John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 23:4
I am a stranger and a sojourner with you ,.... Not a native of the place, only dwelt as a sojourner among them for a time; but had not so much as a foot of ground he could call his own, and consequently had no place to inter his dead: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you ; not that he desired it as a free gift, but that he might be allowed to make a purchase of a piece of ground to bury his dead in; so the Targum of Jonathan,"sell me a possession,' &c.; Genesis 23:9 ;... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 23:3-15
Here is, I. The humble request which Abraham made to his neighbours, the Hittites, for a burying-place among them, Gen. 23:3, 4. It was strange he had this to do now; but we are to impute it rather to God's providence than to his improvidence, as appears Acts 7:5; where it is said, God gave him no inheritance in Canaan. It were well if all those who take care to provide burying-places for their bodies after death were as careful to provide a resting-place for their souls. Observe here, 1. The... read more