Genesis 23
23
Chapter 23
Sarah dies and Abraham buries her
1Sarah lived for 127 years. 2She died in the land of Canaan, at Kiriath Arba. That place is also called Hebron. Abraham was very sad. He went to her tent and he cried very much, because she was dead.
3Then Abraham went to the Hittite people and he said to them, 4‘I am living as a stranger among you. Please, sell me some land here, so that it belongs to me. Then I can use it to bury my wife properly.’
5The Hittites replied, 6‘Sir, please listen to what we say. We respect you as a great and powerful person. We have good places where we bury our people who have died. Choose the best one that you like. None of us will refuse to give you the place that you choose. Then you will be able to bury your dead wife there.’
7Abraham stood up. He turned his face towards the ground to respect the Hittites who lived in that place. 8He said to them, ‘Since you have agreed to help me, please do this. Speak to Zohar's son, Ephron, for me. 9Ask him to sell the cave of Machpelah to me. It belongs to Ephron. It is at the edge of his field. You will see that I pay the proper price to him. Then it will belong to me. I can bury my family there when they die.’
10Ephron was sitting there with his people, at the city gate. He spoke so that all the Hittites could hear him. 11Ephron said, ‘No sir. Please listen to me. You may take my field as well as the cave. I promise in front of my people that I will give all this to you. Then you can bury your dead wife there.’
12Abraham again turned his face towards the ground to respect the people who lived in that place. 13While they were listening, he said to Ephron, ‘Let me say this. I will pay you the price to buy the field. Please accept the money from me. Then I can bury my dead wife there.’
14Ephron replied to Abraham, 15‘Listen to me, sir. The land is worth 400 shekels of silver. But the price is not important, because we are friends. Now bury your dead wife there.’ #23:15 People used shekels to measure weight. Ephron is telling Abraham how much the land will cost. He knows that Abraham will not accept the field as a gift. This is the way that people would agree to a price.
16Abraham agreed to the price that Ephron had asked for. He weighed the correct amount of silver to give to Ephron. The Hittites there knew that it had been done properly. The weight of 400 shekels agreed with the weights that people used at that time.
17In that way, Ephron's field in Machpelah, near Mamre, now belonged to Abraham. This included the field, the cave in the field and all the trees in the field as far as its edge. 18All the Hittite people who were sitting there at the city gate agreed that Abraham was the new owner.
19After this, Abraham buried his wife, Sarah, in the cave in the field of Machpelah. This field was near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. That place is also called Hebron. 20That is how Abraham bought the field and the cave that was in it from the Hittite people. He bought it so that he could bury there his family who died.
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Genesis 23
23
Sarah Dies
1Sarah lived to be 127 years old. 2She died in the city of Kiriath Arba (Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham was very sad and cried for her there. 3Then he left his dead wife and went to talk to the Hittites. He said, 4“I am only a foreigner staying in your country. I have no place to bury my wife. Please give me some land so that I can bury her.”
5The Hittites answered Abraham, 6“Sir, you are a great leader#23:6 great leader Literally, “God’s prince.” among us. You can have the best place we have to bury your dead. You can have any of our burying places that you want. None of us will stop you from burying your wife there.”
7Abraham got up and bowed to the people. 8He said to them, “If you really want to help me bury my dead wife, speak to Ephron the son of Zohar for me. 9I would like to buy the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to Ephron. It is at the end of his field. I will pay him the full price. I want all of you to be witnesses that I am buying it as a burial place.”
10Ephron was sitting there among the people. He answered Abraham, 11“No, sir. Here in front of my people, I give you that land and the cave on it so that you can bury your wife.”
12Abraham bowed before the Hittites. 13He said to Ephron before all the people, “But I want to give you the full price for the field. Accept my money, and I will bury my dead.”
14Ephron answered Abraham, 15“Sir, listen to me. Ten pounds#23:15 Ten pounds Literally, “400 shekels” (4.6 kg). Also in verse 16. of silver mean nothing to you or me. Take the land and bury your dead wife.”
16Abraham understood that Ephron was telling him the price of the land.#23:16 Abraham understood … the land Literally, “Abraham heard.” So Abraham paid him for the land. He weighed out ten pounds of silver for Ephron and gave it to the merchant.#23:16 merchant Someone who earns their living by buying and selling things. Here, this is probably a person who was helping Abraham and Ephron write the contract in verses 17 and 18.
17-18So the field of Ephron changed owners. This field was in Machpelah, near Mamre. Abraham became the owner of the field, the cave in it, and all the trees in the field. Everyone in the city saw the agreement between Ephron and Abraham. 19After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of that field near Mamre (Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20Abraham bought the field and the cave in it from the Hittites. So this became his property to be used as a burial place.
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International