GEN 23

Question	Answer	Note---10-02-2016
		23:1 Isaac was about 36 years when his mother Sarah (127 years) died.
Why does it say that Abraham spoke unto the sons of Heth rather than just the Hittites? Is there a significance here?	It seems that the sons of Heth were actually the council or the members of the guild that made the decisions in the land. (son=a member of a guild, order, class) Notice the difference between the people of the land and the sons of Heth verse 13.	23:3 Heth is the descendant of Ham/Canaan/Hittites.
Why did they regard Abraham as a mighty prince?	Maybe it was the fight in chpt 14 that won Abraham his popularity. No doubt they had respect unto Abraham because of something that he had done. The only thing evident before now was the battle. Maybe also because of the blessing of God, Abraham had acquired much wealth and was now seen as a wealthy man .	23:4-6  Note how easy it was for Abraham to request a burying place for his dead. This request might have seemed Ludacris in these times. Note that he did not request to purchase the burying place.
Is it because land was in plenteous supply why there was no resistance to him for his request.	It does not seem this is the case, but instead that they had respect for Abraham.	Burying place=sepulcher= same word.
Why didn’t Abraham not just dig a hole and bury his dead?	It seems there was proper protocol associated with burying the dead, consequently Abraham consulted the authorities in the area about his dead burial.	23:7 Whatever the case was Abraham was seeking to follow the practices of the land.
		23:8-9 It seemed that Abraham had anticipated their willingness to give to him their sepulchers, consequently he could name the sepulchre that he wanted.
		23:9-16 There is a very indirect way of purchase of the land, one offers to give the land for free, the other offers to give money, the two make an agreement.
Why did Abraham refer to himself as a sojourner when he had been living in the land for more than 10 years?
Consider that Abraham lived so long in the land, how long would a person have to live in a land before they are considered a citizen of that country?	Maybe ties had to be established. Maybe a person had to buy land, or marry a citizen. As in the case of Ruth.