The Cave & The Promise

For all of the evil that King Herod committed in the Holy Land, his building projects helped to preserve key biblical holy sites including the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and the Machpelah, the cave of the patriarchs in Hebron. There is a spiritual lesson to be gleaned in this week’s Torah Portion from the cave of the patriarchs which is preserved and marked by Herodian stones.

The Life of Sarah

This week’s Torah Portion is Called חיי שרה – Chayei Sarah, which literally means “the life of Sarah.” Ironically, the first chapter in this week’s Torah reading, Genesis 23, records the death and burial of Sarah:

Now Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. – Gen. 23:1-2

Abraham was about 137 years old when Sarah died and he mourned the loss of her life. 

Since Abraham and Sarah were the first generation who came to Canaan, the Land of Promise, there was no official burial place for the family. At some point during the mourning process Abraham understood this reality and sought to secure a burial site for his wife:

Then Abraham rose from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, “I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” – Gen. 23:3-4

The sons of Heth engaged Abraham in this dialogue regarding a burial site for his wife and they did everything in their power to accommodate Abraham in this matter.

Abraham’s Sole Land Purchase

In reading the account of Abraham and the sons of Heth, it becomes clear that Abraham was not just looking for any place to bury his wife, but rather he had a very specific place in mind:

So Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish for me to bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and approach Ephron the son of Zohar for me, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in your presence for a burial site.” – Gen. 23:7-9

Following this request by Abraham, in typical Middle Eastern fashion, Abraham and Ephron talked back and forth and decided on a reasonable price for the cave and adjacent field. Abraham then paid Ephron the agreed upon price and the purchase was complete. 

On the surface, it seems as though Abraham was simply providing a burial place for his wife, however, there is a great deal of significance to this real estate purchase. To begin, this is the first and only land purchase that Abraham made in the Promised Land, as is recorded in the Bible. The LORD had promised the land of Canaan as an inheritance to Abraham and his descendants, even so, Abraham purchased this piece of property in order to provide a burial site for his wife. 

The Cave & The Field

The location of the cave and the field which Abraham purchased is also very significant. We know that the cave was called Machpelah and that it was located in the place called Hebron or Kiriath-Arba but it was also associated with another name:

So Ephron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were within all the confines of its border, were deeded over to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave that is in it, were deeded over to Abraham for a burial site by the sons of Heth. – Gen. 23:17-20

The cave and field of Machpelah faced (was before or adjacent to) Mamre, which is another name for Hebron.

I don’t believe that it is coincidence that Abraham chose this specific place to bury Sarah. God had made many promises to both Abraham and Sarah along their journey and Mamre was definitely an important location to both of them: it was the very place where God appeared to Abraham and dined in his presence: “Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.” (Gen. 18:1) It was here at Mamre that the LORD once again confirmed to Abraham and Sarah that Sarah would bear a son for Abraham.

Since Mamre and Hebron are the same place, we know that the LORD appeared to Abraham and his wife Sarah somewhere near to the place where Sarah was buried. The reference to “…all the trees which were in the field…” in Genesis 23:17, seems to also connect the location of Sarah’s burial to the place where the LORD appeared to Abraham, “…by the oaks of Mamre,…” Mamre is a significant memorial of the promises of God to Abraham, to Sarah, and to their descendants.  

The Inheritance Tomb

Moving beyond the physical location, it is clear from the word choice of Abraham in Genesis 23 that he was thinking beyond the grave. When Abraham asked the sons of Heth for a burial site in Genesis 23:4, he literally asked them for: אחוזת קבר – Ahuzat Kever, – “an inheritance tomb.” This Hebrew phrase is only used five times in all of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament). Three out of the five times, this phrase appears here in Genesis 23, all relating to the burial place of Sarah. The other two appearances of this Hebrew phrase are also used in reference to this same burial place but in respect to the death and burial of Jacob (Gen. 49:30. 50:13), who was buried in the same inheritance tomb.

Jacob had journeyed to Egypt, along with his sons and their families, in order to be with Joseph, who had been appointed a leader in Egypt. Jacob later died in the land of Egypt but before his death he made one final request of his sons:  

Then he charged them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site. There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. – Gen. 49:29-33

Jacob wanted to be buried in the same cave that his grandfather Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, along with Isaac, Rebekah, and Jacob’s wife Leah. Jacob also referred to this burial site with the same Hebrew phrase אחוזת קבר – Ahuzat Kever, – “inheritance tomb.”

I believe that the fathers of the faith, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, knew and understood that this phrase אחוזת קבר – Ahuzat Kever, – “inheritance tomb” was more than just a suitable tomb and memorial for the dead. It was located in the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, and the burial cave faced Mamre, the place where God had appeared to Abraham and Sarah and confirmed His promise to them. The inheritance tomb was a constant reminder of the everlasting inheritance that God promised to Abraham and his descendants.

The LORD had fully clarified to Abraham that the unique covenant which He had established with him and his descendants was an everlasting covenant and it included the promise of the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession:

I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. – Gen. 17:6-8 

The everlasting covenant that God established with Abraham and his descendants included the guarantee of the Land as – אחוזת עולם – ahuzat olam – an everlasting possession, as mentioned in the verses above but it was also much more than this.

The everlasting covenant that God made with Abraham and his descendants was based on relationship with God. All of the promises that God made with Abraham are based on a living relationship with the eternal God. The everlasting covenant would not die with Sarah, or Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob. The everlasting covenant of God with Abraham continues and will continue. When Abraham purchased the cave and field of Machpelah, which faces Mamre and is located in the Promised Land, Abraham was declaring that God’s everlasting covenant and promises would continue beyond the grave. The inheritance tomb is spiritually symbolic of the everlasting inheritance that each one receives who walks in the faith of Abraham. 

God’s Promises Demand Resurrection

The lives of Abraham and his wife Sarah are a vivid picture of what it means to walk with God and to live in relationship with God. The benefits of entering into a covenant relationship with the everlasting God go far beyond the promise of real estate and material blessings. To believe in the promises of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to enter into covenant with the living God is to enter into an everlasting relationship that continues beyond the grave.

Yeshua confirmed this clear teaching of the outworking of the everlasting relationship with God in His response to the Sadducees who had questioned Him regarding the subject of the resurrection:

“…Last of all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” But Yeshua answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. – Matt. 22:27-32

Just like the Sadducees, many people in this world limit the infinite God of the Bible to our finite minds. To enter into an everlasting covenant with the God of Abraham is to enter the door of eternal life and to be assured of life beyond the grave.

Hope Beyond the Grave

The promises of God to Abraham were never meant to be limited to a small nation of people called the Israelites or the small parcel of Land called Israel. God’s promises to Abraham are an invitation to all of the families of the earth to enter into the blessings of God (Gen. 12:1-3). The promises and blessings of God are based on an everlasting covenant which is ultimately fulfilled in the Messiah and demands resurrection from the dead:

For if the dead are not raised, not even the Messiah has been raised; and if the Messiah has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in the Messiah have perished. If we have hoped in the Messiah in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. – 1 Corinthians 15:16-19

Abraham and Sarah have gone before us as a man and woman of faith who entered into an everlasting covenant with God, fully anticipating life beyond the grave. Yeshua the Messiah has gone before us as a first fruits from the dead by His resurrected life. Our faith in the promises of the God of Abraham demand resurrection and continually remind us that there is hope beyond the grave!

Shabbat Shalom!

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Torah Portion: Gen. 23:1 – Gen. 25:18

Haftara: 1 Kings 1:1-31

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