What Does Genesis 23:20 Mean?

The chapter concludes by reiterating the legal standing of the site: 'The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as a possession for a burying place by the Hittites.' The word 'made over' (kum) implies a permanent standing. The transaction is closed, the title is secure, and the patriarch has his home for the dead.

The focus on the 'burying place' underlines the paradoxical nature of the patriarch's first land acquisition. He does not own a farm or a city; he owns a grave. The land is possessed through the death of the covenant people, looking forward to the life of their descendants.

The closure of the transaction brings a solemn order to the household. The first piece of the promised land is acquired not by conquest but by commerce and burial. The foundation of the inheritance is laid in the territory of the grave, awaiting the dawn of the nation.