According to Strong’s Concordance, it means “fawn-like,” but if you keep digging into the word root, you end up with an entirely different meaning that ends up being a much clearer theological message.
When Sarah dies, Abraham buys a plot of land to bury her. There’s this whole dialog in the chapter about this, and we learn that the owner of the land Abraham wishes to buy is Ephron.
Because Genesis is a series of lessons and themes, “fawn-like” seems a bit out of context.
You’d think Ephron’s name would be linked to death, or burial. Or maybe a transaction. We already know that “Heth” means terror, so there should be a link.
As it turns out, Ephron’s name (עֶפְרוֹן) is rooted in the Hebrew word aphar (עָפָר). This is the answer.
The Hebrew reader of Genesis 23 should see this clearly. This is dust.
It’s the same dust God used to make man in Genesis 2:7. The same dust to which man is doomed to return in Genesis 3:19.
But also the same dust of the promise in Genesis 13:16.
I will make your descendants as plentiful as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can count the dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted.
Genesis 13:16 (NASB)
So this conversation between Abraham and Ephron isn’t just a transaction over a plot of land or a cave to bury his wife.
Perhaps it’s meant to be seen as a negotiation with death, and a price that’s paid to claim a sacred spot within the dust.