I could be WAY off base here.....but something is ringing significant here. Up until now, Abraham has been a very wealthy man...but I think he has been nomadic, in nature. This represents the first time he actually owns land. This is the beginning of the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, to own all the land that he has seen. So, its interesting that Abe is so forcefull about paying the worth of the land to Ephron, even though God has already made a covenant with him, saying that all of this land will be his anyway.
Does that make sense, what I just wrote? It seems a little confusing.
The covenant says that all the land will belong to Abraham and his descendents, but Abraham insists on paying for land that will wind up being his anyway.
It is sad to lose your beloved wife. I can't imagine it. And, I don't want to.
It says that she lived to 127. Didn't we read in the last chapter that Isaac was born when she was 100?
That would mean he's almost 30 when she passes.
peace
I did a little research, one guy asked what happened to the Jewish bargain hunting gene insisting to pay lol. But he suggested it was pretty significant just as you did--
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the very first plot of land ‘acquired by right of ownership” in Israel is the grave-site of Sarah is fraught with profound significance; Israel is the land of our continuity, the place of our eternity. It was never meant for temporary use by our people; it is our eternal homeland. And just as Abraham insists on paying for Sarah’s grave - so that it can never revert back to any other Gentile owner - so does King David insist upon paying Arvona the Jebusite for the land which was to become the Temple Mount:
and also noted:
How ironic it is that the two sacred places whose purchase contract by Israel is recorded in the Bible - the Cave of the Couples and the Temple Mount - remain the most hotly contested areas in Israel by our Arab neighbors?!
nice call bro, I did not pick up on this thanks for calling it out. and yes I think Isaac was about 30 when Sarah died.
Hope you guys had a good weekend, we really missed being with you.
knut