And the field, and the cave that [is] therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burial place by the sons of Heth.
20. were made sure ] This verse repeats and summarizes the transaction which for all subsequent ages symbolized to the Israelites their ancestral connexion with, and sacred rights in, the land of Canaan.
a buryingplace ] Besides Sarah there were buried in the cave of Machpelah, Abraham (Gen 25:9), Isaac (Gen 35:27; Gen 35:29), Rebekah and Leah (Gen 49:31), Jacob (Gen 50:13).
The cave, which is traditionally identified with the burying-place of Abraham, is still regarded with immense veneration by the Mahommedans. A large mosque has been erected over it. In 1869 the Prussian Crown Prince Frederick, and in 1881 the late King Edward VII, who was then Prince of Wales, received permission to visit the cave. But, as a rule, Christians are not allowed to view it.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 20. And the field, c. were made sure] vaiyakom, were established, caused to stand the whole transaction having been regulated according to all the forms of law then in use.
1. IN this transaction between Abraham and the sons of Heth concerning the cave and field of Machpelah, we have the earliest account on record of the purchase of land. The simplicity, openness, and candour on both sides cannot be too much admired.
2. Sarah being dead, Abraham being only a sojourner in that land, shifting from place to place for the mere purpose of pasturing his flocks, and having no right to any part of the land, wished to purchase a place in which he might have the continual right of sepulture. For this purpose, 1. He goes to the gate of the city, the place where, in all ancient times, justice was administered, and bargains and sales concluded, and where for these purposes the elders of the people sat. 2. He there proposes to buy the cave known by the name of the Cave of Machpelah, the cave of the turning or the double cave, for a burying place for his family. 3. To prevent him from going to any unnecessary expense, the people with one voice offer him the privilege of burying his wife in any of their sepulchres; this appearing to them to be no more than the common rights of hospitality and humanity required. 4. Abraham, intent on making a purchase, Ephron, the owner of the field and cave, values them at four hundred shekels, but at the same time wishes Abraham to receive the whole as a gift. 5. Abraham refuses the gift and weighs down the silver specified. 6. The people who enter in at the gate, i.e., the inhabitants coming from or going to their ordinary occupations in the country, witness the transaction, and thus the conveyance to Abraham is made sure without the intervention of those puzzlers of civil affairs by whose tricks and chicanery property often becomes insecure, and right and succession precarious and uncertain. But this censure does not fall on lawyers properly so called, who are men of honour, and whose office, in every well-regulated state, is as useful as it is respectable. But the accumulation and complex nature of almost all modern systems of law puzzle even justice herself, and often induce decisions by which truth falls in the streets and equity goes backwards. In the first ages of mankind, suspicion, deceit, and guile seem to have had a very limited influence. Happy days of primitive simplicity! When shall they return?
3. We often hear of the rudeness and barbarity of the primitive ages, but on what evidence? Every rule of politeness that could be acted upon in such a case as that mentioned here, is brought into full practice. Is it possible to read the simple narration in this place without admiring the amiable, decent, and polite conduct displayed on both sides? Had even Lord Chesterfield read this account, his good sense would have led him to propose it as a model in all transactions between man and his fellows. There is neither awkward, stiff formality on the one hand, nor frippery or affectation on the other. Decent respect, good sense, good nature, and good breeding, are all prominently displayed. And how highly laudable and useful is all this! A pedant or a boor on either side might have destroyed the simplicity of the whole transaction; the one by engendering caution and suspicion, and the other by exciting disgust. In all such transactions the beau and the boor are equally to be avoided.
From the first no sincerity can be expected, and the manners of the latter render him intolerable. The religion of the Bible recommends and inculcates orderly behaviour, as well as purity of heart and life. They who, under the sanction of religion, trample under foot the decent forms of civil respect, supposing that because they are religious they have a right to be rude, totally mistake the spirit of Christianity, for love or charity (the soul and essence of that religion) behaveth not itself unseemly. Every attentive reader of the thirteenth chapter of St. Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians, will clearly discern that the description of true religion given in that place applies as forcibly to good breeding as to inward and outward holiness. What lessons of honesty, decent respect, and good manners could a sensible man derive from Abraham treating with the sons of Heth for the cave of Machpelah, and William Penn treating with the American Indians for the tract of land now called Pennsylvania! I leave others to draw the parallel, and to show how exactly the conduct and spirit of patriarch the first were exemplified in the conduct and spirit of patriarch the second. Let the righteous be had in everlasting remembrance!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And the field, and the cave that is therein, was made sure to Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace, by the sons of Heth. Who were witnesses of the transaction between Abraham and Ephron; and this was further made sure by Sarah’s being buried in it, which was taking possession of it, for the use for which it was bought; and was a pledge and earnest of the future possession of the land of Canaan by the seed of Abraham: this was the first piece of ground in it possessed by Abraham and his seed; and it being called the possession of a buryingplace, shows that there is no contradiction between this and what Stephen says, Ac 7:5; he had a possession to bury in, but not to live upon; not any ground of his own to till and sow, or build upon.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The repetition of the statement, that the field with the cave in it was conveyed to Abraham by the Hittites for a burial-place, which gives the result of the negotiation that has been described with, so to speak, legal accuracy, shows the great importance of the event to the patriarch. The fact that Abraham purchased a burying-place in strictly legal form as an hereditary possession in the promised land, was a proof of his strong faith in the promises of God and their eventual fulfilment. In this grave Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, were buried; there Jacob buried Leah; and there Jacob himself requested that he might be buried, thus declaring his faith in the promises, even in the hour of his death.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(20) Were made sure unto Abraham.For the difficulties connected with St. Stephens apparent confusion of this transaction with that recorded in Gen. 33:19, see Note on Act. 7:16.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.
I DETAIN the Reader but with two reflections on this Chapter. May the Holy Ghost increase them largely, and profitably to his mind! The one is, that in the confirmation of God’s promises to Abraham, to give him Canaan for an everlasting possession, the first spot of it which he could truly call his own, was his burying-place. This was indeed possessing it, until the glorious morning of a resurrection. The other is, from hence the first sound of that sweet declaration was made, which John in after ages heard more distinctly: Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. These all died in faith, said the Apostle. They fell asleep in Jesus. Lord, grant me the same faith! May it be my portion that, wherever the Machpelah for my earthly house may be, Jesus may receive my soul: and may it be found in that hour that I have a building with God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 23:20 And the field, and the cave that [is] therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.
Ver. 20. Were made sure ] sc., by witnesses, without writings: but now it is hard to be sure of anything; there is so much robbery and rapine amongst the sons of men.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
made sure. This was all strictly in conformity with the commercial enactments of the Code of Khammurabi. See App-15.
buryingplace. All that Abraham possessed; hut in the faith and hope of resurrection.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
were: Rth 4:7-10, 2Sa 24:24, Jer 32:10, Jer 32:11
for a: Gen 25:9, Gen 49:31, Gen 49:32, Gen 50:5, Gen 50:13, Gen 50:24, Gen 50:25, 2Ki 21:18
Reciprocal: Gen 23:17 – the field Gen 35:29 – his sons 1Ch 1:13 – Heth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 23:20. A burying-place It is worth noting, 1st, That a burying-place was the first spot of ground Abraham was possessed of in Canaan. 2d, That it was the only piece of land he was ever possessed of, though it was all his own in reversion. Those that have least of this earth find a grave in it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
23:20 And the field, and the cave that [is] therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace {f} by the sons of Heth.
(f) That is, all the people confirmed the sale.