By Matthew Moshe Nolan

BERESHEET/Genesis 23:1: VAYIHU CHAYIM SARAH ME’AH SHANAH VE’ESRIM SHANAH VESHEVA SHANIM SHNEI CHAYIM SARAH.

The lifetime of Sarah consisted of one hundred years, twenty years, and seven years.  [These were] the years of Sarah’s life.  ² Sarah died in Kiryat-arba, which is Chevron, in the land of Kenaan.  Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to weep for her. ³ Avraham rose from the presence of his dead, and spoke to the sons of Chet saying, ⁴ “I am a foreigner and a resident among you. Grant me the possession of a grave site with you, so that I may bury my dead from my presence.” ⁵ The sons of Chet replied to Avraham saying to him, ⁶ “Hear us my master, you are a prince of G-d in our midst.  Bury your dead in the choicest of our grave sites.  No man among us will deny his grave site from you to bury your dead.” ⁷ Avraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Chet. ⁸ Avraham spoke to them, saying, “If it is really your will that I bury my dead from my presence, listen to me and intercede for me with Efron, son of Tzochar. ⁹ Let him give me the Machpelah [double] cave, which belongs to him, which is at the end of his field.  Let him give [sell] it to me for its full value, as a grave site among you.”

Death seems to be more the theme – in fact, it’s more about life!

“Death is just a part of life.”  No it isn’t.  Death is tamei/unclean.  It’s not YHWH’s perfect will.

Beresheeth 23:1-7:  And Sarah was (alive) one hundred twenty-seven years old; these were the years of the chayim of Sarah.

Sarah was alive … therefore, she lived!

² And Sarah died in Kiryath-Arba; the same is Hevron in the land of Kanaan: and Avraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. ³ And Avraham rose up from before his dead.

The expression used today by mourners when they “rise up”  from sitting Shiva:  “and spoke to the sons of Cheth.” Chet, Tav or terror – Chet = fear of YHWH.  Tav = sign/mark of the covenant/circumcision.  Therefore, the sons of Cheth were afraid of the circumcision covenant.

saying, ⁴ I am a ger and a sojourner with you; give me a possession for a burial-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

No coffins are used in Israel today except for fallen soldiers; the Jewish burial customs come from this parsha.  Death means a person is no longer in the image of YHWH; tamei/unclean death defiles; therefore, the 24-hour burial is a great mitzvoth of removing death swiftly from the camp!

⁵ And the children of Cheth answered Avraham, saying to him, ⁶ Hear us, my master:  you are a mighty sar among us; in the choicest of our sepulchers bury your dead; none of us shall withhold from you his sepulcher so that you may bury your dead.

Within 24 hours, wash anoint with oil and spices, and wrap in linen whites.  The tomb is actually two compartments:  The first compartment  is to receive the body upon a shelf in the tomb through a hole from the outside, called the nefesh hole.  The second compartment is where the bones are deposited with the rest of the family, hence the phrase  “ gathered to your fathers”).   It’s not the way of Torah to record the ages of a woman:  100 years, 20 years, and 7 years.  The Hebrew eulogy, the pattern of life of a believer.  Sarah is the mother of spirituality whereas Chava/Eve is the mother of the flesh!

² And Sarah died in Kiryath-Arba; the same is Hevron in the land of Kanaan: and Avraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

Beresheeth 18:15 records that Sarah lied about laughing.  Lies open a doorway to whom?  s.a.tan!  A visitation by the father of lies.

Jewish Midrash:  This parasha is more about life than death!  The tzadik/righteous recognize that their life is a gift from YHWH to be lived each and every day!

All the days of Seth were 912 years and he died.

All the days of Enoch were 905 years and he died.

All the days of Jared were 962 years and he died.

Mattityahu/Matthew 6:34:  Don’t be like the gentiles and worry; tomorrow will worry about itself.

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

“100 + 20 + 7” – At 100 years old, Sarah had the beauty of a 20-year old and the innocence of a 7-year old … Simcha/joy in youth.  A human’s childhood is the longest – longer than animals.  Why?  Childhood is raw honesty, spirituality, simplicity, trust, generosity … all the attributes for a natural relationship with YHWH – attributes to be harnessed, not hastened through.  Don’t speed up childhood … slow it down.

Mattityahu 18:6: But whoever shall mislead one of these little ones who believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hung around his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

A child’s nefesh/soul is naturally revealed.  Sarah is our example:  100, 20, and 7.  Preserve the soul of a child when you become an adult.

Serve YHWH with innocence and joy – that’s the life of Sarah.  Pray like a child, learn like an adult, with the energy of youth.

² And Sarah died in Kiryath-Arba; the same is Hevron in the land of Kanaan: and Avraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

Hevron – According to the Zohar Melech/King Dawid’s reign began there.

From Hevron we get the Hebrew word  “hibbur” which means connection.

Dawid had to connect with the patriarchs so their lives could influence his reign over Avraham’s seed.  Dawid couldn’t reign properly until he internalized the message of Hevron.

Calev went to Hevron and prostrated himself upon the Patriarchs’ graves praying, “May YHWH save me from the plan of the spies.”

Beresheeth 23:7: And Avraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Cheth.  ⁸ And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; listen to me, and inquire for me to Ephron the son of Tzohar, ⁹ That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he has, which is at the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession for a burial-place among you.

Machpelah = to double – a two-stack cave.  Machpelah is in the West Bank.  In 1920 it was the site of the pogrom in which the Arabs slaughtered a centuries-old Jewish community, and it’s still a bitterly disputed area today since the Jews resettled the area after 1967.

¹⁰ And Ephron dwelt among the children of Cheth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Avraham in the audience of the children of Cheth, even all those that went in at the gate of his city, saying, ¹¹ No, my master, hear me:  The field I give you, and the cave that is in it, I give it to you; in the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you:  bury your dead.

In 20 BCE Herod sealed up the cave and built a great hall over it.  The Byzantines turned it into a church.  The Arabs turned it into a mosque after the conquest of 638 CE.  In 1994 a Jewish settler entered the mosque and killed 29 Muslims.

Devarim/Deuteronomy 20:16 Of the cities of these peoples which YHWH your Elohim gives/deeds to you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive.

¹² And Avraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.  ¹³ And he spoke to Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if you will give it to me, Please, hear me:  I will give you money for the field; take it from me, and I will bury my dead there.  ¹⁴ And Ephron answered Avraham, saying to him, ¹⁵ My master, listen to me:  The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that between you and me?  Bury, therefore, your dead.  ¹⁶ And Avraham listened to Ephron; and Avraham weighed for Ephron the silver, which he had named in the presence of the sons of Cheth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.  ¹⁷ And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave that was in it, and all the eytzim that were in the field, that were in all the borders all around, were made sure,  ¹⁸ Unto Avraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Cheth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.  ¹⁹ And after this, Avraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre:  the same is Hevron in the land of Kanaan.

Avraham gave his seed/descendants a love for the land.

²⁰ And the field, and the cave that is in it, were deeded to Avraham for a possession of a burial-place by the sons of Cheth.

Four deeds:  Machpelah, Shechem, Mount of Olives from Arunah, and the Temple Mount from Ornam.  Yitzack Rabin died two weeks after stating that the Bible isn’t a land deed!

Beresheeth 24: And Avraham was old, and well stricken in age and YHWH had blessed Avraham in all things.

Zaken ba yamim:  Having come into his days, Avraham obtained glory:  “Avraham, Avraham” indicates the earthly and the spiritual.  Here Avraham becomes zaken beyond time, beyond days.  The earthly and the spiritual man become echad.  Avraham becomes the father of a daughter – the woman Israel!  For Israel to become zaken beyond time, Israel must unite the earthly and spiritual together in echad.  Gilyahna/Revelation 12:17:  Torah + Moshiach = Echad.

² And Avraham said to his eldest eved of his bayit, that ruled over all that he had, Please put your hand under my thigh:  ³ And I will make you swear by YHWH, the Elohim of the shamayim, and the Elohim of the earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Kanaanites, among whom I dwell.  But you shall go to my country, and to my mishpacha, and take a wife for my son Yitzchak. ⁵ And the eved said to him, suppose the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land:  Do I need to bring your son again to the land from where you came?  ⁶ And Avraham said to him, beware that you bring not my son there again.

Why the prohibition of bringing Yitzchak into that land?

Remember Beresheeth 22:2:  Take now your son, your only son Yitzchak, whom you love, and get into the land of, Moriyah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you!

Devarim/Deuteronomy 12:5 To the place (HaMakom) that YHWH your Elohim shall choose out of all your tribes to put His Name there, even to His dwelling shall you seek, and there you shall come.  And there you shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your ma’aser, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your terumah offerings, and the bechorot of your herds and of your flocks.

Yitzchak was consecrated to YHWH as a burnt offering on the altar regardless of whether the slaughter was stopped or not Yitzchak still remained a consecrated burnt offering to YHWH and as such isn’t permitted to leave the land of Israel, just as a burnt offering isn’t permitted to leave the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdesh/Temple Mount.

⁷ YHWH Elohim of the shamayim, who took me from my abba’s bayit, and from the land of my mishpacha, and who spoke to me, and that swore to me, saying, Unto your zera will I give this land; He shall send His Malach before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.  ⁸ And if the woman will not be willing to follow you, then you shall be clear from this oath; only bring not my son there again.  ⁹ And the eved put his hand under the thigh of Avraham his master, and swore to him concerning that matter.  ¹⁰ And the eved took ten camels from the camels of his master and departed; for all the items of his master were in his hand; and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nachor.

Eleizer is a picture of the Ruach HaKodesh/Holy Spirit sent from the Abba to find a bride for His son Yahushua bearing gifts – one camel load for each of the exiled ten tribes!

¹¹ And he made his camels to kneel down outside the city by a well of mayim at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw mayim.  ¹² And he said, O YHWH, Elohim of my master Avraham, Please, send me with Your bracha this day, and show chesed to my master Avraham.  ¹³ See, I stand here by the well of mayim; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw mayim:  ¹⁴ And let it come to pass, that the young girl to whom I shall say, Please let down your pitcher, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give your camels drink also:  Let the same be her that You have appointed for your eved Yitzchak; and thereby shall I know that You have shown chesed to my master.  ¹⁵ And it came to pass, before he had finished speaking, that, see, Rivkah came out, who was born to Bethu-El, son of Milcah, the wife of Nachor, Avraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.  ¹⁶ And the young girl was very beautiful to look at, a virgin, neither had any man known her; and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.  ¹⁷ And the eved ran to meet her, and said, Please let me drink a little mayim from your pitcher.  ¹⁸ And she said, Drink, my master.  And she hurried and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.  ¹⁹ And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw mayim for your camels also, until they have done drinking.  ²⁰ And she hurried, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw mayim, and drew for all his camels.  ²¹ And the man, wondering about her, held his silence, to see whether YHWH had made his journey prosperous, or not.  ²² And it came to pass, as the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold, ²³ and said, whose daughter are you?  Please tell me:  Is there room in your abba’s bayit for us to lodge?  ²⁴ And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethu-El the son of Milcah that she bore to Nachor.  ²⁵ She said moreover to him, We have both straw and fodder enough, and room to lodge.  ²⁶ And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped YHWH.  ²⁷ And he said, Barchu-et-YHWH Elohim of my master Avraham, who has not left my master destitute of His rachamim and His emet.  I was traveling in the way, and now YHWH has led me to the bayit of my master’s brothers.  ²⁸ And the young girl ran, and told those of her eema’s bayit these things.  ²⁹ And Rivkah had a brother, and his name was Lavan; and Lavan ran out to the man, to the well.  ³⁰ And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands [sordid motives] and when he heard the words of Rivkah his sister, saying, This is what the man spoke to me; then Lavan came to the man; as he stood by the camels at the well.  ³¹ And he said, Come in, you blessed of YHWH; Why do you stand outside?  For I have prepared the bayit, and room for the camels.  ³² And the man came into the bayit: and he undressed his camels, and gave straw and fodder for the camels, and mayim to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him.  ³³ And there was set food before him to eat; but he said, I will not eat, until I have told of my errand.  And he said, speak on.  ³⁴ And he said, I am Avraham’s eved.  ³⁵ And YHWH has blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and He has given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and male avadim, and female avadim, and camels, and donkeys.  ³⁶ And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old:  And to him has he given all that he has.  ³⁷ And my master made me swear, saying, You shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Kanaanites, in whose land I dwell:  ³⁸ But you shall go to my abba’s bayit, and to my mishpacha, and take a wife for my son.  ³⁹ And I said to my master, suppose the woman will not follow me?  ⁴⁰ And he said to me, YHWH, before whom I have my halacha, will send His Malach with you, and prosper your derech; and you shall take a wife for my son from my mishpacha, and from my abba’s bayit:  ⁴¹ Then shall you be clear from this oath, when you come to my mishpacha; if they give you no one, you shall be clear from my oath.  ⁴² And I came this day to the well, and said, O YHWH, Elohim of my master Avraham, if now You do prosper my derech in which I go;  ⁴³ See, I stand by the well of mayim; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin comes out to draw mayim, and I say to her, Please give me a little mayim from your pitcher to drink; ⁴⁴ and she says to me, Drink and I will draw for your camels too:  Let, therefore, the same one be the woman whom YHWH has appointed for my master’s son.  ⁴⁵ And before I had done speaking in my lev, see, Rivkah came out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well, and drew mayim: and I said to her, Please let me drink.  ⁴⁶ And she hurried, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.  So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also.  ⁴⁷ And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter are you?  And she said, The daughter of Bethu-El, Nachor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him; and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.  ⁴⁸ And I bowed down my head, and worshipped YHWH, and blessed YHWH Elohim of my master Avraham, Who had led me in the right derech to take my master’s brother’s daughter to his son.  ⁴⁹ And now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.  ⁵⁰ Then Lavan and Bethu-El answered and said, This thing proceeds from YHWH:  We cannot speak to you bad, or tov.  ⁵¹ See, Rivkah is before you, take her, and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as YHWH has spoken.  ⁵² And it came to pass, that, when Avraham’s eved heard their words, he worshipped YHWH, bowing himself to the earth.  ⁵³ And the eved brought out jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rivkah: he gave also to her brother and to her eema precious things.

Others on the fringe, on the outside receive gifts also but still aren’t the bride!  (see Matt. 5:18)

⁵⁴ And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and stayed all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away to my master.  ⁵⁵ And her brother and her eema said, Let the young girl stay with us a (year)/(few days), at least ten; after that she shall go.

A girl is given twelve months before marriage to adorn herself … like Esther!  Sode:  The fringe family will want the bride to stay with them in exile – they don’t want the ten tribes to be united with the two tribes because they know the gifts will cease!

⁵⁶ And he said to them, do not hinder me, seeing YHWH has prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.  ⁵⁷ And they said, We will call the young girl, and ask her.  ⁵⁸ And they called Rivkah, and said to her, Will you go with this man?  And she said, I will go.  ⁵⁹ And they sent away Rivkah their sister, and her nurse, and Avraham’s eved, and his men.  ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rivkah, and said to her, You are our sister, now become the eema of thousands of millions, and let your zera possess the gate of those who hate them.  ⁶¹ And Rivkah arose, and her young girls, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man; and the eved took Rivkah, and went his way.  ⁶² And Yitzchak came from the way of the well Lachai-Roei, for he dwelt in the south country.  ⁶³ And Yitzchak went out to meditate in the field in the evening: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, see, the camels were coming.

YHWH unites the bride and Son outside the grave … resurrection.  The bride is brought into the family of Avraham and gathered to her people. The Ruach HaKodesh/Holy Spirit was sent to lead the bride through the ten tribes out of paganism and into a marriage covenant with the Son of the Father, to unite the family of Avraham.

⁶⁴ And Rivkah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Yitzchak, she was lifted from off the camel.  ⁶⁵ For she had said to the eved, What man is this that walks in the field to meet us?  And the eved had said, It is my master; therefore, she took a veil and covered herself.  ⁶⁶ And the eved told Yitzchak all things that he had done.  ⁶⁷ And Yitzchak brought her into his eema Sarah’s tent, and took Rivkah, and she became his wife; and he loved her; and Yitzchak was comforted after his eema’s death.

Beresheeth 25:1 Then again Avraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

Keturah is related to the Hebrew word k’toret (incense) and hints of her coming from the “incense route.”

² And she bore him Zimran and Yokshan and Medan and Midyan and Ishvak, and Shuah.  ³ And Yokshan begat Sheva and Dedan.  And the sons of Dedan were Ashurim and Letushim and Leummim.  ⁴ And the sons of Midyan:  Ephah and Epher and Hanoch and Avida and Eldah.  All these were the children of Keturah.  ⁵ And Avraham gave all that he had to Yitzchak.  But to the sons of the concubines whom Avraham had, Avraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Yitzchak his son, eastward, to the east country.

Most brethren are sons of the concubines!  The bride is Israel.  The concubine is the cathedral system complete with gifts but ultimately sent east away from the Shekinah of YHWH!  The message of Hevron culminates at 24:63.  The test is if you’re the bride you’ll bring water to the ten tribes in exile, you’ll place your hands in chains for YHWH’s service and leave your family and pagan religious community behind.

YHWH wants to bring us all in our halacha/walk to Macpaleh where we’ll learn to cover ourselves before we meet the Son of the Father – your husband – outside the grave!  We’ll be gathered to our fathers Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov as seed of Avraham!  It’s the life of Sarah, a life of simcha we have to connect to Hevron as seed of Yahushua/the bride!

Kepha Aleph/1 Peter 3:6: Sarah obeyed Avraham, calling him master – whose daughters you are, as long as you do well and are not frightened.