07 Nov BEHIND THE NAMES OF EFRON AND KETURAH

There are many
fascinating secrets hidden
in Biblical Names and
here are two intriguing
examples from this
week’s parsha Chayei
Sorah.
The Torah tells us about
Efron HaChiti. Here
was a man who made it into the Torah for all
time because he had a very special piece of
real estate. In his possession was the rarified
burial site of Adam and Chava, the direct
handiwork of Hashem. This was the very
essence of his existence–that he would be the
messenger to transfer ownership of the M’oras
HaMachpelah to Avraham Avinu.
There was also a great personal challenge
involved: whether or not Efron would be
generous or stingy in the sale. History revealed
that, while he promised much, he was miserly
in the extreme, exacting from Avraham four
hundred shekel kesef – a princely sum – and
he further demanded that its payment in the
most liquid of currencies.
Lo and behold, all of these events are directly
hidden in Efron’s name. The word Efron is
an anagram of the ‘pira-on,’ which means
‘to exact payment,’ for that was precisely
what Efron did. The word Efron can also

be read afaron, dust and earth, since he
exacted payment for the earth of the M’oras
HaMachpelah.
But, that’s not all. Towards the end of the
incident, the Torah drops the letter vav from
Efron’s name to depict his cheapness and
smallness of character. Spelled without the
vav, the word Efron consists of an ayin-which

equals 70, a fei-which equals 80, a reish-
which equals 200, and a nun-which equals

50. Remarkably, the value of these letters
totals 400 in gematria, the exact amount that
Efron insisted upon in payment for the M’oras
HaMachpelah. This is yet another marvelous
example of the secrets working in Biblical
Names!
After Yitzchak’s marriage, the Torah tells us,
“Vayosef Avraham vayikach ishah u’shmah
Keturah – Avraham added a wife by the name
of Keturah.” Rashi informs us that she was
none other than Hagar. Why the name change?
Rashi gives us two reasons. First, her deeds
were as sweet as ketores, the sweet smelling
incense offered on the altar. Second, Keturah
contains the Aramaic word katar which means
‘to tie,’ alluding to the fact that, after leaving
Avraham, she abstained from relations with
any other man (cf. Rashi).
Let’s analyze Rashi’s first reason. If she was
called Keturah because of her sweet deeds,

why wasn’t she called Naomi or Naamah?

These are names of great people (the mother-
in-law of Rus and the wife of Noach) who

were named after their ne’imus, their sweet
deeds. Why the additional analogy to the
ketores? I believe that this comparison is to
indicate that Hagar’s sweetness of character
came out after she was ‘burnt’ by the suffering
of being expelled from Avraham and Sorah’s
home. Thus, she was compared to the incense
that only emits a sweet fragrance upon being
burned.
Rashi’s second reason, that her name
indicates her fidelity to Avraham, even after
being evicted from his home with her son,
reveals a profound massage. Hagar was a
Mitzris and the Mitzrim were known for their
promiscuous and lewd nature. That Hagar
went against her natural inclination and
remained faithful to Avraham was a supreme
exhibition of breaking her nature and doing
good. In this, she showed that she was an
admirable match for Avraham who we know
went against his nature of kindness to offer
his son on the Akeidah. Thus, this new name
beautifully shows that, although the initial
reason for taking Hagar – namely to have
Yitzchak – no longer applied. Keturah was a
fitting mate in her own right. Thus we have
yet another wonderful examples of how a
name sheds light on the person’s makeup.

Once again, may Hashem bless us to reach
the successes hidden within our own names,
and may we live healthy and happy lives to
greet the Moshiach speedily in our days.