In part 1, we highlighted the transaction that took place between Abraham and Ephron the Hittite, who lived in Canaan. Having lost Sarah, his wife, Abraham needed a place to bury her, and he bought a field with a cave from Ephron for 400 shekels of silver. Genesis 23 gives us a record of what took place. Sarah’s death and the events surrounding it, including the purchase of the property and her burial, took place in approximately 2030 BC. Thus, early on, we see practiced in Scripture some of the very principles that are essential to a free market economy.
Early on, we see practiced in Scripture some of the very principles that are essential to a free market economy.
Using the details we highlighted in part 1, we note the following elements.
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- Ownership of property
- Control over the property and assets one owns
- Receiving payment is part of the process of relinquishing ownership of the property or other item(s) one is selling.
- A specific, agreed-upon amount of money is acceptable payment for property sold.
- Both parties — both the buyer and the seller — benefit, or at least are adequately compensated in, the agreed-upon exchange.
- Borders and boundary lines are important. They should be clear and unambiguous, keeping questions of what is owned by whom to a minimum.
- Certain transactions should be made publicly, or at least should become a matter of public record. Again, in many instances (especially with real estate), people need to know who owns what — and not just on the day or days the transactions took place. This is especially important over time, as owners change hands because assets are inherited, even if they remain within one family. Dennis Prager notes, “The fact this land was acquired in a legal sale is subsequently mentioned repeatedly in Genesis (Genesis 25:9-10; 49:30; 50:13).”1
- Mutual respect prevails with transactions such as this, or certainly should prevail.
- Generally speaking, the more government stays out of such transactions, the less restrictive they are, the smoother they are, the cleaner they are, and the simpler they are. This is not to say that government has absolutely no role in large transactions involving things like land and houses, because to make them a matter of public record, government’s role is assumed. Nevertheless, government’s primary job, remember, is to uphold what is right and punish or hinder that which is wrong. Laws guiding and regulating financial transactions should be consistent with principles in God’s Word that appear in later passages and that are very specific. The transaction that took place in Genesis 23 is consistent with the regulations that later would be revealed.
- In such transactions, both parties are free to make choices that benefit them. Of course, each party is free as well to consider the ways the transaction will benefit or potentially benefit the other party. The bottom line is that we are not speaking here of selfishness or greed, but about making wise and prudent choices. It’s about stewardship and mutual benefit.
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Genesis 23 provides a historical account that also offers important guidelines for smooth financial transactions between parties who wish to exchange goods and/or services. It’s noteworthy that this chapter affirms free-market principles and leaves no room for a socialist or social justice approach.
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Note:
1Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible: Genesis: God, Creation, and Destruction, (Washington, DC: Regnery Faith, 2019), 266.
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