Genesis 23
23
Sarah’s Burial
1Now Sarah lived 127 years; these were all the years of her life. 2Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron#Gn 35:27; Jos 14:15; 15:13; 21:11; Jdg 1:10) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3When Abraham got up from beside his dead wife, he spoke to the Hethites: 4“I am an alien residing among you.#Gn 17:8; Lv 25:23; 1Ch 29:15; Ps 39:12; 105:12; Heb 11:9,13 Give me burial property among you so that I can bury my dead.”#23:4 Lit dead from before me#Gn 49:30; Ac 7:16
5The Hethites replied to Abraham,#23:5 Lit Abraham, saying to him 6“Listen to us, my lord. You are a prince of God#23:6 Or a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in our finest burial place.#23:6 Or finest graves None of us will withhold from you his burial place for burying your dead.”
7Then Abraham rose and bowed down to the Hethites, the people of the land. 8He said to them, “If you are willing for me to bury my dead, listen to me and ask Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9to give me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me in your presence, for the full price, as burial property.”
10Ephron was sitting among the Hethites. So in the hearing#23:10 Lit ears, also in vv. 13,16 of all the Hethites who came to the gate of his city,#Gn 34:20,24; Ru 4:1 Ephron the Hethite answered Abraham: 11“No, my lord. Listen to me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the sight#23:11 Lit in the eyes of the sons of my people. Bury your dead.”
12Abraham bowed down to the people of the land 13and said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “Listen to me, if you please. Let me pay the price of the field. Accept it from me, and let me bury my dead there.”
14Ephron answered Abraham and said to him, 15“My lord, listen to me. Land worth four hundred shekels of silver#Ex 30:13; Ezk 45:12 — what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16Abraham agreed with Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver that he had agreed to in the hearing of the Hethites: four hundred standard shekels#23:16 Lit 400 shekels passing to the merchant of silver.#Jr 32:9; Zch 11:12 17So Ephron’s field#Gn 25:9; 49:29–32; 50:13 at Machpelah near Mamre — the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the boundaries of the field — became 18Abraham’s possession in the sight of all the Hethites who came to the gate of his city. 19After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20The field with its cave passed from the Hethites to Abraham#Jr 32:10–14 as burial property.
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Genesis 23
23
1Sarah lived a hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3And Abraham rose up from before his dead, and said to the Hittites, 4#Heb 11.9,13. “I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5The Hittites answered Abraham, 6“Hear us, my lord; you are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our sepulchres; none of us will withhold from you his sepulchre, or hinder you from burying your dead.” 7Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. 8And he said to them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, 9that he may give me the cave of Mach-pelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as a possession for a burying place.” 10Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, 11“No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it; in the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.” 12Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me; I will give the price of the field; accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” 14Ephron answered Abraham, 15“My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16#Acts 7.16. Abraham agreed with Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.
17So the field of Ephron in Mach-pelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave which was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over 18to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Mach-pelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as a possession for a burying place by the Hittites.
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America