Sarah lived to be 127 years old. When looking up information for Isaac’s age at the time he was almost sacrificed in Genesis 22, I found information that said he was 37 years old. (Yes, I googled.) I wrote that he was almost 40. If indeed he was 37 years old, then Sarah didn’t live too much longer after “the almost sacrificed” incident. Sarah was 90 years old when she had Isaac and died at 127 years old; that’s 37 years later. Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Of course, Abraham mourned deeply for his wife. Eventually, Abraham stopped mourning long enough to realize that he needed a burial place for Sarah and approached the sons of Heth for a place. In my research, Heth was the great grandson of Noah. His descendants are the Hittites. The Message Bible refers to the sons of Heth as the town council of Hittites. Abraham said that he was a foreigner and a visitor among them and told them to “give” him property so he could bury Sarah. They responded to Abraham by stating that he was a mighty prince among them. (So, they didn’t see Abraham as just a mere foreigner/visitor in their land.) They offered Abraham the best of their burial places. Abraham in respect bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth and asked for their help to intercede in approaching Ephron, the son of Zohar for a piece of his land – the cave of Machpelah at the end of his field. Abraham wanted to pay full price for the property. Ephron, the Hittite, in front of the sons of Heth offered to give Abraham the property free of charge. Abraham again insisted, telling Ephron in front of all the people that he will pay for the land. In Genesis 12:3, God told Abram (Abraham) that He will bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him. So, did Abraham rob Ephron of a blessing by insisting on buying the property rather than accepting it as a gift? Have you ever robbed someone of a blessing by refusing something they wanted to give you and you insisted on paying for it or you wouldn’t take it at all? So, Ephron finally said a price – four hundred shekels of silver and asked “What is that between you and me?” Picture a situation like wanting to pay someone for something they did or bought for you. They refuse to tell you the cost. Then finally after going back and forth, they say something like, “It only cost $20.” In finally stating the cost, the person could be “giving in” to resolve the matter or they could secretly want reimbursement and was really just putting on a show in front of everybody. So, I wonder which was the case for Ephron. Upon hearing the price quoted by Ephron, Abraham paid him four hundred shekels of silver (at the current market rate) in front of the sons of Heth. So, deeded to Abraham in the field of Ephron were the cave and all the trees surrounding all of the borders. This transaction was completed in the presence of the sons of Heth.

After this, Abraham buried Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So, in conclusion, the field and cave were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as burial property.

Our next stop is Genesis 24.

To God Be The Glory!