The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1869-05-28

The first mention, in the Hebrew
Scriptures of burial, is that of Sarah
the wife of Abraham. OF each of the
prtrarchs, with one exception, whose names
are recorded in the 9th of Genesis, it is
briefly said, "and he died" 1t is not
added, I" aud was buried" From the
death of Abel, the first to die, to that of
Sarah, period of two thousand years, in
no instance are we told what disposition
was made of the mortal remains. Z" All
the days that Adam lived were nine huns
dred and thirty years and he died"
What was the " order for the burial of
the dead " at the funeral of the first man
and where did they lay his body =?
The fist burial place described in the
sacred records is the cave which was Sc
leoted as the burial place Of Sarah. OF
this sepulchre we have, in the book of
Genesis, a history of affecting simplicity
and beauty. While Abraham was a
stranger, and sojourner at Hebron, his
wife died, and he was obliged to seek for
her burial place. The people of the land
honored him as mighty prince among
them, and offered him his choice of their
sepulchers. He must have appreciated
the kindness of the offer, but he naturally
preferred family burial place of his own
and he had set his heart on cave in the
field of Macphelah, which seemed fitted
for the sad purpose. The field and cave
therein belonged to Ephron, the Hittite.
For some reason, which does not appear,
Abraham did not first apply, to this man
for the purchase of the cave, but he asked
his friends and his neighbors to apply for
him. Ephron offered Abraham both the
field and the cave as gift. The beraved
patriarch was unwilling thus to receive
them. lie would not be dependent, so
long as no necessity required it, on the
generosity of others, nor would he bury
his beloved dead in a sepuchre that cost
him nothing. /" I will give thee money for
the 6eld," he said to Ephrou, " take it Of
me, and | will bury my dead there"
Ephron, in reply, named four hundred
shekels OF silver as the worth Of the field
This sum Abraham paid by weight tc
Ephron, in the presence Of the people Of
the land. The contract and payment hav
ing been publicly witnessed, the field, with
the cave therein, " and all the trees that
were in the field" became the property o
Abraham and his heirs
This is the first recorded instance of {
legal conveyance of zeal estate, and it is
remarkable that it is the conveyance of ;
burial place. All men cannot be land
holders, but every man may reasonably ex
pect to have, some day, as much land as may
serve for grave. In the cave of Macphe
lah Abraham buried his wife. Thirty
eight years passed away and his sons buried
him ia the cave. One hundred and thirty
two years later, Jacob dying in Egypt, re
membered that family sepulchre, and
charged his sons to bury him therein
Having described it as " the cave that il
in the field of Macpheiah, before Mamre
in the land of Gamma, which Abraham
bought with the field of Ephrou thu
Hittite," he added the words so tenderl,
expressive of the natural wish to res
among ones, kindred" There they buried
Abraham and Sarah his wife there the,
buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife anC
there buried Leah" After these specif
directions there could be no mistake as t.
the locality of the sepulchre to whicl
Jacobs last thoughts and wishes were
turned, and his sons accordingly carried
him into Canaan and laid him with hi
fathers, Abraham and Isaac.
With the burial of Jacob the record o
burials iu the cave Macphelab closes. The
cave is not now in the possession Of il
rightful owners, the heirs Of Abraham
Little did the honored patriarch imagine
when he purchased it as a burial place
that in distant ages it would lie within tn,
walls of a mosque, while his descendants
whose presence in the land should be it
protection, would be scattered among tht
nations" an astonishment, proverb auC
a byword because they would not lister
unto the voice of the Lord their God
And yet it is gratifying to know that thu
tomb of the patriarch has been protected
though by the hands of Turks, infdels
and heretics." What countless multtudel
of the wise and coed have passed away O
whose graves we know nothining.
" Dust long outlasts the storied stone
But they - their very dust is gone"
JOSH BILLINGS IN THE EDIToR's CHAIT