agree in what sense it was so; whether they went through one cave into another, or there was one above another. For that by a cave is meant a vault arched over with stones or wood, which the ancients call cryptce, nobody doubts. Salmasius hath described them in his Plin. Exercit. p. 1208. where he says this cave is said to have been double, in the same sense that the Greeks called theirs airi\kaia afi<pt$l$vfxa, because they had a double entrance, so that one might go into them at both ends, as Hesychius expounds it. Which shews, as he adds, it was a large place, and would contain many bodies. And of this he is so confident as to say, " Non qunerenda est alia duplicis speluncas interpretation no other interpretation of this double sepulchre ought to be sought after. But learned men will not hearken to such dictates; and particularly TheodorickHackspan maintains Machpelah to be a proper name (as we take it) by these tworeasons: first,because the field itself, wherein this cave was, is called the Field of Machpelah: (ver. 19.) which, doth not signify sure that there was a double gate to this I field, but that it was in that tract of ground called Machpelah. And, secondly, this Field in Machpelah, is said to be before Mamre, (ver. 17.) which plainly denotes it to be a place so called, (Miscell. lib. i. cap. 10.) For which last reason, Guil. Vorstius also takes it to have been the name of a country, or province, in which this field and cave lay. (Animadv. in Pirke Eliezer, p. 179.) Which is in the end of his field.] Burying-places were not anciently in the cities, much less in their temples; but in the fields, in caves, or vaults made to hold a good number of bodies. And so they continued, it is manifest, in our Saviour’s time, among the Jews; as appears by Lazarus’s monument, (John xi. 30, 31.) and by the burying-places for strangers, (Matt, xxvii. 7.) and their carrying the widow’s son out of the city, (Luke vii. 12, &c.) This seems to have been in the corner of the field beforementioned; which, perhaps, was near the highway: for there they sometimes affected to bury their deajd, as appears from Gen. xxxv. 8. 19. Josh. xxiv. 30.
Genesis 23:10
And Ephron dwelt. The Hebrew word for dwelt signifies literally sat. Which hath made some think that Ephron was a great man (a ruler, or governor) among the children of Heth, who sat as a prince or judge in this assembly. And that this was the reason why Abraham (ver. 8.) addressed himself to others of the same rank, that they would make way for him into his favour. In the audience of the children of Heth, &c] It is ju r diciously observed by Cornel. Bertram, that all weighty matters in those days were determined by the king (if they had any), or the elders, with the consent of the people. (De Repub. Judaic, cap. 3.) Marriages were a matter of public right; (xxix. 22.) as sepulchres were, it appears by this place: both of them being held to belong to religion.
Genesis 23:11
In the presence of the sons of my people, &c. Contracts, or grants, were wont to be made before all the people, or their representatives, till writings were invented.
Genesis 23:12
Abraham bowed, &c. Because, by their intercession, this favour was granted him.
Genesis 23:13
I will give thee money for the field. This was the surest title, he thought, by purchase. And it was but reasonable he should buy it, if he would have any land in Canaan; for the time of possessing it, according to God’s promise, was not yet come.
Genesis 23:15
The land is worth four hundred shekels. This is the first time we meet with the name of shekel. Mention was made of money before in general, (xvii. 12, 13.) and of pieces of silver, xx. 16. (which shews the use of money was found out in those early days, and they did not trade merely by the exchange of one commodity for another), but we have no name for the money till now: and cannot exactly tell of what value a shekel of silver was. But Josephus (lib.iii. Antiq. cap. 10.) saith,‘Arrocac Sc’X £Tai Spax/iac TiaaaQaq, it was as much as four Attic - draclmis; that is, half an ounce: which, in our money, wants not much of half a crown. What is that between me and thee?~] Some will have this to signify as much as, This is not worth speaking of between friends, and therefore I had rather thou wouldst accept it as a gift. But it is more reasonable to think, that he only pretended to use him kindly, and not to exact
Genesis 23:17
Possess the gate (that is, the cities) of his enemies. And consequently their country: for the gates being taken, thereby they entered into their cities; and their cities being surrendered, the country was conquered.
Genesis 23:18
In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. God promised to make Abraham’s seed as numerous as the stars of heaven; (xv. 5.) which promise he assures him here should be fulfilled in Isaac, (ver. 17.) But moreover directs him to expect, after the multiplying of his posterity, one particular seed who should bring a blessing to all mankind; This singularity St. Paul observes, and presses very much, (Gal. iii. 1G.) applying it to the Messiah. And it is further observable, that there is an increase of sense in these words, as there is in the former. For he doth not simply say, D“QJ, they shall be blessed, but “D-D-Tin, shall bless themselves, or count themselves blessed in him; to shew, as Jacobus Altingius thinks, that this person should not stand in need of any blessing himself, as the rest of Abraham’s seed did; but be the author of all blessings unto others, who should derive them from him alone, (lib.ii. Schilo. cap. 2.) Because thou hast obeyed, &c] As a reward (the word in the Hebrew signifies) for obeying my voice.
Genesis 23:19
Went together to Beer-sheba. Where he had for some time settled his abode, (xxi. 33.)
Genesis 23:20
Milcah hath borne children, &c. The following genealogy is set down to shew, whence Rebekah the wife of Isaac was descended. For she alone, of all Bcthuel’s daughters (which is probable were many), is mentioned, ver. 23.
Huz his first-born. There were two others of this name. One, the son of Aram, (x. 23.) another of the posterity of Esau, (xxxvi. 28.) But this Uz here mentioned, is he from whom Job descended: whose country was called Ausitis, (so the LXX. translate Uz, Job i. 1.) and his posterity called Ansitce by Ptolemy; who were a people of Arabia Deserta, near Chaldea, not far from Euphrates. Buz.] From whom came Elihu the Buzite, (Job xxxii. 2.) a people in some part of the same country, or near it. Aram.] Who inhabited, perhaps, some part of Syria: which had the name of Aram from another, mentioned x. 23.
Chesed. He was the father of the Chaldeans, who are called Chasdim in Scripture, from this Chesed, or Chasad, as some read it. Where the rest that follow settled, or whether they had any posterity or no, I cannot find. It is likely they never grew to make a nation or a family, and so left no name behind them.
And his concubine. This was not an ill name in these ancient times: but signifies a wife, who w r as not the mistress of the family; but only taken for the increase of it, by procreation of children. Such wives were generally servants; whereas the prime wife was a free-woman, or made so by being married to govern the family, and bring children to inherit the estate.