And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. Genesis 50:10 ; Acts 8:2 . How suited the observation of the Patriarch, both to this, as well as to himself; and to all other cases. Genesis 47:9 . How applicable that prayer! Psalms 90:12 . How delightful that thought! Psalms 102:24-27 . read more
City. Hebrew, Cariath arbah, Josue xiv. 15. --- Which is Hebron. Serarius thinks it took its name from the society (cherber) between Abraham and the princes of the city. Hebron the son of Caleb possessed it afterwards. --- Came from Bersabee, (chap. xxii. 19.) or to the place where the corpse lay, at Arbee, which signifies four; as Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with their four wives, reposed there. (Calmet) --- And weep. In the middle of this word, in the printed Hebrew, there is left... read more
1-13 The longest life must shortly come to a close. Blessed be God that there is a world where sin, death, vanity, and vexation cannot enter. Blessed be his name, that even death cannot part believers from union with Christ. Those whom we most love, yea, even our own bodies, which we so care for, must soon become loathsome lumps of clays, and be buried out of sight. How loose then should we be to all earthly attachments and adornments! Let us seek rather that our souls be adorned with heavenly... read more
The Death of Sarah v. 1. And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old; these were the years of the life of Sarah. She thus lived to a ripe old age and saw her son Isaac grow up to full manhood, for the latter was now thirty-seven years old. Meanwhile Abraham had moved back to Hebron. v. 2. And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. It appears from Joshua 14:15 and Judges 1:10 that Hebron, one of... read more
ELEVENTH SECTIONThe sorrows and joys of Abraham’s domestic life. The account and genealogy of those at home. Sarah’s death. Her burial-place at Hebron; the seed of the future inheritance of Canaan. The theocratic foundation of the consecrated burial Genesis 22:20 to Genesis 23:2020And it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying [what follows], 21Behold, Milcah, she hath also borne children unto thy brother Nahor; Huz [see Genesis 10:23; a light sandy land, in northern... read more
Abraham Buys a Burial Place Genesis 23:1-20 Death is an ever-constant monitor that this world is not our home. We rise up from before our dead to confess that we are only strangers and sojourners on the earth. Though the whole country, by God’s deed and gift, belonged to Abraham, it had not as yet been made over; hence the necessity for this deliberate purchase with all the stately formalities of the leisured East. Abraham’s insistence on buying this grave, and the care with which the... read more
We now see Abraham in the midst of personal sorrow, which reveals his character in a remarkable way. Sarah, who had ever been to him a princess, was now taken from his side, which meant the loss of the strongest human prop to Abraham's faith. It must be remembered that she had been with him along the whole pathway of obedience from Ur of the Chaldees. She had shared his hours of darkness and his hours of light. Doubtless at times she had been a cause of fear and trembling to him, and his very... read more
‘And Sarah died in Kiriath Arba (the same is Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.’ We are not told why Sarah happened to be in Hebron. It had previously been a place occupied by the family tribe and a sanctuary had been established there (Genesis 13:18; Genesis 14:13; Genesis 18:1 with Genesis 23:19). She may well have been visiting connections there, possibly with the purpose of maintaining the old alliances. “Came to mourn for Sarah and to... read more
Genesis 23. Abraham Purchases the Cave of Machpelah as a Burying-place of Sarah.— This chapter belongs to P, as is shown by its legal precision and the wordiness of its style, by numerous characteristic expressions, and by the later references in P ( Genesis 25:9 f., Genesis 49:29-Jonah :, Genesis 50:13). It shows how Abraham acquired property by purchase in Canaan, an earnest of ultimate possession of the whole, and perhaps inculcates by his example the duty of acquiring a family grave, to... read more
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The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Genesis 23:1-20
The Burial of Sarah Genesis 23:0 It has been remarked as a singular circumstance that Sarah is the only woman whose age is mentioned in the Scriptures. At the time of her death her only son Isaac was thirty-seven years old, she herself being ninety at the time of his birth. We know little about Sarah, except that she was comely to look upon; somewhat severe towards Hagar her handmaid, and that she was the mother of Isaac! This seems quite little when mentioned in one sentence, but really it... read more