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.
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Genesis 23
23
Death and Burial of Sarah
1Sarah lived a hundred and twenty-seven years; this was the length of the life of Sarah. 2Sarah died in Kiriath-arba #This comment indicates that the text was written at a very early date, before Israel entered the promised land, because afterward Hebron was well known. Not only was it conspicuous in Joshua’s and Caleb’s day, but it became a “city of refuge.” Besides all this, David was king in Hebron for seven years.(that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3Then Abraham stood up before his dead [wife’s body], and spoke to the #The Hittites, along with the Egyptians and the Assyrians, were among the great powers in the ancient Middle East. They were famous for their fine horses, many of which were acquired by Solomon through trade. They also discovered and held secret the process of smelting iron when iron was treasured almost as much as gold. These Hittites were of Indo-European origin. The relationship, if any, between these Anatolian Hittites and the descendants of Canaan’s son, Heth, is unclear.sons of Heth (Hittites), saying, 4“I am a stranger and a sojourner (resident alien) among you; give (sell) me property for a burial place among you so that I may bury my dead [in the proper manner].” 5The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6“Listen to us, my lord; you are a prince of God [a mighty prince] among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave or hinder you from burying your dead [wife].” 7So Abraham stood up and bowed to the people of the land, the Hittites. 8And Abraham said to them, “If you are willing to grant my dead a [proper] burial, listen to me, and plead with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9so that he may give (sell) me the cave of Machpelah which he owns—it is at the end of his field; let him give it to me here in your presence for the full price as a burial site [which I may keep forever among you].” 10Now Ephron was present there among the sons of Heth; so within the hearing of all the sons of Heth and all who were entering the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham, saying, 11“No, my lord, hear me; I #This was not an offer to give the land to Abraham as a gift, but part of the negotiating process of the time.give you the [entire] field, and I also give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the men of my people I give (sell) it to you; bury your dead [there].” 12Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13He said to Ephron in the presence of the people of the land, “If you will only please listen to me and accept my offer. I will give you the price of the field; accept it from me and I will bury my dead there.” 14Ephron replied to Abraham, 15“My lord, listen to me. The land [you seek] is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” 16So Abraham listened to Ephron [and agreed to his terms]; and he weighed out for Ephron the [amount of] 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 Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre (Hebron)—the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and in all its borders around it—were deeded over [legally] 18to Abraham as his possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who were entering at the gate of his city. 19After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of #Here were buried Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah (Gen 49:31; 50:13).Machpelah to the east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20The field and the cave in it were deeded over to Abraham by the Hittites as a [permanent] possession and burial place.
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