Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 47:27-30

27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.

28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.

29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:

30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

God had promised Jacob that his descendancy would grow into a great nation in Egypt, and verse 27 confirms that this began to happen. When Jacob came into Egypt he had 13 children, 52 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren. If the family maintained its growth rate of fourfold from generation-to-generation, then we would expect Jacob to have around 200 great-grandchildren, most of which he probably would have seen being born during those seventeen years in Egypt. Quite possibly he even saw the first of his great-great-grandchildren being born, the generation that could very well raise his posterity to more than one thousand souls!

But while Egypt would be the home of the Israelites for generations, Jacob had not forgotten the actual land of their inheritance: Canaan. His father and mother, his grand-father and grand-mother, and even his beloved wife Rachel were already laid to rest in that country, and he wished to be so, too.

It is important to note that the son he entrusts to bury him properly is Joseph. Not Reuben, the firstborn, and not Judah, who he had previously relied on as a sort of stand-in firstborn. Joseph has always been the most dependable son, and so he is the one that Jacob will trust in this, the last kindness he will ever require.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 23:15-19

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.

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.

17 And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure

18 Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

Here we have the conclusion of this gentlemanly negotiation. At Abraham’s insistence, Ephron names the price for the cave and accompanying field. Ephron follows it up with “what is that betwixt me and thee?” which I take to mean, “four hundred shekels is unimportant to me, you really don’t need to pay for this.” But Abraham keeps to his word and measures out the full amount.

And there are two details to note here. Abraham is paying in full right up front. There is no loan, no interest, he covers the whole thing at once. The second detail is that Abraham is paying with “current money” that was still good “with the merchant.” Nothing outdated, nothing counterfeit, nothing left to be paid off. It was a full transaction and the matter is completely resolved.

Then verse seventeen and eighteen speak again to that reason that Abraham paid for this land so quickly and carefully: so that the ownership would be “made sure.” The entire transaction had been done “in the presence of the children of Heth,” so that there were many witnesses to it.

Only now, when Abraham has done absolutely everything within his power to make Sarah’s resting place permanent and sure, does he lay her down to her burial. He has made as much certainty as any mortal ever could that she will never be disturbed in her slumber.

There are some wonderful lessons to be gleaned from this chapter about how to treat friends and family with honor and dignity. Abraham is the epitome of a gentleman in these passages, treating everyone with graciousness and also fulfilling his every duty.