Chayei Sarah - Genesis 23:1-25:18
This weeks portion is known as Chayei Sarah, or 'the Life of Sarah' which is an interesting title as the opening verses of Genesis 23 describe the death and burial of Sarah. It is claimed by Jewish sages that Sarah died from grief after hearing about what happened to Isaac because this immediately follows from the story of the binding of Isaac. This however, is difficult to establish and based on the weight of this claim in light of scripture's silence on the matter, I consider it very unlikely. What sets this account from other deaths in the bible is its length. Up to this point, the death of people is spoken of almost in passing and that's the end of it. Genesis 5 is a great example of this, over and over it says 'such and such lived so many years, and he died', and that's it. In fact, this is the first mention of any kind of burial at all. And because of this, I believe that this makes this death significant. There are four main things we can draw from this account.
The first is the further securing of land. Abraham's walking the length and width of the Promised Land (Gen 13:17) was a symbolic way of claiming the land for himself and descendants, however a more literal and concrete claim to land ownership took place in this portion. After Sarah's death, Abraham purchased a plot of land to bury her in from the Hittite, Ephron. Although only a small portion of land was bought, this was a claim on the land that was promised by God to Abraham, and a step towards the fulfilment of his promises. This tomb would go on to host the bodies of the later patriarchs too. This is a reminder that there are times when we need to participate in fulfilment of God's promises in our lives. We can't always sit there passively, waiting for divine payouts.
The second is that Sarah's burial revels the value of human life. By actually burying her, Abraham was giving Sarah dignity and honour. Being left unburied where animals could eat and destroy her body was considered extremely shameful in the Ancient Near Eastern culture and a point of fear for many people. An common curse in Mesopotamia was "May the earth not receive your corpses." Also, by preparing a place to bury her, he is showing honour to her life by establishing a place of memorial to remember her life.
Incidentally, the details of the purchase of the cave by Abraham reveals something about how we should be living in this world. Like Abraham, we are "sojourners and foreigners" (Gen 23:4; 1Pet 2:11) in this world. When he went to go purchase the cave, we can see that he had established good report with the Hittites. They referred to him a 'a prince of God' and gave him free range of choice of the tombs in the area. And Ephron was willing to give the cave to Abraham for free. Such generosity reveals that he had established honour with them. Although we are still to be set apart from the world, we are reminded that where possible, we should live peaceably with others (Rom 12:18). We can't be aloof, or hiding in our bunker waiting for judgement day, we need to connect with our communities. As God told the Israelites many centuries later through Jeremiah, 'seek the prosperity of the city' (Jer 29:7).
Within this portion of scripture, we have seen that even in the midst of death; life is still important. The future lives of Abraham's descendants are further secured via the land purchase, the physical life is honoured through memory, the promotion of life is seen through the blessing of community, and eternal life is expected the the author of life.
Next portion is Genesis 25:19-28:9
Life and Death
This weeks portion is known as Chayei Sarah, or 'the Life of Sarah' which is an interesting title as the opening verses of Genesis 23 describe the death and burial of Sarah. It is claimed by Jewish sages that Sarah died from grief after hearing about what happened to Isaac because this immediately follows from the story of the binding of Isaac. This however, is difficult to establish and based on the weight of this claim in light of scripture's silence on the matter, I consider it very unlikely. What sets this account from other deaths in the bible is its length. Up to this point, the death of people is spoken of almost in passing and that's the end of it. Genesis 5 is a great example of this, over and over it says 'such and such lived so many years, and he died', and that's it. In fact, this is the first mention of any kind of burial at all. And because of this, I believe that this makes this death significant. There are four main things we can draw from this account.
The first is the further securing of land. Abraham's walking the length and width of the Promised Land (Gen 13:17) was a symbolic way of claiming the land for himself and descendants, however a more literal and concrete claim to land ownership took place in this portion. After Sarah's death, Abraham purchased a plot of land to bury her in from the Hittite, Ephron. Although only a small portion of land was bought, this was a claim on the land that was promised by God to Abraham, and a step towards the fulfilment of his promises. This tomb would go on to host the bodies of the later patriarchs too. This is a reminder that there are times when we need to participate in fulfilment of God's promises in our lives. We can't always sit there passively, waiting for divine payouts.
The second is that Sarah's burial revels the value of human life. By actually burying her, Abraham was giving Sarah dignity and honour. Being left unburied where animals could eat and destroy her body was considered extremely shameful in the Ancient Near Eastern culture and a point of fear for many people. An common curse in Mesopotamia was "May the earth not receive your corpses." Also, by preparing a place to bury her, he is showing honour to her life by establishing a place of memorial to remember her life.
Incidentally, the details of the purchase of the cave by Abraham reveals something about how we should be living in this world. Like Abraham, we are "sojourners and foreigners" (Gen 23:4; 1Pet 2:11) in this world. When he went to go purchase the cave, we can see that he had established good report with the Hittites. They referred to him a 'a prince of God' and gave him free range of choice of the tombs in the area. And Ephron was willing to give the cave to Abraham for free. Such generosity reveals that he had established honour with them. Although we are still to be set apart from the world, we are reminded that where possible, we should live peaceably with others (Rom 12:18). We can't be aloof, or hiding in our bunker waiting for judgement day, we need to connect with our communities. As God told the Israelites many centuries later through Jeremiah, 'seek the prosperity of the city' (Jer 29:7).
And finally, we are provided with an emerging theology of death. By burying Sarah, Abraham has rejected the process of cremation that was common among the Hittites. Considering this, it appears quite likely that Abraham had an expectation of bodily resurrection. One does need to read between the lines to see this, but the context seems to support this. Consider previously how previously in the testing of Abraham, he reasoned that God could raise him from the dead. Perhaps he expected the same of Sarah too. So we don't have to wait until Daniel 12 to find anything on the resurrection in Scripture. In light of this, it is no wonder that this portion that describes the death of Sarah, is called the life of Sarah. The word used for life, Chayri, is used in verses like Genesis 1:21 to describe the life force of living creatures. Even in death, life continues for those united with God. As Jesus explained to the Sadducees: "have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” (Matt 22:32).
Within this portion of scripture, we have seen that even in the midst of death; life is still important. The future lives of Abraham's descendants are further secured via the land purchase, the physical life is honoured through memory, the promotion of life is seen through the blessing of community, and eternal life is expected the the author of life.
Next portion is Genesis 25:19-28:9
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