Parshas Chayey Sarah - the missing vav in Ephron's name

The passuk says in this week’s sedrah (בראשית כ"ג ט"ז)

וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָהָם אֶל עֶפְרוֹן וַיִּשְׁקֹל אַבְרָהָם לְעֶפְרֹן אֶת הַכֶּסֶף אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר בְּאָזְנֵי בְנֵי חֵת אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שֶׁקֶל כֶּסֶף עֹבֵר לַסֹּחֵר

“And Avraham listened to Ephron and Avraham measured to Ephron the money which he had spoken in the ears of the children of Ches, four hundred silver shekalim, fit for mercantile use.”

The first Ephron in the passuk is spelt with a vav, the second Ephron in the passuk is spelt without a vav. The medrash (שמות רבה ל"א י"ז) comments on this

דבר אחר "נבהל להון" זה עפרון... מיד עמד אברהם ושקל לו... מה היה אומר עפרון לאברהם, אם אתה נותן לי ד' מאות שקל כסף מן סחורת ביתך אתה נותנה לי, וע"י שהכניס עין רעה בממונו של אברהם חסרו הכתוב וי"ו, הוי ולא ידע כי חסר יבואנו האיש שעינו רעה חסרו הכתוב וי"ו

“The passuk says in Mishlei (28:22)

נִבֳהָל לַהוֹן אִישׁ רַע עָיִן וְלֹא יֵדַע כִּי חֶסֶר יְבֹאֶנּוּ

The man with an evil eye panics for wealth, but he does not know that loss will befall him.

This passuk refers to Ephron. As soon as Avraham heard Ephron’s hint, he stood up and measured out four hundred shekalim for him. Ephron said, ‘If you are going to pay me, make sure the money comes from your best coins which are reserved for business dealings.’

Because Ephron gave Avraham’s money an ayin hara, the passuk took a vav away from him. This is the loss that befell Ephron because of his greed.”

The Baal Haturim explains that Avraham knew initially that Ephron had an ayin hara. Therefore even though Ephron offered to give Avraham the field, it was assur for Avaraham to accept it, because the passuk says in Mishlei (23:6)

אַל תִּלְחַם אֶת לֶחֶם רַע עָיִן וְאַל תתאו [תִּתְאָיו] לְמַטְעַמֹּתָיו

“Do not take the bread of someone who has an ayin hara, and do not desire his delicacies.”

From the fact that Avraham refused Ephron’s gift, it was obvious that Avraham was saying that Ephron had an ayin hara. This was embarrassing for Ephron, so he became angry and told Avraham that he would indeed pay for the field, in as complete a manner as possible.

The Chasam Sofer offers an alternative explanation of the medrash:

The passuk says

וְאִם מִשְּׂדֵה אֲחֻזָּתוֹ יַקְדִּישׁ אִישׁ לַה' וְהָיָה עֶרְכְּךָ לְפִי זַרְעוֹ זֶרַע חֹמֶר שְׂעֹרִים בַּחֲמִשִּׁים שֶׁקֶל כָּסֶף

If a person makes his field hekdesh and wants to redeem it, then the field should be valued at 50 shekalim for an area in which a barley measure is sown.

The mishna in Eruchin (7:1) explains that the passuk is referring to someone who was makdish his field in the first year after yovel. The value of the field is one shekel per year, therefore in this case he redeems his field for fifty shekalim. However the owner is makdish his field closer to yovel, then he only has to pay hekdesh for the remaining years.

At the bris bein ha’besarim, Hashem told Avraham that the benei yisrael would return to Eretz Yisrael after four hundred years, after which Ephron would have lost the me’aras ha’machpelah anyway, so Ephron could charge Avraham the value of the land holding for 400 years.

If the value of a field for 50 years is 50 shekalim, then the value of a field for 400 years is 400 shekalim, and so apparently Ephron charged the correct price for the field.

However, Ephron actually undervalued the field because

• According to the Ramban, it was 430 years from the bris bein ha’besarim to yetzias mitzrayim (the 400 years stated at the bris bein ha’besarim was lav davka, see Ramban Shemos 12:40).  

• The benei yisrael stayed an additional 40 years in the midbar, as a punishment for the chet ha’meraglim.

Therefore really Ephron undercharged Avraham by 8 shekalim (minus 62 years which had elapsed since the bris bein ha’besarim, plus 30 years (according to the Ramban in Shemos), plus 40 years in the midbar, which comes out to 70 – 62 = 8).

A further adjustment that has to be made to this calculation is as follows:

• The valuation of 1 shekel per year is really the value of the crop that can be harvested from the field in a year.  

• The bris bein ha’besarim was on Pesach night, when the field would already have had standing corn in it. Therefore Ephron could not charge Avraham for this crop.  

• The benei yisrael came into Eretz Yisrael on Pesach, when again the field would have had standing corn in it, since the benei yisrael acquired that crop, Ephron could not have charged Avraham for the crop.

So altogether, Ephron undercharged Avraham by 8 – 2 = 6 years, and the price of the field should have been 406 shekalim. Since Ephron lost 6 shekalim by being panicked into trying to make money, the passuk removes a vav from his name.