Man living at the time of the Patriarchs
Ephron the Hittite sold the cave of Machpelah to Abraham as a burial site for Sarah.
🗺 Places mentioned alongside Ephron on the map →
Ephron was a Hittite man who lived in the city of Hebron during the time of Abraham. He owned a field containing the cave of Machpelah, which Abraham sought to purchase as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Gen.23).
When Sarah died, Abraham approached the Hittites and requested to buy a burial site. Ephron was present at the meeting and offered to give the field and the cave to Abraham as a gift (Gen.23.8-11). However, Abraham insisted on paying the full price, and Ephron named a price of 400 shekels of silver (Gen.23.14-15).
Abraham agreed to the price and paid Ephron in the presence of witnesses, securing the field and the cave as a permanent possession for burial (Gen.23.16-20). The cave of Machpelah later became the burial place for Abraham himself, as well as Isaac, Rebekah, Israel (or 'Jacob'), and Leah (Gen.25.9; 49.29,30; 50.13).
Ephron's interaction with Abraham demonstrates the legal and social customs of property transactions in the ancient Near East. It also highlights Abraham's desire to establish a permanent burial place for his family in the land of Canaan, foreshadowing the future possession of the land by his descendants.
More background: search Wikipedia ↗
Fawn-like. (1.) The son of Zohar a Hittite, the owner of the field and cave of Machpelah (q.v.), which Abraham bought for 400 shekels of silver (Gen. 23:8-17; 25:9; 49:29, 30). (2.) A mountain range which formed one of the landmarks on the north boundary of the tribe of Judah (Josh. 15:9), probably the range on the west side of the Wady Beit-Hanina.
(fawn-like), the son of Zochar, a Hittite, from whom Abraham bought the field and cave of Machpelah. (Genesis 23:8-17; 25:9; 49:29,30; 50:13) (B.C. 1860.)
E'PHRON (fawn-like), the son of Zohar the Hittite, of whom Abraham bought the field and cave of Machpelah. Gen 23:8.
E'PHRON, MOUNT (fawn-like), on the northern boundary of Judah, Josh 15:19; probably the range of hills west of Wady Beit-Hanina.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
10 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H6085
“If you are willing for me to bury my dead,” he said to them, “listen to me, and approach Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf
Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth. So in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham,
and said to Ephron in their presence, “If you will please listen to me, I will pay you the price of the field. Accept it from me, so that I may bury my dead there.”
Ephron answered Abraham,
Abraham agreed to Ephronʼs terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the standard of the merchants.
So Ephronʼs field at Machpelah near Mamre, the cave that was in it, and all the trees within the boundaries of the field were deeded over
His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.
Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.