Genesis 23:13-20

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 23:13

If thou wilt give it - Instead of, if thou wilt give it, we should read, But if thou wilt sell it, I will give thee money for the field; כסף keseph , silver, not coined money, for it is not probable that any such was then in use. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 23:15

The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver - Though the words is worth are not in the text, yet they are necessarily expressed here to adapt the Hebrew to the idiom of our tongue. A shekel, according to the general opinion, was equal to two shillings and sixpence; but according to Dr. Prideaux, whose estimate I shall follow, three shillings English, four hundred of which are equal to sixty pounds sterling; but it is evident that a certain weight is intended, and not a coin, for in ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 23:16

Current with the merchant - לסחר עבר ober lassocher , passing to or with the traveler - such as was commonly used by those who traveled about with merchandise of any sort. The word signifies the same as hawker or peddler among us. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 23:17

All the trees that were in the field - It is possible that all these were specified in the agreement. 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

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 23:16

Verse 16 16.And Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver. I know not what had come into Jerome’s mind, when he says, that one letter was abstracted from Ephron’s name, after he had been persuaded, by Abraham’s entreaties, to receive money for the field; because, by the sale of the sepulcher, his virtue was maimed or diminished: for, in fact, the name of Ephron is found written in the very same manner, after that event, as before. Nor ought it to be imputed to Ephron as a fault, that, being pressed,... 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 23:12-13

And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land. To express his sense of their kindness, and appreciation of Ephron's offer in particular; aider which he courteously but firmly urged forward the contemplated purchase. And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me . Literally, if thou, I would that thou wouldst hear me, the two particles אִם and לוּ being conjoined to express the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 23:14-15

And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him, My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. The word "shekel," from shakal , to weigh, here used for the first time, was not a stamped coin, but a piece of metal of definite weight, according to Exodus 30:13 , equal to twenty gerahs, or beans, from garar, to roll. Coined money was unknown to the Hebrews until after the captivity. In the time of the Maccabees (1 Macc. 15:6) silver coins were struck bearing the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 23:16

And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron (either as knowing that the price he asked was reasonable, or as being in no humor to bargain with him on the subject); and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver ,—"Even this is still common; for although coins have now a definite name, size, and value, yet every merchant carries a small apparatus by which he weighs each coin to see that it has not been tampered with by Jewish Clippers"— which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth (the... read more

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