Genesis 23:13

Gen 23:13 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.

Ver. 13. I will give thee money.] Full money, as he had said, {Gen 23:7} or as much money as it is worth. Such is the care of the conscientious, that they had rather lose of their own, than usurp of another’s. And that he gives a just price for the field, was an act of great wisdom; for hereby he provided that his posterity might not hereafter be put beside it.

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.

Gen 23:13. I will give thee money — Abraham was rich in silver and gold, and therefore thought it unjust to take advantage of Ephron’s generosity. Perhaps, also, there may be weight in Le Clerc’s observation: “The orientals,” says he, “seem to have had the same notions about burying- places, which prevailed among the Greeks and Romans, namely, that it was ignominious to be buried in another person’s ground: and therefore every family, the poorer sort excepted, had a sepulchre of their own, in which they would not suffer others to be interred.”

Gen 23:15-16. Four hundred shekels of silver — A shekel is computed to be of about the value of two shillings and four pence farthing; so that the sum mentioned here amounted to about forty-six pounds of our money. What a noble and amiable pattern of a generous behaviour between friends, free from selfishness, have we in Abraham and Ephron! The one earnestly presses to give, while the other as generously declines to receive. Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver — For in those times money (or, more properly, silver or gold, for it was not coined) was paid by weight, (Gen 43:21; Jer 32:10,) and continued to be so till the Babylonish captivity.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 13. If thou wilt give it] Instead of, if thou wilt give it, we should read, But if thou wilt sell it, I will give thee money for the field; כסף keseph, silver, not coined money, for it is not probable that any such was then in use.

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

(13) But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me.—Heb., But if thou wilt, I pray thee, hear me. It expresses simply a strong desire that Ephron will listen to and grant his next request.

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

13. But if thou wilt] Abraham answers in short, broken sentences, acknowledging the generous offer, but insisting on the payment of the price. Here, however, he makes an offer for “the field,” not merely for “the cave in the end of the field”; cf. Gen_23:9. He politely declines to notice the suggestion of a gift, but offers to buy.

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 answered Abraham, saying unto him. The following words:

And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him. The following words:

Genesis 23:15

gen 23:15

gen 23:15

gen 23:15My lord, hearken unto me,.... Since it is your mind to buy the field, and not receive it as a gift, then hear what I have to say as to the value of it:

the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; which, reckoning a shekel at two shillings and sixpence, comes to fifty pounds of our money:

what is that betwixt thee and me? between two persons so rich, the sum was trifling and inconsiderable, whether the one paid it, and the other received it, or not; or between two such friends it was not worth speaking of, it was no matter whether it was paid or not: or else the sense is, between us both it is honestly worth so much; it is a good bargain, and must be owned to be so, what is it? the sum is so small, and it is so clearly the worth of it, that there needs no more to be said about it:

bury therefore thy dead: in it, and give thyself no more trouble and concern about it.

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

But if thou wilt give it; it is a short speech, and something must be supplied; either if thou wilt give or resign it to me; or, if thou be the man of whom I speak; for though Abraham knew his name, he might not know him by face, nor that he was then present. He prudently chose rather to buy it than to receive it as a gift, partly because it would be the surer to him and his, Gen 23:17,20, and partly because he would not have too great obligations to his pagan neighbours.

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

13. But if thou wilt — Hebrews, only if thou — would that thou wouldst hear me. There is a tender emotionality about his words. He is in no mood to parley long.

I will give thee money — Or, I have given thee money; that is, I have purposed in heart to buy the field for money; I will have it in no other way.

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

I will give thee money for the field - It was not in pride that Abraham refused the gift; but

1. In justice. Abraham was rich in silver and gold, and therefore would not take advantage of Ephron's generosity.

2. In prudence. He would pay for it, lest Ephron, when this good humour was over, should upbraid him with it.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

אך אם אתה לו שמעני BUT IF THOU WOULDST ONLY HEAR ME — You tell me to listen to you (verse 11) and to accept it without payment. I do not desire this:

BUT IF THOU WOULDST ONLY HEAR ME!—i.e. I only wish that you would listen to me and do as I ask.

נתתי I GIVE (perfect with present sense) old French donne; English I give. I have the money ready and I only wish that I had already given it to you.

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.

‘LU’ (IF) THOU WILT HEAR ME. This is equivalent to saying, “If you, if you will hear me,” and the purport thereof is like, “if you, if you would hear me,” the redundancy being for the purpose of emphasizing the matter. Similar cases are found in these verses: Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; Art thou any better, better than Balak?, 11:25. And to speak against him, saying; And as for me, whither shall I go?; And I turned myself; And I saw myself;, Verse 13. Seeing all the congregation are all holy. All these are examples of expressions of synonimity. In my opinion, this is also the case in the verse, If from a thread even to a sandal tie, if I take (anything that is thine), which is equivalent to saying, “If, from a thread even to a sandal tie, I take anything that is yours.” It may be that [in the verse here before us the meaning is], “If you are as you have said.” that is, if you are speaking what is in your heart concerning the matter, and if you will listen to me and consummate the sale. A similar usage of a missing word is found in the verse, And their brethren said unto them, What are ye? [which means, “What are you saying?”] In my opinion, a similar case of such usage is the verse, Wherefore am I? [meaning, “Wherefore am I in the world?”] Perhaps this is the opinion of Onkelos who translated here, “if you will do me a favor,” meaning, “if you will do my will as you have said.”

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

וידבר...אך אם אתה לו שמעני, I wish you would have listened to what I said that

נתתי כסף השדה, I have already prepared the money for the field, if you’ll accept it you will be doing me a favour,

ואקברה, and I will proceed to bury, as the matter does not permit further delay.

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.