Read Genesis 23:1-20 at Bible Gateway.
the teaching tools of scripture
Hebrew paragraph divisions:
Gen 23:1-20 {s} Abraham gains a possession in Canaan for a burial place
Strong themes of the parashah:
none
Gen 23:1-20 chiastic structure:
1a) Gen 23:1-4, Sarah died in Hebron, in the land of Canaan/ Abraham sought property for a burial place;
Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life 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;”
1b) Gen 23:5-9a, Abraham requests the cave of Machpelah from the sons of Heth for a burial place;
1a.1) Gen 23:5-6a, And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, “Hear us, my lord;”
1a.2) Gen 23:6b, “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;”
1b) Gen 23:6c, “That you may bury your dead;”
central axis) Gen 23:7, Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth;
2b) Gen 23:8a, And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight;”
2a.1) Gen 23:8b, “Hear me;”
2a.2) Gen 23:8c-9a, “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;”
2b) Gen 23:9b-18, Abraham procures the cave of Machpelah from the sons of Heth for a burial place;
1a.1) Gen 23:9b, “Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you;”
1a.2) Gen 23:10, 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;
1b.1) Gen 23:11a, “No, my lord, hear me;”
1b.2) Gen 23:11b, “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!”
central axis) Gen 23:12, Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land;
2b.1) Gen 23:13a, And he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me;”
2b.2) Gen 23:13b, “I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there;”
2a.1) Gen 23:14-16, 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;
2a.2) Gen 23:17-18, 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;
2a) Gen 23:19-20, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in Hebron, in the property he procured for a burial place;
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.
gen 23 and the teaching tool of learning from the narrative
Theme of the parashah:
Abraham gains a possession in Canaan for a burial place
Finding Messiah in Torah:
Consider that Abraham and Sarah were “foreigners and visitors” in the land of their sojourning, and they had no place of their own to lay their head, until their head was laid to rest in burial. Jesus said of Himself, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head,” (Mat 8:20), that is, until His head was laid to rest in burial.
Additional readings for this parashah:
Psa 18 (my notes) | 1 Kin 1 (my notes) | Act 7 (my notes)
For further study off-site:
The Hittites and the Old Testament (pdf, Tyndale Old Testament Lecture, 1947)
The Cave of the Patriarchs (Wikipedia)
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