Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 23:10

And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, [even] of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

10. audience ] Lit. “ears,” as in Gen 23:13 ; Gen 23:16. The presence of witnesses is evidently requisite for the validity of the transaction: cf. Rth 4:9-11.

all that went in at the gate of his city ] Cf. Gen 23:18. A technical phrase to denote full citizens. The gate was the place of popular assembly for the elders of a city; cf. Gen 19:1.

A similar phrase occurs in Gen 34:24, “all that went out at the gate.” The classical illustration of business transactions conducted at “the gate” of a city is to be found in the Book of Ruth, chap. Gen 4:1 ff.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 10. And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth] And Ephron yosheb, was sitting among the children of Heth, but, as was before conjectured, was personally unknown to Abraham; he therefore answered for himself, making a free tender of the field, &c., to Abraham, in the presence of all the people, which amounted to a legal conveyance of the whole property to the patriarch.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Ephron dwelt, Heb. did sit, to wit, at that time, as one of the chief or rulers of the people; for so the word sitting is oft used, as we shall see hereafter.

His city; either where he was born, or at least where he lived.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

10. Ephron dweltliterally,was “sitting” among the children of Heth in the gate of thecity where all business was transacted. But, though a chief man amongthem, he was probably unknown to Abraham.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth,…. Or “sat” b among them, in the present assembly of them; and, according to Jarchi, as their president for the time on this occasion; but if so, Abraham would have directed his speech to him: however, he was upon the spot, as appears from what follows,

and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth; he rose up in the assembly upon the mention of his name, and in the hearing of the rest of the princes gave an answer himself to Abraham’s request:

[even] of all that went in at the gates of his city; the city of Kirjatharba, afterwards called Hebron, Ge 23:2, where he was born, or however where he now lived; and perhaps it, or the greater part of it, was his possession and property: it was now at one of the gates of this city, where the assembly of the princes was held; it being usual to hold assemblies on any business, or courts of judicature, in such places, they being public, where multitudes resorted, or were continually passing and repassing, and so had the opportunity of hearing, and of being witnesses:

saying; as follows:

b , Sept. “sedens”, Montanus; “sedebat”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Schmidt.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(10) And Ephron dwelt among . . . Again a mistranslation. The Heb. is, Ephron was sitting in the midst of the Hittites. At these assemblies held at the gate of the city every free-born citizen had a right to be present, and matters were settled by common consent. As Ephron was the owner of the cave, his approval was necessary, and this Abraham treats as a favour, and requests that Ephrons fellow-citizens will intercede in his behalf.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

10. Ephron at the gate of his city Here note that the scene has changed . Those children of Heth with whom Abraham first communed (Gen 23:8) on the purchase of the cave, have broken the matter to the owner, and he now appears sitting at the gate, where all such business is publicly transacted in the audience, or hearing, of all that congregated there, and speaks . See further on Gen 23:17.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Now Ephron was sitting among the children of Heth. And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying, “No, my lord, hear me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead ”.’

The conversation is taking place before the leading officials of the city. This is a public sale requiring the say so of the elders of the city, and especially so because it will alter Abraham’s status.

Ephron continues negotiation. He is willing, but if Abraham wants the cave he must also buy the field it is in. This would probably put him under certain feudal obligations. The ‘giving’ was not expected to be taken literally. They are in fact engaging in hard bargaining.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Purchase of Machpelah

v. 10. And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth. And Ephron, the Hittite, answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

v. 11. Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee; bury thy dead. The same Oriental politeness continued to be exercised throughout. The offer of Ephron, the Hittite, made before the ears of all the members of his tribe and of all his fellow-citizens, was hardly intended seriously; for if Abraham had accepted his offer, he would, according to custom, have expected a very rich counter-present, and, in case Abraham chose to purchase the land, Ephron’s offer was designed to prevent any abatement of the price he had fixed in his mind.

v. 12. And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land. He once more gratefully acknowledged the kind intention of the Hittites, also in this offer as made by Ephron; he was not to be outdone in politeness.

v. 13. And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there. The words of Abraham at this point indicate some measure of agitation and a shade of impatience: But if thou-Oh, that thou wouldest listen to me! As he had indicated from the start, he did not want the cave as a gift, but had come prepared to pay for it.

v. 14. And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

v. 15. My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? Bury therefore thy dead. Ephron here named his price: “The field-four hundred shekels silver; between me and thee, what is that?” It is named in courtly terms and intimates an apology for the demand, since Abraham would insist upon having it thus. The silver shekel being worth about 50 cents, the piece of land with the cave Machpelah cost Abraham two hundred dollars. “A piece of land of so little value could not be the matter of a long transaction between two rich men. ”

v. 16. And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. There were no stamped coins with a fixed value in Canaan at that time, but there seem to have been pieces of silver of a definite weight, which could readily be weighed out. In a transaction such as that recorded here, these pieces were weighed out in order to show that no fraud was being attempted. Abraham weighed out full measure, as it was required with the merchants, in honest business Christians, as the apostle rightly says, will avoid even the appearance of evil. Abraham here gave evidence of his faith by buying a small piece of land in the country which was promised to his descendants, being sure that the Lord would keep His promise.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Gen 23:10. And Ephron dwelt, &c. The original word (iosheb) signifies sat, and implies, that Ephron had a seat in their council. See Psa 119:23. He appears to have been a ruler or principal person among them, by Abraham’s requesting others to address him. It is ingeniously remarked by Dr. Shuckford, that one would be almost led to think the children of Heth had no king, as Abraham made his application to no particular person, but stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth, Psa 119:7. And when Ephron and he bargained, their agreement was ratified by a popular council, Psa 119:10; Psa 119:13. If Heth was the king of the country, his people had a great share in the administration: and indeed most of the kingdoms in or near Canaan, seem to have been originally so constituted, that the people in them had great liberties and power. Thus it was at Shechem, where Hamor was king: the prince determined nothing, wherein the people were concerned, without communion with the men of his city about it. See ch. Gen 34:20; Gen 34:24.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Gen 23:10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, [even] of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

Ver. 10. And Ephron dwelt. ] Or, was sitting, sc., as a city counsellor.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

dwelt. Hebrew was sitting there.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

dwelt: Or, sitting – as the word frequently denotesamong the children of Heth, at the gate of the city, where all public business was transacted. Ephron, though a chief man, might have been personally unknown to Abraham; but now he answers for himself, making a free tender of the field and cave to Abraham, in the presence of all the people, which amounted to a legal conveyance to the Patriarch.

audience: Heb. ears

all that: Gen 23:18, Gen 34:20, Gen 34:24, Rth 4:1-4, Job 29:7, Isa 28:6

his: Gen 24:10, Mat 9:1, Luk 2:3, Luk 2:4

Reciprocal: Lev 2:12 – the oblation

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

23:10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, [even] of all that {c} went in at the gate of his city, saying,