Genesis 23:15

worth four hundred shekels of silver About £ 55. See note on Genesis 20:16. On the Hebrew value of a shekel, cf. Exodus 30:13; Ezekiel 45:12. In 2 Samuel 24:24 David buys the threshing-floor and the oxen of Araunah for 50 shekelsof silver. In the Code of Hammurabi a hireling would not receive more than I shekel a month as wages (S. A. Cook, p. 172).

what is that betwixt me and thee? Ephron has mentioned a full price; he is poor, Abraham rich: the figure could not possibly be a hindrance to the bargain. The important thing is that he, the owner, is willing to sell. Abraham will, therefore, of course purchase.