Literary Devices – Bereshit 23/0

Literary Devices – Chapter 23

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Structure of Chapter 23

Chapter 23 splits into an introduction (23:1-2) and conclusion (23:17-20) describing Sarah's death and burial, and two main scenes, Avraham's Negotiations with Benei Chet (23:3-9) and Avraham's Negotiations with Efron (23:10-16). For more on the structural units of the chapter and their relationship, see Structure.

Parallels & Contrasts

An examination of the parallels between the various sections of the chapter highlights several points:

Double Negotiations

Avraham's initial negotiations with the Hittites and the first half of his discussion with Efron both follow a similar conversational pattern, with many linguistic parallels. Each contains an introduction of the negotiator's status, a response by the Hittites, the ,Hittite's respectful address and offer of (free) burial, Avraham's bowing and, finally, his counter offer of payment.

• Repeat – The parallel structure of the two sets of negotiations highlights a troubling issue in the story. Why were negotiations with both parties necessary at all? If Avraham was looking to buy a plot from Efron, why not speak to him directly? What role did the preliminary discussion with the Hittites play?¹
• Status – The use of the same root, "ישב", to describe both Avraham and Efron's status, serves to highlight what is actually a contrast between the two men. While Avraham is a foreigner, with no legal standing, Efron is a full citizen. The fact that Avraham is no more than a "תושב" with no land to call his own is what makes the whole story necessary.

Price and Payment

The second half of Avraham's discussion with Efron contains an inner parallelism, with Efron's demand and Avraham's consent mirroring each other. Efron says "listen" and "Avraham listens". Efron asks for "400 shekalim" and the text repeats that Avraham paid "400 shekalim". Though there had been much back and forth before the setting of the price, this seemingly unnecessary repetition emphasizes how here there is none. It also makes one ask, if there was no price haggling, what then, was everyone arguing about beforehand?²

Double Ending

Verses 17-18 and 19-20 repeat almost verbatim the establishment of the sale. Why is this necessary? One might suggest that while verses 17-18 conclude the sale itself, verses 19-20 serve as a summary to the chapter as a whole. Alternatively, perhaps establishing ownership was a two part process, requiring not only payment, but also actual use of the object bought. Only with the burial of Sarah did the acquisition (מקנה), become a more permanent אחוזת קבר.³

Opening and Closing

The opening and closing verses of the chapter are natural bookends for the unit, with mention of Sarah's death and burial. A more unexpected parallel, though, is the double mention of the site of the episode, הִוא חֶבְרוֹן בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן. One wonders not just at the repetition, but at the superfluous "in the land of Canaan". Perhaps the inclusio hints that one of the purposes of the whole story is to show the first realizations of Hashem's promise of Land to Avraham.⁴

Key Words

קבר and מות

Since Sarah's death and burial are the main subjects of the chapter, it is not surprising that these two roots appear multiple times. קבר in its various forms repeats 13 times,⁵ while the root מות occurs 9 times.⁶

נתן

The story revolves around a transaction, but it is the root נתן rather than "מכר" or "קנה" which repeats in the chapter, appearing 7 times total.⁷ This points to one of the tensions in the story, the argument between the Hittites and Avraham regarding whether the burial plot was to be given as a gift or paid for in money. Perhaps out of politeness and a desire not to outright contradict the other side, both parties use the more ambiguous term, "נתן" which can uphold both meanings. The Hoil MosheBereshit 23:4About R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi goes further to suggest that according to Hittite law, sale to non-citizens was prohibited and so a legal fiction was created as Efron offered the land gratis, and Avraham gave him a monetary gift in turn.

Listen to me!

The root שמע appears six times in the story, once in each response of the various characters.⁸ The first five represent a polite refusal of the request or offer proffered by the other side, while the final occurrence marks Avraham's acquiescence to Efron's price. The word thus serves to track the back and forth of the negotiations.

In the eyes and ears of...

Variations of the phrase "בְּאׇזְנֵי/ עֵינֵי בְנֵי חֵת" occur 5 times in the second half of the story.⁹ Though one might have expected that after Avraham confronted Efron, the other Hittites would disappear from the narrative, this refrain highlights that they remained an integral part of the process until the end. Why, though, could Efron not have conducted a private sale with Avraham?

Character Titles

Chapter 23 refers to each of Sarah, Efron, and the Hittites by various names. In some instances, these variations reflect a fundamental difference of meaning, while in others they serve a literary function. See here for a general discussion of Character Titles in Tanakh.

Sarah

Sarah is referred to in three ways in the chapter:

• שָׂרָה (Sarah) – This is the term used when introducing Sarah's death in the opening of the story (verses 1-2). It is the default and expected appellation.
• מֵתִי/ מֵתֶךָ (my or your deceased) – Throughout the negotiations (verses 3-15) Sarah is never referred to by name because her personal identity is irrelevant to the transaction. Only her role as "the deceased" is important.
• שָׂרָה אִשְׁתּוֹ (Sarah, his wife) – With burial, Sarah is referred to as Avraham's wife, perhaps to connect the two in their moment of separation.

Efron

Efron is also referred to in three ways in the chapter:

• עֶפְרוֹן בֶּן צֹחַר (Efron b. Zochar) – Efron is first mentioned, not by the narrator, but by Avraham (verse 8). It is possible that his full name is used because Avraham needed to identify and distinguish him from other Efrons of the community.
• עֶפְרוֹן הַחִתִּי (Efron the Hittite) – When the narrator fist introduces Efron in verse 10, he fills in his ethnicity to let the reader know that Efron is not an outsider, but also a member of the Hittite nation, with full legal standing.
• עֶפְרוֹן (Efron) – In the rest of the negotiations (verses 13, 14, 16, and 17) no special title is needed and none is given.

The Hittites

It is not clear if the various terms given to the Hittites refer to the same group of people or to various subsets.

• בְּנֵי חֵת (lit. the sons of Chet) – This appears to be the default term used in the majority of verses (3, 5, 7, 10, 16, 17 and 20).¹⁰
• עַם הָאָרֶץ (lit. the nation of the land) – See verses 7, 12 and 13. This term has been understood to refer either to the masses,¹¹ or to the heads of the town¹². Either way it might refer to a different group (either larger or smaller) that בני חת. If the men were the city's leaders then Avraham's singling them out (in verses 7 and 12) to bow to is understandable. Similarly he might makes his monetary offer (verse 13) specifically in their hearing to ensure that the transaction is witnessed by the elders.
• לְכֹל בָּאֵי שַׁעַר עִירוֹ (all those who come through the city's gates) – see verses 10 and 18. This term is also ambiguous. According to RadakBereshit 23:10About R. David Kimchi it refers to all the inhabitants of the city (and might be more expansive than the phrase "בְנֵי חֵת"). It is not clear, though, how this can account for their mention in these verses specifically.
• בבְנֵי עַמִּי (the members of my nation) – This term appears only verse 11, when Efron begins his negotiations with Avraham. He refers to the inhabitants in first rather than third person, because he is one of them.

¹ See R. Avraham b. HaRambamBereshit 23:10About R. Avraham b. HaRambam and RambanBereshit 23:8About R. Moshe Nachmanides who suggests that Avraham, in a show of deference to Efron, asked the people of the city to be middlemen in the process. RashbamBereshit 23:4About R. Shemuel b. Meir and R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 23:7About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, in contrast, asserts that they played a more crucial role. Purchase of a burial plot needed the consent of the entire city and not just the owner of the particular area being bought. Thus, even the negotiations with Efron take place in sight and hearing of the Hittites, and after the sale the verse says, " וַיָּקׇם הַשָּׂדֶה וְהַמְּעָרָה אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ לְאַבְרָהָם לַאֲחֻזַּת קָבֶר מֵאֵת בְּנֵי חֵת".

² According to some, the original debate revolved around the object of the sale. The Hittites offered an individual grave while Avraham desired his own family burial plot. Similarly, while Avraham requested a cave from Efron, he instead offered him also the field. Others suggest that the argument revolved around the order of the sale. While Avraham insisted that he pay before the burial, the Hittites urged him to bury Sarah first. Finally, some assert that the two sides argued not over the price, but the lack of one. The Hittites offered Avraham the site for free while Avraham wanted to pay for it.

³ See RashbamBereshit 23:18-20About R. Shemuel b. Meir and R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 23:17-20About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor who make this point.

⁴ See Ibn EzraBereshit 23:19About R. Avraham ibn Ezra.

⁵ See verses 3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 19, and 20. [In verse 3 it occurs twice and in verse 6 it appears four times.]

⁶ See verses 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, and 15. R"E Samet points out that 8 of these are nouns, referring to Sarah. If one adds these to the five times that Sarah's proper name is mentioned this totals 13, the same number as the occurrences of the root קבר.

⁷ See verses 4, 9, 11, and 13. [It appears twice in verse 9 and three times in verse 11.]

⁸ See verses 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, and 16.

⁹ See verses 10, 11, 13, 16, and 17.

¹⁰ In verse 7 the phrase is combined "לְעַם הָאָרֶץ לִבְנֵי חֵת" and in verses 10 and 18 it is accompanied by the appellation, "כֹל בָּאֵי שַׁעַר עִירוֹ".

¹¹ See R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 23:7About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor and Netziv

¹² See SefornoBereshit 23:7About R. Ovadyah Seforno