Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“The children of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, “Hear us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb. Bury your dead.” Abraham rose up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, to the children of Heth. He talked with them, saying, “If you agree that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may sell me the cave of Machpelah, which he has, which is in the end of his field. For the full price let him sell it to me among you as a possession for a burial place.””
(Genesis 23:5-9)

The Hittites had great respect for Abraham. Here they were offering to let him use any of their own tombs. Nothing would be withheld from him. It was a wonderful offer. Abraham responded in kind. He was good to them. He respected them. It didn’t matter if they were godly or not, he treated them the same way he would treat anyone. We are truly godly when we treat everyone with love and respect.

Abraham was congizant of the honour of their offer. But he wanted more for Sarah than a borrowed space. He wanted something of his own so that he would know she would rest undisturbed. That he would never have to worry about how her remains were being treated. He wasn’t interested in getting a deal. He was willing to pay the full price. He wasn’t asking for special treatment. But he wanted a place that wouldn’t be taken back. A place that wasn’t in demand. A place where she could lie in peace, honoured to the end for the woman and partner that she had been.

The sage Sforno writes: ‘במבחר קברנו קבור, “do not wait until the formalities of the purchase have been completed, but go ahead and bury Sarah.” This corresponds to a statement by our sages in Moed Katan 22 על כל המתים כולן מדחה מטתו, “it behooves us to bury all the dead with dispatch, without undue delay.” וישתחו לעם הארץ לבני חת. He bowed to the notables present, seeing they represented the whole population. אם יש את נפשכם לקבור, if you want that I shall bury the dead without delay, as you have indicated when you said: במבחר קברנו קבור!” (verse 6) i.e. that I would not need to wait. שמעוני, agree with me that I shall receive an inalienable burial plot. ופגעו לי בעפרון, that he will sell me this cave even though it is not an agreeable thing for a highly placed person to sell any portion of his land-holdings. We know this from Navot (Kings I 21,3) who had been aghast at the suggestion of selling his vineyard to the king. His precise words were: חלילה לי מתתי את נחלת אבותי לך, “far be it from me to give you any part of my ancestral heritage.” Compare verse 17 ויקם שדה עפרון אשר במכפלה אשר בקצה שדהו, “Efron’s field which is situated in machpela at the edge of his field, stood, etc.” The details provided by the Torah are intended to prove to us, the reader, that by selling the cave to Avraham Efron did not suffer any loss of face, he had no reason to feel embarrassed about what he had done. בכסף מלא, I do not want that he grant me a reduction from its real worth as a gesture to you. בתוככם, in the presence of all of you. I do not ask for time to come up with the payment but am willing to pay cash at once. Compare verse 16 where Avraham does in fact pay cash immediately. לאחוזת קבר, Avraham wanted complete freedom to do what he wanted to in the property once he had acquired it. This is the privilege granted to anyone owning an ancestral heritage. Avraham wanted it understood that as a result of the sale Efron would not be able to dictate to him how close to his own property Sarah or other members of his family could be buried.’

The Torah: A Women’s Commentary writes: ‘7–9. The courtesy, respect, and ready response of the Hittites allow Abraham to specify that he is particularly interested in the cave within the plot of Ephron, and that he wishes to purchase it at whatever price they require. 12–13. Abraham makes it clear that he does not want a grant or gift; rather, he desires legal rights to the entire field through full purchase of the property.’