Genesis 23:10

Gen 23:10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, [even] of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

Ver. 10. And Ephron dwelt.] Or, was sitting, sc., as a city counsellor.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Meaning, all the citizens and inhabitants.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Ephron dwelt--literally, was "sitting" among the children of Heth in the gate of the city where all business was transacted. But, though a chief man among them, he was probably unknown to Abraham.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 10. And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth] And Ephron ישב yosheb, was sitting among the children of Heth, but, as was before conjectured, was personally unknown to Abraham; he therefore answered for himself, making a free tender of the field, &c., to Abraham, in the presence of all the people, which amounted to a legal conveyance of the whole property to the patriarch.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(10) And Ephron dwelt among . . . —Again a mistranslation. The Heb. is, Ephron was sitting in the midst of the Hittites. At these assemblies held at the gate of the city every free-born citizen had a right to be present, and matters were settled by common consent. As Ephron was the owner of the cave, his approval was necessary, and this Abraham treats as a favour, and requests that Ephron’s fellow-citizens will intercede in his behalf.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. audience] Lit. “ears,” as in Gen_23:13; Gen_23:16. The presence of witnesses is evidently requisite for the validity of the transaction: cf. Rth_4:9-11.

all that went in at the gate of his city] Cf. Gen_23:18. A technical phrase to denote full citizens. The gate was the place of popular assembly for the elders of a city; cf. Gen_19:1.

A similar phrase occurs in Gen_34:24, “all that went out at the gate.” The classical illustration of business transactions conducted at “the gate” of a city is to be found in the Book of Ruth, chap. Gen_4:1 ff.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth,.... Or "sat" (b) among them, in the present assembly of them; and, according to Jarchi, as their president for the time on this occasion; but if so, Abraham would have directed his speech to him: however, he was upon the spot, as appears from what follows:

and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth; he rose up in the assembly upon the mention of his name, and in the hearing of the rest of the princes gave an answer himself to Abraham's request:

even of all that went in at the gates of his city; the city of Kirjatharba, afterwards called Hebron, Gen 23:2, where he was born, or however where he now lived; and perhaps it, or the greater part of it, was his possession and property: it was now at one of the gates of this city, where the assembly of the princes was held; it being usual to hold assemblies on any business, or courts of judicature, in such places, they being public, where multitudes resorted, or were continually passing and repassing, and so had the opportunity of hearing, and of being witnesses:

saying; as follows:

(b) Sept. "sedens", Montanus; "sedebat", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Schmidt.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Ephron dwelt, Heb. did sit, to wit, at that time, as one of the chief or rulers of the people; for so the word sitting is oft used, as we shall see hereafter.

His city; either where he was born, or at least where he lived.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

10. Ephron… at the gate of his city — Here note that the scene has changed. Those children of Heth with whom Abraham first communed (Gen_23:8) on the purchase of the cave, have broken the matter to the owner, and he now appears sitting ישׁבat the gate, where all such business is publicly transacted in the audience, or hearing, of all that congregated there, and speaks. See further on Gen_23:17.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth. Not habitabat (Vulgate), in the sense of resided amongst, but sedebat, ejkaqhto (LXX); was then present sitting amongst the townspeople (Rosenm but whether in the capacity of a magistrate or councilor is not stated. And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Hath, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, this does not imply that he was the chief magistrate (Keil), but only thathe was a prominent citizen (Murphy). On the gate of the city as a place for transacting business vide Gen 19:1saying

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Purchase of Machpelah

v. 10. And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth. And Ephron, the Hittite, answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

v. 11. Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee; bury thy dead. The same Oriental politeness continued to be exercised throughout. The offer of Ephron, the Hittite, made before the ears of all the members of his tribe and of all his fellow-citizens, was hardly intended seriously; for if Abraham had accepted his offer, he would, according to custom, have expected a very rich counter-present, and, in case Abraham chose to purchase the land, Ephron’s offer was designed to prevent any abatement of the price he had fixed in his mind.

v. 12. And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land. He once more gratefully acknowledged the kind intention of the Hittites, also in this offer as made by Ephron; he was not to be outdone in politeness.

v. 13. And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there. The words of Abraham at this point indicate some measure of agitation and a shade of impatience: But if thou-Oh, that thou wouldest listen to me! As he had indicated from the start, he did not want the cave as a gift, but had come prepared to pay for it.

v. 14. And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

v. 15. My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? Bury therefore thy dead. Ephron here named his price: "The field-four hundred shekels silver; between me and thee, what is that?" It is named in courtly terms and intimates an apology for the demand, since Abraham would insist upon having it thus. The silver shekel being worth about 50 cents, the piece of land with the cave Machpelah cost Abraham two hundred dollars. "A piece of land of so little value could not be the matter of a long transaction between two rich men. "

v. 16. And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. There were no stamped coins with a fixed value in Canaan at that time, but there seem to have been pieces of silver of a definite weight, which could readily be weighed out. In a transaction such as that recorded here, these pieces were weighed out in order to show that no fraud was being attempted. Abraham weighed out full measure, as it was required with the merchants, in honest business Christians, as the apostle rightly says, will avoid even the appearance of evil. Abraham here gave evidence of his faith by buying a small piece of land in the country which was promised to his descendants, being sure that the Lord would keep His promise.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth

Here "Now" is used here to mark a change from the story to background information about Ephron. (See: Background Information)

Ephron

This is the name of a man. See how you translated this in Genesis 23:8. (See: How to Translate Names)

the sons of Heth

Here "sons" stands for those who descended from Heth. See how you translated this in Genesis 23:3. AT: "the descendants of Heth" (See: How to Translate Names)

in the hearing of the sons of Heth

The abstract noun "the hearing" can be stated as "hear" or "listening." AT: "so that all the sons of Heth could hear him" or "while all the sons of Heth were listening" (See: Abstract Nouns)

all those who had come into the gate of his city

This tells which sons of Heth were listening. AT: "all those who had gathered at the gate of his city" (See: Distinguishing versus Informing or Reminding)

gate of his city

The city gate was where the leaders of the city would meet to make important decisions.

his city

"the city where he lived." This phrase shows that Ephron belonged to that city. It does not mean that he owned it.

my master

This phrase is used to show respect to Abraham.

in the presence of the sons of my people

Here "presence" stands for the people serving as witnesses. AT: "with my fellow countrymen as my witnesses" (See: Metonymy)

sons of my people

This means "my fellow countrymen" or "my fellow Hittites"

my people

This phrase shows that Ephron was part of that group of people. It does not mean that he was their leader.

I give it to you to bury your dead

"I give it to you. Bury your dead"

your dead

The nominal adjective "dead" can be stated as a verb or simply as "wife." AT: "your wife who has died" or "your wife" (See: Nominal Adjectives)

translationWords

Hittite

Abraham

gate

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ועפרון ישב The verb is written without a ו so that it may be read ישב he sat, thus indicating that on that very day they had appointed him (Ephron) to be an officer over them. Because of the high standing of Abraham who needed to negotiate with him, he was elevated to a dignified position (so that Abraham whom they esteemed as a great prince might have to negotiate with an equal and not with an inferior person (Genesis Rabbah 58:7).

לכל באי שער עירו OF ALL THAT CAME IN AT THE GATE OF HIS CITY — for they all left their work and came to pay their last respect to Sarah (Genesis Rabbah 58:7).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ועפרון..באזני בני חת, in a loud voice, making sure they could all hear him. In this verse the Torah emphasises the aural aspect of the negotiations, whereas in verse 18, at the conclusion of the transaction the visible aspect, לעיני בני חת is stressed, as at that point eye-witnesses were more important. We find such a sequence of aural perception and visual perception also in Job 29,11 כי אזן שמעה ותאשרני ועין ראתה ותעידני, “for the ear that heard acclaimed me, and the eyes that saw were my witness.”

לכל באי שער עירו, including all the people of his city, prominent or plain people. באי שער, people who enter or leave through the gate. In other words, everybody. Sometimes the Torah refers to באי שער, people entering through the gate, other times יוצאי עירו, people leaving via the gate. (compare Genesis 34,24) It all amounts to the same thing. For the sake of brevity the Torah mentions only either באי or יוצאי. Sometimes it mentions both, as in Jeremiah 17,19.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.