Abraham and the Hittites

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Abraham's Humble Negotiation

TANAKH

Abraham's negotiation with the Hittites showcases his humility and respect, as well as his insistence on paying the full price for Sarah's burial site. The book of Genesis recounts Abraham's respectful approach and strategic negotiation to secure the cave of Machpelah for Sarah's burial.

Then Abraham rose from beside his dead, and spoke to the Hittites, saying, “I am a resident alien among you; sell me a burial site among you, that I may remove my dead for burial.” And the Hittites replied to Abraham, saying to him, “Hear us, my lord: you are the elect of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places; none of us will withhold his burial place from you for burying your dead.” Thereupon Abraham bowed low to the landowning citizens, the Hittites, and he said to them, “If it is your wish that I remove my dead for burial…

Genesis 23:3-10

Abraham's Spiritual Influence on the Hittites

MUSAR

Abraham's presence among the Hittites had a profound spiritual impact, purifying their spiritual roots and elevating their status. Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, in his 17th-century work, explores Abraham's unique spiritual level and his ability to reach the most rarefied Celestial Regions.

When the sons of Chet addressed Abraham by saying: "You are a prince of G–d in our midst" (Genesis 23,7), what they meant was that the personality of Abraham had made a deep impression on their תוכיות, internality. They felt that their own spiritual roots had become purified through having an Abraham in their proximity. They were convinced that this augured well for their future and eventual salvation, and they thanked Abraham. When our Bereshit Rabbah 43,5 explains the words עמק שוה in Genesis 14,17, by saying that all the nations agreed (השוו) to crown Abraham there as their king…

Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Torah Shebikhtav, Toldot, Torah Ohr 50

Promises and Integrity

MIDRASH

The wicked often make grand promises but fail to follow through, as illustrated by Ephron's initial generous offer to Abraham, which he later retracts by demanding a high price for the land. The Midrash Tanchuma, an early medieval collection of midrash, uses the story of Abraham purchasing the Cave of Machpelah to teach lessons about integrity and honesty.

Whence do we know that the wicked say much but do not do even a little? We find this illustrated by Ephron, who at first said to Abraham: The field I give thee, and the cave that is therein I give thee (Gen. 23:11), only to declare later: The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that betwixt me and thee? (ibid., v. 15), which it was not worth.

Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 4:7

Abraham's Legal Journey for Sarah's Burial Plot

COMMENTARY

Abraham's purchase of a burial plot for Sarah involved navigating complex legal and communal procedures. Rashbam, a medieval Jewish commentator, provides a detailed account of the bureaucratic and legal formalities Abraham faced in securing the land.

תנו לי אחוזת קבר, allocate to me a burial plot which will be mine in all future, deeded. He wanted to buy a plot of land for the express purpose of burying his dead. Such a piece of land deeded in perpetuity, i.e. אחוזה, required the approval of all the local populace. This matter becomes even clearer when Avraham tenders the money for the field and cave to Efron, the former owner, and the Torah goes on to laboriously describe the bureaucratic procedure that had to be followed until Avraham could lay Sarah to rest. (17-19)

Rashbam on Genesis 23:4:2

The First Jewish Land Purchase

COMMENTARY

The field and cave of Machpelah hold both historical and spiritual significance, marking the first Jewish ownership of land in Canaan. Chizkuni, a 13th-century Torah commentary, provides a detailed account of the purchase of the Cave of Machpelah by Abraham, including its historical ownership and spiritual value.

ויקם, literally: “it stood up;” the subject is the field, and the Torah means that by becoming the property of Avraham this field now had “risen” in spiritual value. שדה עפרון, one side of that field extended along the whole length of that town. Here it is described in precise detail, i.e. ממרא היא חברון, whereas previously it had been described as קרית ארבע, “the city of the four;” later on during the lifetime of Yaakov it has been described as ממרא קרית הארבע היא חברון, (Genesis 35,27) a location where both Avraham and Yitzchok had been residents at one time or another. Earlier…

Chizkuni, Genesis 23:17:1

Abraham's Legal Acquisition

TALMUD

The Torah recognizes Abraham's acquisition of Ephron’s field as a formal and legal transaction. The Gemara in tractate Kiddushin discusses the legal aspects of this acquisition.

The Gemara continues: And the taking of Ephron’s field is called an acquisition in the Torah, as it is written with regard to the same issue: “The field which Abraham acquired” (Genesis 25:10).

Kiddushin 2a:5

Abraham buys a field of Ephron the Hittite for a burying-place. circa 1725, from the British Museum collection {PD-US}

Relatedראו גם

Efron

Cave of the Patriarchs

Parashat Chayei Sarah

Memberמשתתף

Abraham

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