Genesis 23:6

my lord A title of respect, Adoni(see note on Genesis 18:3). LXX Κύριε, Lat. domine.

a mighty prince Heb. a prince of God. The Hebrew idiom for the superlative, "a prince worthy to rank with the sons of God": cf. Deuteronomy 33:1. For other instances, cf. Psalms 36:6, "the mountains of God" = A.V. "the great mountains," Psalms 80:10, "cedars of God" = A.V. "the goodly cedars." See note on Genesis 10:9, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord." For "prince," nâsî, cf. Ezekiel 12:10; Ezekiel 27:21; Ezekiel 30:13; Ezekiel 32:29; Ezekiel 38:2.

in the choice of, &c. In the complimentary style of Orientals the preliminaries to a business transaction are characterized by the greatest deliberateness and the greatest generosity. The opening proposal is that Abraham should make use of one of the "choicest" Hittite sepulchres, for the burial of Sarah. Even if the offer was meant seriously, Abraham will not accept it; he wishes to possess a burial-place of his own. For the phrase "the choice," cf. Isaiah 22:7; Isaiah 37:24. It means what we should express familiarly as "the pick of."

Probably their complimentary phrase is intended to conceal their dislike of selling a grave.