Ephron answered Abraham: listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead. The price named — four hundred shekels of silver — is stated with the pretense that it is too small to matter. The naming of the price while appearing to minimize it is the sophisticated opening of the real negotiation. The application: in formal negotiations, what is said and what is meant are not always the same. Abraham will pay the stated price; he does not negotiate further.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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