{
  "id": "dict_001713",
  "term": "Ephron",
  "slug": "ephron",
  "letter": "E",
  "entry_type": "biblical_person",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Ephron was the Hittite landowner from whom Abraham bought the cave and field of Machpelah for Sarah’s burial (Genesis 23).",
  "simple_one_line": "Ephron is the Hittite who sold Abraham the burial site of Machpelah.",
  "tooltip_text": "Hittite landowner in Genesis 23 who sold Abraham the cave of Machpelah.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Abraham",
    "Sarah",
    "Machpelah",
    "Hebron",
    "Hittites",
    "burial"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Genesis 23",
    "cave of Machpelah",
    "patriarchal narratives"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Ephron is a minor biblical person in Genesis 23, known as the Hittite landowner who sold Abraham the field and cave of Machpelah as a burial place for Sarah.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A Hittite man in the patriarchal narrative whose land transaction with Abraham secured the burial cave of Machpelah.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Appears in Genesis 23",
    "Owns the field and cave of Machpelah near Hebron",
    "Sells the burial site to Abraham in a public transaction",
    "His role is historical and narrative rather than theological"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Ephron appears in Genesis as a Hittite landowner who sold Abraham the field and cave of Machpelah near Hebron for Sarah’s burial. The narrative emphasizes the public and lawful nature of the purchase. Ephron is therefore a biblical person, not a theological concept.",
  "description_academic_full": "Ephron is a Hittite man mentioned in Genesis 23 as the owner of the field and cave of Machpelah. Abraham negotiated with him at the city gate and purchased the burial site for Sarah. The passage highlights that the transaction was made publicly and before witnesses, giving Abraham a lawful and recognized burial possession in Canaan. Ephron himself is not developed as a theological figure; his significance is mainly historical and narrative, tied to the patriarchal burial plot later associated with Abraham’s family.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Genesis 23 records Sarah’s death, Abraham’s request for a burial place, and Ephron’s sale of the cave of Machpelah and the surrounding field. The account marks Abraham’s first lasting possession in the land promised to his descendants, even though he still lived there as a sojourner.",
  "background_historical_context": "In the ancient Near East, property transactions were often handled publicly at the city gate with witnesses present. The narrative fits that setting by emphasizing formal negotiation, public acknowledgment, and legal transfer. Ephron functions as the local landowner whose sale enables Abraham’s burial claim in the land of Canaan.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Later Jewish tradition continued to regard Machpelah as the burial site of the patriarchs and matriarchs. Ephron’s role remains secondary, serving the larger ancestral narrative centered on Abraham, Sarah, and the promised land.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Genesis 23:3-18"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Genesis 23:19-20"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Ephron is a transliterated Hebrew personal name. In Genesis, he is identified as a Hittite landowner connected with Hebron and the cave of Machpelah.",
  "theological_significance": "Ephron’s role supports a major biblical theme: Abraham lived by faith in God’s promise, yet he also secured a concrete burial place in the land. The public purchase of Machpelah shows lawful dealings, witness-bearing, and the partial yet real fulfillment of promise.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "The passage illustrates how ordinary legal and economic actions can serve redemptive-history purposes. A land transaction becomes a sign of settled hope, continuity, and faith in God’s future fulfillment.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not turn Ephron into a symbolic or doctrinal figure beyond what Genesis states. The text presents him as a real person within a historical transaction, not as a representative of a broader theological category.",
  "major_views_note": "There is no major interpretive dispute about Ephron’s basic identity in Genesis 23. Discussion usually centers on the significance of the Machpelah purchase rather than on Ephron himself.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "Ephron should not be treated as a theological doctrine, office, or spiritual type unless the interpretive claim is carefully limited to the plain sense of Genesis 23. The entry should remain within the historical-narrative scope of the biblical text.",
  "practical_significance": "The account encourages integrity in business, respect for public process, and faith that acts concretely on God’s promises. It also reminds readers that burial and remembrance matter in biblical faith.",
  "meta_description": "Ephron in Genesis 23 was the Hittite landowner who sold Abraham the cave and field of Machpelah for Sarah’s burial.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/ephron/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/ephron.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}