Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 23:17

"So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the border thereof round about, were made sure" — Genesis 23:17 (ASV)

Before Mamre. —That is, opposite to it. The Haram where the bodies of Abraham and Sarah lie is situated on the eastern side of the valley, so that Abraham’s oak-grove must have been on its western slope.

The old Christian tradition, which places it at Ramet-el-Chalil, does not agree with this description, and is, moreover, too far away.

The remains pointed out there as those of Abraham’s house are the ruins of a heathen temple.

But it is useless to look for any remains of the abode of a nomad dwelling in tents, especially after the site has been occupied by a great city.

Moreover, Hebron itself has changed its position. For Benjamin of Tudela, who visited it nearly seven centuries ago, says that the old Hebron was on the heights but had been abandoned, and that the new city lay in the valley.

The field, and the cave ... — It is interesting to compare this document, so legally exact and full, with the numerous tablets of terra-cotta now in our museums, and which record with equal exactness the daily business transactions of the people of Ur-Chasdim, from where Abraham had migrated.