We are told by Biblical scholars that Sarah is the only woman whose age is mentioned in the scriptures. She is also the only woman whose name the Lord changed (Genesis 17:15). Moreover, Peter tells us that she is the mother of believers (1Peter 3:6). A comparison of Genesis 23:1 with 17:17 will show that Isaac was 37 years of age, when his mother, Sarah, passed away. It appears that after dwelling in Beersheba for some time, Abraham moved back to Hebron, probably near the oaks of Mamre, where he had originally built an altar (Genesis 13:18). It was here that both Abraham and Sarah had their names changed by God (Genesis 17:5, 15), and Abraham dwelt here, when the birth of Isaac was promised (Genesis 17:16, 19). It was also from this place that Abraham had gone to war to save Lot, and, finally, it was here, where the Lord and two angels appeared to him (Genesis 18:1-2) before he left to dwell in the land of the Philistines, near Gerar (Genesis 20:1).
Perhaps, Abraham suspected that Sarah was about to die, when he decided they should return from the land of the Philistines to the Land of Promise. The text is silent concerning the reason for Abraham leaving Beersheba; it may even be true that the Lord told him they should move, and Sarah was about to die, but except for the fact of the return, itself, all of this is conjecture. Nevertheless, whatever may have been the reason for their return, Sarah died here, when she was 127 years of age (Genesis 23:1).
We are told in the text that Sarah died in Kirjatharba,[1] which was also Hebron in the land of Canaan (Genesis 23:2). She is the first woman in the Bible, whose death is noted. We know nothing of the death of Eve, Adam’s wife, and Sarah is the first woman in the Bible, whose name is known, that is mentioned after Eve. Is this by coincidence, or is it for a reason? I suspect, it is done for a reason.
Consider that we have come from, “In the beginning God…” to the time when Abraham appears on the scene, and it is promised that he would be the father (creator?) of the Israelite nation. In eleven chapters we have come from God being the main character to man, in the person of Abraham, becoming the main character. The Presence of God has withdrawn into the background, giving mankind up to “the desires of their hearts” (Romans 1:24), “to degrading passions” (Romans 1:26) and “a debased mind” (Romans 1:28), because mankind, as a whole didn’t want to know the true God.
So, we’ve come from the obscure prophecy of the Messiah in Genesis 3:15 to the promised Seed running through Abraham/Sarah’s descendants (Genesis 22:18; cp. 17:19). We have come from the Presence of God to God in the background, and our only hope of knowing him and returning to his Presence comes in the definition of what was once obscure (Genesis 3:15). Sarah brings out of obscurity what was promised to mankind through Eve.
So, Abraham came to mourn and weep for his wife, Sarah, when he heard she died. There are several traditions concerning Sarah’s death, and where Abraham was at the time, but it is all conjecture. It is easier to believe that Abraham was in his tent or out in the field tending his animals, when word came that Sarah had died. Sarah had her own tent (Genesis 24:67), so no matter where Abraham was, he had to come to her in order to mourn and weep (Genesis 23:2).
Afterward he went to the gate of Kirjatharba to speak with the sons of Heth, the city authorities (Genesis 23:3), and he asked them to allow him to buy a place to bury his wife, Sarah (Genesis 23:4). The sons of Heth had a great respect for Abraham, and they offered him permission to bury Sarah in any one of their own burying places, for no one would withhold even his own sepulcher from him (Genesis 23:5-6). Nevertheless, Abraham had a particular place in mind for Sarah, so he asked the sons of Heth to ask Ephron to sell him the cave at the end of his field, and he would give Ephron his asking price (Genesis 23:7-9).
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[1] Kirjatharba was Hebron, a Hittite city that was governed by Arba at the time of Sarah’s death. Arba is the father of Anak, which is a race, rather than an individual. Anak was a race of tall men, sometimes referred to as giants (Numbers 13:33; Deuteronomy 1:28; 2:10). They were destroyed by Joshua (Joshua 11:21-22) except for those that fled to the land of the Philistines.
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