Genesis 23
23
Sarah’s Death and Burial
1Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2And Sarah died at #ch. 35:27; Josh. 14:15; Judg. 1:10 Kiriath-arba (that is, #ver. 19Hebron) 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,#23:3 Hebrew sons of Heth; also verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20 4#ch. 17:8; 1 Chr. 29:15; Ps. 105:12; Heb. 11:9, 13 “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; #Acts 7:5give 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 prince of God#23:6 Or a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to 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 Machpelah, 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 property 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 #ch. 34:20, 24; Ruth 4:1went 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 sight 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 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 #Ex. 30:13; Ezek. 45:12shekels#23:15 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham #1 Chr. 21:25; Jer. 32:9; Zech. 11:12weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.
17So #ch. 25:9; 49:29-32; 50:13the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that 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 Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20The field and the cave that is in it #[Ruth 4:7-10; Jer. 32:10-14]were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Genesis 23
23
1And the life of Sarah is a hundred and twenty and seven years — years of the life of Sarah;
2and Sarah dieth in Kirjath-Arba, which [is] Hebron, in the land of Caanan, and Abraham goeth in to mourn for Sarah, and to bewail her.
3And Abraham riseth up from the presence of his dead, and speaketh unto the sons of Heth, saying,
4‘A sojourner and a settler I [am] with you; give to me a possession of a burying-place with you, and I bury my dead from before me.’
5And the sons of Heth answer Abraham, saying to him,
6‘Hear us, my lord; a prince of God [art] thou in our midst; in the choice of our burying-places bury thy dead: none of us his burying-place doth withhold from thee, from burying thy dead.’
7And Abraham riseth and boweth himself to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth,
8and he speaketh with them, saying, ‘If it is your desire to bury my dead from before me, hear me, and meet for me with Ephron, son of Zoar;
9and he giveth to me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which [is] in the extremity of his field; for full money doth he give it to me, in your midst, for a possession of a burying-place.’
10And Ephron is sitting in the midst of the sons of Heth, and Ephron the Hittite answereth Abraham in the ears of the sons of Heth, of all those entering the gate of his city, saying,
11‘Nay, my lord, hear me: the field I have given to thee, and the cave that [is] in it, to thee I have given it; before the eyes of the sons of my people I have given it to thee — bury thy dead.’
12And Abraham boweth himself before the people of the land,
13and speaketh unto Ephron in the ears of the people of the land, saying, ‘Only — if thou wouldest hear me — I have given the money of the field — accept from me, and I bury my dead there.’
14And Ephron answereth Abraham, saying to him,
15‘My lord, hear me: the land — four hundred shekels of silver; between me and thee, what [is] it? — thy dead bury.’
16And Abraham hearkeneth unto Ephron, and Abraham weigheth to Ephron the silver which he hath spoken of in the ears of the sons of Heth, four hundred silver shekels, passing with the merchant.
17And established are the field of Ephron, which [is] in Machpelah, which [is] before Mamre, the field and the cave which [is] in it, and all the trees which [are] in the field, which [are] in all its border round about,
18to Abraham by purchase, before the eyes of the sons of Heth, among all entering the gate of his city.
19And after this hath Abraham buried Sarah his wife at the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (which [is] Hebron), in the land of Canaan;
20and established are the field, and the cave which [is] in it, to Abraham for a possession of a burying-place, from the sons of Heth.
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