Genesis 12:6
"And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem,
unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed
will I give this land: and there builded an altar unto the Lord,
who appeared before him."
Map of Moreh,
from: biblebento.com/maps/BL818
And so... we see that it was at the hill of Moreh... and near the
plain of Moreh... that God first spoke to Abraham... and declared
that the land before him would be his. The plain of Moreh is
a large and beautiful plain. One can stand on the Hill of Moreh
and see far into the distance. Mt. Tabor sits across the plain which
is an arm of the Valley of Jezreel... the bread basket of Israel.
Today, the Hill of Moreh is the site of many tombs.
See the
maps of Canaan where Moreh is said to be located.
It is associated with the name Nebi Dahi.
After Abraham rescued Lot's family and all the people of the region
who had also been enslaved by the roving kings from Syria...
making Abraham's tribe the most powerful army in all the lands...
(an army he had never used... to take anything from anybody)
he took no booty or reward... not even so much as a shoe latchet.
But... Abraham... did have a purchase... that he wanted to make...
the mountain he stood on... when he first arrived in Canaan...
to bury his dead "away from him."
Machpelah means "double."
a more complete essay... "Jacob's Burial"
Genesis 23:2
"And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of
Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons
of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a
possession of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead
out of my sight.
And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,
Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice
of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold
from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.
And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the
land, even to the children of Heth. And he communed with them, saying,
If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me,
and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the
cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field;
for as much money as it is worth he shall give it to me for a possession of a
buryingplace amongst you.
And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite
answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all
that went in at the gate of his city, saying,
Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is
therein, I give it to thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give
I it thee: bury thy dead.
And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.
And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land,
saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me:
I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury
my dead there. And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,
My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred
shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee?
bury therefore thy dead.
And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to
Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons
of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the
merchant. And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah,
which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was therein,
and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders
round about, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession in the
presence of the children of Heth..."
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