Did Ephron offer the burial plot to Abraham for free, or was it just an expensive business deal?
Question: I was halfway through your answer regarding violence in the Old Testament (http://www.christian-thinktank.com/qamorite.html) and you discussed how the Hittites had cheated Abraham when they sold him a field. When I read Genesis 23 it looked like the Hittites were offering Abraham a free tomb. It seemed like Abraham insisted on paying. If I am missing vital cultural or historical information in interpreting this, please inform me. I want to be sure to be accurate. I replied: Actually, it wasn’t really an offer of a ‘gift’, but just a form of oriental bargaining…I have attached some background information on this passage from a couple of commentators: From the Word Biblical Commentary [WBC]: So Abraham asks, Give me a burial plot with you (burial plot, lit. holding of a grave). Abrahams use of the term holding is probably significant here. It is used in 17:8; 48:4 of Israels eternal possession of Canaan, so it seems that Abraham is asking for ownership of a piece of land for
