Click here to be a part of the Live Stream and interact with us in the Chat during this Bible Study.  

Abraham’s Faith Confirmed

Genesis 22:10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 

Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, :18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” :19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

Genesis 22:11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 

Genesis 22:12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

Genesis 22:13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.

The idea of substitutionary atonement is introduced, which would find its fulfillment in the death of Christ (Is 53:4–6; Jn 1:29; 2Co 5:21).

Genesis 22:14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Genesis 22:15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, Genesis 22:16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—

Genesis 22:17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.

Genesis 22:18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

Sarah’s Death and Burial

Genesis 23:1 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. :2 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. 

Although Sarah’s age—the only woman’s age at death recorded in Scripture—might suggest her importance in God’s plan, it more importantly reminds of the birth of her only son well beyond childbearing age (at 90 years of age, ) and of God’s intervention to bring about the fulfillment of His word to her and Abraham. Sarah’s death occurred ca. 2028 b.c.

Genesis 23:3 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, :4 “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.” 

A settlement of Hittites whose original home was in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), who had already been established in Canaan far from their homeland.

Negotiations for the purchase (“give” signifies here “sell”) of Hittite property was properly conducted in accordance with contemporary Hittite custom, with Abraham wanting to pay the market value for it (v. 9).

Genesis 23:5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, :6 “Hear us, my lord: 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, that you may bury your dead.” 

Rank and reputation accorded Abraham a place of leadership and respect, leading his neighbors (the Hittites) to freely offer their best sepulchers to him. 

They went on and arranged for Abraham to purchase a cave that belonged to a wealthy neighbor called Ephron (vv. 7–9), unknown to Abraham. 

Genesis 23:7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. :8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, :9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.”

Genesis 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, :11 “No, my lord, hear me: 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!” 

Ephron was probably sitting at the city gate where business was usually transacted. 

This suggests not that Ephron felt generous, but that he was constrained by Hittite feudal polity, which tied ownership of land with service to the ruler. Passing the land to Abraham would pass also feudal responsibilities to Abraham, making him liable for all taxes and duties. This Ephron was apparently anxious to do, thus the offer to give the land. 

Genesis 23:12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; :13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.”

Genesis 23:14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, :15 “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.”

Genesis 23:16 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. 

Precious metals were not made into coins for exchange until centuries later. Merchants maintained the shekel as the standard weight of value for business transactions. A shekel weighed less than one half ounce.

Genesis 23:17 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 :18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

With the words of the transaction, the careful description of the property, and the payment of the stated price all done before witnesses and at the proper place of business, ownership of the land officially passed to Abraham. It was still binding years later in the time of Jacob.

Genesis 23:19 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.

Once the purchase had been made, Abraham buried Sarah. Moses notes the place is Hebron in Canaan, to which his initial readers were soon headed.

Genesis 23:20 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. 

This is an important summary, because finally, after years of nomadic wandering, Abraham owned a small piece of real estate in the midst of all the land divinely promised to him and his descendants. 

The cave also became many years later the family burial plot for Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob, with Rachel being the exception (35:19). 

A Bride for Isaac

Macdonald, Farstad  Grady Scott, Hindson, E. MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006).