Commentaire sur La Genèse 23:10

ועפרון ישב The verb is written without a ו so that it may be read ישב he sat, thus indicating that on that very day they had appointed him (Ephron) to be an officer over them. Because of the high standing of Abraham who needed to negotiate with him, he was elevated to a dignified position (so that Abraham whom they esteemed as a great prince might have to negotiate with an equal and not with an inferior person (Genesis Rabbah 58:7).

ועפרון..באזני בני חת, in a loud voice, making sure they could all hear him. In this verse the Torah emphasises the aural aspect of the negotiations, whereas in verse 18, at the conclusion of the transaction the visible aspect, לעיני בני חת is stressed, as at that point eye-witnesses were more important. We find such a sequence of aural perception and visual perception also in Job 29,11 כי אזן שמעה ותאשרני ועין ראתה ותעידני, “for the ear that heard acclaimed me, and the eyes that saw were my witness.”

לכל באי שער עירו, “in the presence of all the assembled citizens of the his town.´ In connection with the dealings of Chamor and Shechem with their subjects, the Torah uses the expression לכל יוצאי שער עירו, “in the presence of all the inhabitants of his town who had come out (to the square)”. Avraham wanted to publicise his request for a burial ground even to people who were not residents of the region. The relatives of Efron, or anyone who would witness the transaction were disqualified as witnesses, whereas total strangers were fit to testify to the transaction legally.