Chayei Sarah 23:16 · unit 2

Parashas Chayei Sarah · Passuk 23:16

The Complete Passuk

וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע אַבְרָהָם֮ אֶל־עֶפְרֹון֒ וַיִּשְׁקֹ֤ל אַבְרָהָם֙ לְעֶפְרֹ֔ן אֶת־הַכֶּ֕סֶף אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֶּ֖ר בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י בְנֵי־חֵ֑ת אַרְבַּ֤ע מֵאוֹת֙ שֶׁ֣קֶל כֶּ֔סֶף עֹבֵ֖ר לַסֹּחֵֽר׃

Avraham accepted Efron’s terms. Avraham paid out to Efron the money that he had named in the hearing of the children of Ches—four hundred shekels of silver at the going merchants’ rate.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Bekhoros 50a.

TT lemma: עובר לסוחר.

Sefaria — Bekhoros 50a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא, כָּל כֶּסֶף הָאָמוּר בַּתּוֹרָה סְתָם הוּא סֶלַע, חוּץ מִן כַּסְפּוֹ שֶׁל עֶפְרוֹן, שֶׁאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה סְתָם אֲפִלּוּ הָכִי הֵם קַנְטְרִין, דִּכְתִיב אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שֶׁקֶל כֶּסֶף עֹבֵר לַסֹּחֵר.

English: Rabbi Chanina said: Every unspecified “silver” mentioned in the Torah is a sela, except for the silver of Efron; even though it is written in the Torah without specification, they were nonetheless centenaria (heavy coins), as it is written “four hundred shekels of silver, current among the merchants.”

On the daf / in context: Bekhoros 50a (and parallel) establishes the default value of biblical “shekel / kesef” as a sela, with Efron’s payment as the explicit exception that required commercial-weight coins.

Type of Learning

Custom (Bavli — value of biblical shekel; exception of Efron)

What Is Learned

Unspecified monetary amounts in the Torah are calculated as ordinary selas; Efron’s four hundred shekels were the heavier commercial standard, as the verse itself marks them “current among the merchants.”