Zohar

Biblical Record

Zohar appears twice in Genesis. Both times he is named in the phrase "Ephron the son of Zohar," which serves to identify his son Ephron.

• Genesis 23:8: After the death of his wife Sarah, Abraham asks the Hittites of Hebron for a burial site. He asks them to "intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar" that he might sell him the cave of Machpelah.
• Genesis 25:9: When Abraham dies, Isaac and Ishmael bury him "in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre."

The text says nothing about Zohar's life or deeds, or whether he was still living. The person directly involved in the sale of the cave of Machpelah is his son Ephron.

Significance Within Scripture

Zohar's name functions as a genealogical marker that clarifies Ephron's identity. The cave of Machpelah was the first land in Canaan that Abraham owned by purchase, and the passage therefore draws frequent attention in connection with the promise of the land. Zohar is a figure known only by name from the record of this transaction.

Zohar does not appear in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Debated Points

• Others with the same name: Another biblical figure bears the same name. Zohar the son of Simeon, mentioned in Exodus 6:15, was an Israelite and is a different person from Zohar the Hittite.
• Meaning of the name: Some scholars connect the Hebrew name with a word meaning "white" or "tawny," although this interpretation is not certain.
• Distinguishing later embellishments: The text states only that Zohar was a Hittite and the father of Ephron. Any other accounts of his life or character have no basis in Scripture.

In the Korean Church

In Korean preaching, Genesis 23 is typically treated in terms of Abraham's purchase of a burial site and his faith concerning the Promised Land. Zohar is usually mentioned only by name in the course of reading the passage, and he is rarely the subject of a sermon or Sunday school lesson in his own right.