Tanach · Acharonim on Tanach · Or HaChaim · Torah

Or HaChaim on Genesis 23:11/אור החיים על בראשית כ״ג:י״א

אלֹא אֲדֹנִי. פֵּירוּשׁ: לֹא תִּקַּח הַמְּעָרָה לְבַד, אֶלָּא גַּם הַשָּׂדֶה כְּבָר נָתַתִּי, פֵּירוּשׁ כְּבָר גָּמַרְתִּי בְּדַעְתִּי לִיתֵּן. וְטַעְמוֹ, לֹא יִהְיֶה הַשָּׂדֶה רָאוּי לִדְבַר מָה אַחַר שֶׁהַמְּעָרָה הִיא לְבֵית הַקְּבָרוֹת. וְעַל זֶה דִּקְדֵּק לוֹמַר ״שְׁמָעֵנִי״, פֵּרוּשׁ, שֶׁיָּבִין דְּבָרָיו וְטַעְמוֹ.
1 לא אדוני, "No my lord." The word "no" means that Abraham could not merely acquire the cave but had to buy the field it was situated on. Efron indicated that the reason he had decided to give the whole field to Abraham was that once it served as a cemetry it could not longer serve its original purpose. He implied all this by using the word שמעני, "listen to me carefully."
בוְהַמְּעָרָה וְגוֹ׳. פֵּירוּשׁ: כְּבָר בַּשְּׁלִיחוּת הָרִאשׁוֹנָה כְּשֶׁעָנוּהוּ בְּנֵי חֵת וְאָמְרוּ (בראשית כג:ו) ״אִישׁ מִמֶּנּוּ אֶת קִבְרוֹ לֹא יִכְלֶה״ וְגוֹ׳ לְךָ נְתַתִּיהָ, וְטַעַם שֶׁחָזַר פַּעַם שְׁנִיָּה לוֹמַר לְעֵינֵי וְגוֹ׳, לוֹמַר שֶׁלֹּא נִשְׁאַר שׁוּם מִיחוּשׁ מִטַּעֲנַת דִּין בַּר מִצְרָא שֶׁחָשׁ אֵלָיו אַבְרָהָם בִּתְחִלַּת דְּבָרָיו שֶׁאָמַר (בראשית כג:ח) ״וּפִגְעוּ לִי״ וְגוֹ׳:
2והמערה אשר בו, "as well as the cave situated on it." He meant that already at the very beginning of the discussions when the local people had indicated their willingness to relinquish their own burial plots in favour of Abraham, he, Efron had decided that the cave and the field were a single unit. The reason he repeated the fact that the transaction took place in full view of all the people was to make plain that no דין מצר could be invoked by anyone in the future.