“And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,”
Abraham says that if they are willing to let him bury his dead, then please hear him and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on his behalf. The negotiation is conducted with elaborate courtesy — the indirection of asking the community to intercede with Ephron rather than approaching Ephron directly is the form of respectful negotiation in the ancient Near East. The application: the patience and courtesy of formal negotiation is not weakness but the social wisdom that makes agreements durable. Abraham takes the time to negotiate properly.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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