“Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.”
Ephron offers the field and the cave freely: no, my lord, listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead. The offer is extravagant — the whole field, not just the cave, given as a gift. But the extravagance of the offer is also the beginning of a negotiation: the gift of a field that is worth more than the cave creates an obligation that Abraham is deliberately avoiding. The application: generous offers that create obligation require careful evaluation. Abraham knows what he is doing when he declines.
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