How old was Abraham when he died?
Genesis closes Abraham's story with a plain number and a full heart: the man who left his country at God's call is buried in the one field he ever owned in the land he was promised. The figure itself is easy to state — but the writers press on to ask what "full of years" means, why he died still a stranger, and where he went when he was gathered to his people.
The number
The count is exact, and one commentator ties it straight to the field Abraham had bought years before, when he buried his wife.
L. M. GrantAbraham's age is now recorded — 175 years — at the time of his death (vv. 7-8). Isaac and Ishmael were brought together again at this time, both having part in their father's burial. Abraham was buried with Sarah in the cave he had bought from Ephron (Gen. 23:19-20). Just as the circumstances at that time pointed to the promise of Sarah's future resurrection, so it was with Abraham, who fully believed that God was able to raise the dead (Rom. 4:17-21).
The number also places him in the family timeline, and the phrase used of his passing is a rare one in Scripture.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinAbraham died 175 years old, which means, he lived till Jacob and Esau were 15 years old. The phrase "gathered to his people" is used only of six persons. Of Abraham (25:8); Ishmael (verse 17); Isaac (35:29); Jacob (49:29-33); Aaron (Num. 20:24); and Moses (Deut. 32:50).
Full, not few
Length of life is one thing; the quality of the years is another. One writer sets Abraham's closing words beside Jacob's, and the difference is not in the arithmetic but in the walk behind it.
J. N. DarbyJacob is a warning to us, but Abraham is an example… The highest point of attainment with him is Abraham's starting point, even the home of his soul. With the exception of a few falls, this was the habitual state of Abraham, the state in which he lived. Abraham "died in a good old age, an old man, and full of days, and was gathered to his people." But Jacob said, "Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been…" He ended his life in Egypt. The experiences of Jacob are the experiences of what the hearts of men are. The experiences of Abraham are the experiences of the heart of God.
Gathered to his people
Commentators differ on how much weight this phrase carries. One treats it carefully, distinguishing it from the burial language that so often stands next to it.
W. W. FeredayIf the Scriptures be read without prejudice it will be perceived that the term "sleep" is always used in connection with the body, never in connection with the soul… The expressions so frequently used in the Old Testament that such and such a person "slept with his fathers" and "was buried with his fathers" have reference to the body only… The expression "gathered to his people" may possibly have a larger meaning, perhaps indicating that the departed one had joined his forefathers in the unseen world.
He died outside the promise
Abraham owned a grave in Canaan, not the country. One writer compares him to the leader who saw the land from a mountain and never crossed into it.
J. G. BellettHe had, we may say, seen the land, but he was not to go over and possess it. He was the Moses of an earlier generation; like him, a heavenly man, a man of the wilderness and not of the inheritance — a man of the tent — a child of resurrection. He was gathered to his people, before the land was entered by the Israel of God according to promise.
That absence of possession is not treated as failure. It is what faith looks like when it reaches the end of a life.
Samuel RidoutHe was as much a pilgrim in the land as he was in journeying to it. His whole life was a pilgrimage. He never possessed what God had promised him… By faith they saw but did not receive the promises connected with the inheritance. Nature grew feeble; its powers decayed, and they were laid away in death; but they died in faith, clinging to the promises still far off — convinced of them, so that there was no uncertainty.
The grave where two sons met
Isaac and Ishmael had long been separated, yet both stood at the same burial. One writer notices what the funeral achieved.
The Bible TreasuryDeath cannot extinguish the light of these noble lives: indeed it brings about what nothing else can; Isaac and Ishmael stand reconciled for a time at their father's grave! The hard, untameable nature is touched and subdued at last.
The end matches the man, and it stands out against the wreck of his nephew's life.
Hamilton SmithThe deeply instructive history of Abraham closes with the brief record of his peaceful end at "a good old age," and the burial by his sons Isaac and Ishmael in the cave of Machpelah. Thus in striking contrast to poor Lot, Abraham finishes his pilgrim path with the respect and honour due to one who was "the friend of God," and "the father of all them that believe."
Summary
- 175 — Abraham's age at death, long enough to overlap the boyhood of his great-grandsons Jacob and Esau.
- Full — the years were not merely many but satisfying; Jacob called his own days "few and evil," Abraham's are called full.
- Faith — he never owned the land he was promised, and died still holding the promise with no uncertainty.
- Gathered — the wording used of him and five others suggests more than a burial: joining those who had gone before.
- Fruit — his grave brought Isaac and Ishmael together, and closed a pilgrim's path with the honour of "the friend of God."