Genesis 23

CHAPTER 23

The Death of Sarah (23:1–20)

1–2 Sarah died in the land of Canaan (verse 2). Ordinarily, people in biblical times would have chosen to be buried in their original homeland, but Abraham chose to have Sarah (and later himself) buried in Canaan, the land promised to their descendants.

3–20 Since Abraham was an alien and a stranger in Canaan (verse 4) and owned no land (only the well at Beersheba), he asked the local people of the area to sell him a cave; in those days caves commonly served as tombs. After some polite bargaining at the city gate⁹⁴ (verse 10), Abraham arranged with one of the local people, Ephron, to buy a cave, together with the field in which the cave was located. Ephron’s price was very high; he was probably taking advantage of Abraham. But Abraham, a wealthy man himself, agreed to pay it without complaint.

Thus Abraham legally purchased a small field and cave in a land that would eventually be possessed by his descendants. This particular cave became the resting place not only of Sarah and Abraham but also of Isaac and Rebekah and their son Jacob.

With the purchase of this field, Abraham gained, as it were, a “toehold” in the promised land of Canaan. But the final possession of the land was still five hundred years away. Abraham could be content with being a stranger in a foreign country (Hebrews 11:9), because he was looking forward to a better “land”—to a city with foundations whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10).