Abraham wished only to bury Sarah, his wife. Therefore, he asked the elders of the city of Kirjatharba, first, to be permitted to bury Sarah in their land, and, secondly, after they gave their permission, to witness the sale the cave at the end of the field of Machpelah from Ephron. Kirjatharba was a city of the Hittites, and its name was changed to Hebron, after Israel conquered the land centuries later. However, during the negotiations to buy the cave for Sarah’s burial, Ephron gave the field of Machpelah with the cave, as part of the sale. In doing so, he obligated Abraham to the Hittites, as a formal landowner. Notice an explanation of ancient Hittite law, as put forward by Dr. Victor P. Hamilton, an Old Testament scholar:
46: If in a village anyone hold fields under socage as inheritance – if the fields have all been given to him, he shall render the services; if the fields have been given to him only to a small part, he shall not render the services, they shall render them from his father’s house. If he usurps the fields of the estate-leaver or the people of the village give a field (to him), he shall render the services.
47: If anyone holds fields as a gift from the king, he shall not render the services. The king will take a loaf from (his) table and give it to him. – If anyone buys all the fields of a craftsman, he shall render the services. If he buys all the fields of a craftsman, he shall render the services. If he buys a great (part of) the fields he shall not render the services. If he usurps the fields or the people of the village give them (to him), he shall render the services.[1]
Thus, if Abraham bought the cave only, which was merely a “part of the field,” he wouldn’t have needed to “render the services” (pay the taxes). However, when Ephron “gave the field” with the cave, he obligated Abraham to pay the required taxes to the city.
There are still a few things that can be gleaned from this negotiation. Some would conclude that Ephron offered his field and the cave as a gift to Abraham three times, when Abraham merely requested to by the cave at the end of the field. However, this is simply our modern viewpoint read into the negotiations. Anyone in Abraham’s day who would believe Ephron was offering the field and cave as a gift, would be considered ignorant and uncouth. This ritual was how business transactions were conducted. Abraham offered to pay the full price for the cave, no negotiations to bring the price down. This was met by Ephron offering Abraham the field as well as the cave. Both parties appeared to be generous in the perspective transaction. However, this may not be the true sense of the business deal (Genesis 23:17-18; cp. verse-9).
Ephron mentioned that the field was worth 400 shekels of silver by weight (Genesis 23:15), which Abraham weighed out to Ephron, as soon as he named his price (Genesis 23:16). The shekel seems to be the weight value of silver, which later became the value of the coin called the shekel (cp. Exodus 30:13). If this is accurate and comparable to the price Abraham paid for the field and the cave, then Jeremiah’s 17 shekels, which he paid for a field (Jeremiah 32:6-10) seems to show Ephron took exorbitant advantage of Abraham’s situation. 400 shekels v/s 17 shekels seems to call into question the respect that Ephron and the sons of Heth really had for Abraham. Was the whole transaction nothing more than a business ritual?
In any case, Abraham was now able to bury Sarah (Genesis 23:19), and while he did so, the sons of Heth surveyed the property, which was sold to Abraham, making it sure to him as a possession and burying place (Genesis 23:20).
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[1] See, “The Book of Genesis Chapters 18-50” by Victor P. Hamilton; page 130.
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