Genesis 23:19-20 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 23:16-20

We have here the conclusion of the treaty between Abraham and Ephron about the burying-place. The bargain was publicly made before all the neighbours, in the presence and audience of the sons of Heth, Gen. 23:16, 17. Note, Prudence, as well as justice, directs us to be fair, and open, and above-board, in our dealings. Fraudulent contracts hate the light, and choose to be clandestine; but those that design honestly in their bargains care not who are witnesses to them. Our law countenances sales... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 23:19

And after this ,.... After this affair was over, the bargain struck, the money paid, and possession secured: Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah , before Mamre ; and here he himself was buried, and also Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah, Genesis 25:9 . Benjamin of Tudela F8 Itinerarium, p. 48, 49. says, in his time (who lived in the latter end of the twelfth century), in the field of Machpelah was a city or town, and in it a large temple... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 23:20

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... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 23:20

And the field, etc. were made sure - ויקם 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... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 23:1-20

The death and burial of Sarah. I. THE DEATH OF SARAH . 1. The mournful event . The death of— 2. The attendant circumstances . Sarah died— II. THE BURIAL OF SARAH . 1. The days of mourning . "Abraham came to mourn and to weep for Sarah." The sorrow of the patriarch was— 2. The purchase of a grave . Here may be noted— 3. The last rites of sepulture . " After this Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah;"... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 23:19

And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife —with what funeral rites can only be conjectured. Monumental evidence attests that the practice of embalming the dead existed in Egypt in the reign of Amunophth I ., though probably originating, earlier.; and an examination of the Mugheir vaults for burying the dead shows that among the early Chaldaeans it was customary to place the corpse upon a matting of reed spread upon a brick floor, the head being pillowed on a single sun-dried brick, and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 23:19-20

The death and burial of Sarah. I. TRUE RELIGION SANCTIFIES NATURAL RELATIONSHIPS . Those who know themselves blessed of God do not only feel that their human affections are precious and true, but do, in obedience to his will, preserve the greatest respect for their bodily frame, and for their dead who died in the Lord, and whose dust is committed tenderly to his keeping. II. THE PEOPLE OF GOD WERE UPHELD BY FAITH IN THEIR CARE FOR THE DEAD . They looked... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 23:20

And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying-place by the sons of Heth . The palpable discrepancy between the statements of the Hebrew historian in this chapter concerning the patriarchal sepulcher and those of the Christian orator when addressing the Jewish Sanhedrim ( Acts 7:16 ) has been well characterized as praegravis quaedam et perardua, et quorundam judicio inextricabilis quaestio (Pererius). Of course the Gordian knot of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 23:20

Lessons from the sepulcher. "And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying-place." Abraham's first and only possession in Canaan, a sepulcher. The importance of the par-chase appears in the careful narrative of the transaction. For himself he was content to live as a stranger and pilgrim (cf. 1 Peter 5:7 ); but Sarah's death led him to acquire a burying-place. Declining the offer to use any of the sepulchers of the people of the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 23:1-20

- The Death of Sarah2. ארבע קרית qı̂ryat-'arba‛, “Qirjath-arba‘, city of Arba.” ארבע 'arba‛, “Arba‘, four.”8. עפרון ‛eprôn, “‘Ephron, of the dust, or resembling a calf.” צחר tshochar, “Tsochar, whiteness.”9. מכפלה makpêlâh, “Makpelah, doubled.”The death and burial of Sarah are here recorded. This occasions the purchase of the field of Makpelah, in the cave of which is her sepulchre.Genesis 23:1-2Sarah is the only woman whose age is recorded in Scripture. She meets with this distinction as... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 23:16-20

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 23:19

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 23:20

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 23:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 23:1-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 23:19

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 23:19-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 23:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 23:20

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 23:1-20

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