Глава 23

Gen.23:1. Sarah's life was one hundred and twenty-seven years: these are the years of Sarah's life; As the wife of Abraham and the mother of all believers (Isa. 51:2; 1 Pet. 3:6), Sarah is the only Old Testament woman whose years are noted in the Holy Scriptures. Gen.23:2. and Sarah died in Kiriath-arba, [which is in the valley] which is now Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Resolving some misunderstanding why Sarah died in Hebron, and not in Bathsheba, where Abraham lived and from where he came to mourn her, Metropolitan. Philaret thinks that Abraham had, at the end of his life, two locations, in which he alternately roamed with his herds: in one of these locations, namely in ancient Kiriath-Arba, which was distinguished by better climatic conditions, the elderly Sarah lived in retirement, while Abraham himself was more often in another point, in which his main herds were concentrated, i.e. in Bathsheba. Regarding the very name of the city of Hebron, see above note. to Art. 18th ch. 13th. And Abraham came to weep for Sarah and mourn her. Those. he spent a certain amount of time fulfilling the funeral customs of his country, which served both as a natural expression of grief for the loss, and at the same time as a tribute of gratitude and respect to the deceased (Gen. 27:41, 50:1, 3–4, 10; 1 Kings 13:29–30; Jer. 16:5; Eccl. 7:2, etc.). Purchase of the Cave of Machpelah, burial place of Sarah Gen.23:3. And Abraham departed from his dead woman, and spoke to the sons of Heth, and said: These are obviously the same Hittites who were mentioned above as the descendants of Ham and Canaan (Gen. 10:15). That is why, in the subsequent context, the “daughters of Heth” do not differ from the “daughters of Canaan” (Gen. 27:46, 28:1). Scientists have now discovered traces of the rich and developed Hittite culture created by the people who inhabited ancient Syria and Palestine and founded here a vast and powerful kingdom, with many provinces and colonies, one of which was probably Hebron. Gen.23:4. I am a stranger and a settler among you; Abraham, to whom God himself repeatedly gave promises to possess all of Palestine, humbly calls himself a stranger and settler in a foreign land. He believes that the promises of God will eventually be fulfilled, and does not express any impatience with the slowness of their fulfillment. A truly moving combination of strong faith and deep humility. give me the property of a place for a coffin between you, so that I may bury my dead from my eyes. “The acquisition of a burial place in Palestine was an important action in the life of the patriarchs, because it tangibly reminded the people of Israel in the future that Palestine is a land of promise, that the Most High has given His people a destiny there. That is why both Jacob (Gen. 49:29) and Joseph (Gen. 50:25) bequeathed to bring their bodies there, to the land of blessings” (Vlastov). Gen.23:6. listen to us, our lord; you are the prince of God among us; bury your dead in the best of our burial places; The Hebrew word "Elohim", translated here in the sense of indicating God, should in fact be more correctly translated as an adjective: "strong, mighty", then the whole phrase will receive the proper form and will be completely understandable in the mouth of the pagan Hittites: "you are the most powerful prince among us." Such an appeal, as well as the entire subsequent offer of the Heteans to allocate the best burial plot free of charge, testifies to their high respect for Abraham. Gen.23:8–9. And [Abraham] spoke to them and said: If you agree that I should bury my dead, then listen to me, ask Ephron the son of Tsochar for me, so that he gives me the cave of Machpelah, which he has at the end of his field, so that for a reasonable price he gives it to me in the midst of you, as a property for burial. The Slavic text apparently gives a translation of the Hebrew proper name, saying: “and let him give me a deep cave” (Machpelah). Treasuring the burial place as an inalienable property, Abraham does not agree to accept it as a gift, but wants to purchase it for money, i.e. in a more certain and lasting way, after which Abraham's right of possession becomes clear and undeniable to all. Gen.23:10–16. Ephron sat in the midst of the sons of Heth; And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the voice of the children of Heth, all who entered into the gates of his city, and said: no, my lord, listen to me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it, I give it to you, in the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you, bury your dead. Abraham bowed down before the people of the land and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of [all] the people of the land and said, If you will listen, I will give you money for the field; take it from me, and I will bury my dead there. Ephron answered Abraham and said to him: my lord! listen to me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; for me and for you what is it? bury your dead. The entire biblical scene depicted in these verses is full of artistic truth. And now, even in the East, the free sons of the desert carry out their barter trade and various trade transactions without any papers or conditions, but on their word of honor and in the presence of living witnesses. That is why the agreement concluded by Abraham with the Hittites on the purchase of Machpelah was not violated by anyone, despite the long absence of Jews from Palestine during two centuries of Egyptian slavery. Abraham listened to Ephron; And Abraham weighed out the silver to Ephron, as he declared in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, such as the merchants had. According to most learned archaeologists, the minting of coins among the Jews began only after the Babylonian captivity; but there is no doubt that their trade existed on a fairly wide scale, and not only barter, but also purchase and sale. The role of banknotes here was played by a plate or ring made of gold or silver of known weight, with which payment was made. There is no doubt that the four hundred shekels for which Abraham made his purchase were of a similar type. If we assume that the exchange rate value of the shekels was stable all the time, then it turns out that Abraham paid about 300 rubles for his purchase. Gen. 23:17–18. And the field of Ephron, which was by Machpelah, opposite Mamre, became the field and the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field throughout all the borders around it, Abraham's possession in the sight of the children of Heth, all who entered into the gates of his city. From this it is obvious that Abraham’s possession was not only a cave, but also a field with trees, so we can believe that part of the oak grove of Mamre went to him. You might be interested in: