Genesis 23

This chapter records the death of Sarah (Genesis 23:1-3); Abraham's purchase of a burial place (Genesis 23:4-16); and the burial of the beloved Sarah in the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 23:17-20).

The brash and arrogant assertions that, "This is from the priestly source,"[1] "This chapter belongs to P,"[2] etc., which were common in the first third of this century have long ago been repudiated even by the critics. Even while such assertions were common, Alan Richardson denied that they were correct.[3] More recently (1981), the great Dutch scholar Aalders summed up the "source" allegations thus: "The few evidences that allegedly point to `P' are so inconsequential that this chapter actually calls the whole theory of divided sources into serious question."[4] This should surprise no one. We have repeatedly shouted that "The king is naked" as far as the whole "sources" nonsense is concerned. There are NO prior sources! Moses, the author of Genesis, could have consulted other prior writings, but why should he have done so? Repeatedly, the Bible tells us that "God spake unto Moses." With a "source" like that, Moses had no need to consult pagan documents, even if any such documents had existed. The Hebrew University in Jerusalem has published to the whole world during this present decade the results of a 5-year computer study, revealing that "a SINGLE author wrote the Pentateuch!" As far as this writer is concerned, the whole divided sources theory is dead. However, like the lie that the disciples of Jesus stole his body, this falsehood also will continue to limp its way through history, and unbelievers will continue to parrot such outdated and disproved theories.