3-7. The request for a burying-place.—The negotiations fall into three well-defined stages; and while they illustrate the leisurely courtesy of the East in such matters, they cover a real reluctance of the Ḥittites to give Abraham a legal title to land by purchase (Gu.). To his first request they respond with alacrity: the best of their sepulchres is at his disposal.—3. arose] from the sitting posture of the mourner (2 Sa. 1216. 20).—the sons of Ḥēth] see on 1015.
P is the only document in which Ḥittites are definitely located in the
S of Canaan (cf. 2634 362); and the historic accuracy of the statement is
widely questioned. It is conceivable that the Cappadocian Ḥittites
(p. 215) had extended their empire over the whole country prior to the Heb.
invasion. But taking into account that P appears to use 'Ḥēth' interchangeably
with 'Canaan' (cf. 2634 2746 362b w. 281. 8 362a), it may be
more reasonable to hold that with him 'Ḥittite' is a general designation
of the pre-Israelite inhabitants, as 'Canaanite' with J and 'Amorite'
with E (cf. Jos. 14, Ezk. 163). It may, of course, be urged that such an
idea could not have arisen unless the Ḥittites had once been in actual
occupation of the land, and that this assumption would best explain the
all but constant occurrence of the name in the lists of conquered peoples
(see p. 284). At present, however, we have no proof that this was the
case; and a historic connexion between the northern Ḥittites and the
natives of Hebron remains problematical. Another solution is propounded
by Jastrow (EB, 2094 ff.), viz., that P's Ḥittites are an entirely
distinct stock, having nothing but the name in common with either the
'conventional' Ḥittites of the enumerations or the great empire of N
Syria. See Dri. 228 ff.
4. a sojourner and dweller] so Lv. 2535. 47, Nu. 3515, and
(in a religious sense) Ps. 3913 (cf. 1 Pe. 211). The technical
(unless Neh. 1125 be an artificial archaism [Mey. Entst. 106]). The name
means 'Four cities' (see on (
Hebrew characters), p. 326). The personification of
(Hebrew characters) as heros eponymus (Jos. 1415 1513 2111) has no better authority (as G
shows) than the mistake of a copyist (see Moore, Jud. 25). Jewish
Midrash gave several explanations of the numeral: amongst others
from the 4 patriarchs buried there—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Adam
(Ber. R.; P. R. Eliezer, 20, 36; Ra.)—the last being inferred from (Hebrew characters)
in Jos. 1415 (Jer. OS, 8412). The addition of [E] (Hebrew characters) (G (Greek characters))
seems a corruption of (Hebrew characters) (Ba.) or (with G) (Hebrew characters) in Jos.
1513 2111.—(Hebrew characters)] In Heb. usage, as in that of all the cognate languages,
(Hebrew characters) means 'to wail'; see Mic. 18.—4. (Hebrew characters)] IEz. (Hebrew characters). According
to Bertholet (Stell. z. d. Fr. 156-166), the (Hebrew characters) is simply a gêr (see
on 1210) who resides fixedly in one place, without civil rights, and perhaps
incapable of holding land; see EB, 4818.—5. (Hebrew characters) (so v.14) is an
abnormal combination, doubtfully supported by Lv. 111. The last word
