Genesis 23:11 - Exposition

Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee— an Oriental mode of expressing willingness to sell. Ephron would make a present of cave and field to the patriarch,—"and just so have I had a hundred houses, and fields, and horses given to me",—the design being either to obtain a valuable compensation in return, or to preclude any abatement in the price (Keil), though possibly the offer to sell the entire field when he might have secured a good price for the cave alone was an indication of Ephron's good intention (Lange). At least it seems questionable to conclude that Ephron's generous phrases, which have now become formal and hollow courtesies indeed, meant no more in that simpler age when the ceremonies of intercourse were newer, and more truly reflected its spirit. In the presence of the ions of my people give I it thee (literally, have I given, the transaction being viewed as finished): bury thy dead.