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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Genesis 23
23
1Sarah lived to be 127, 2and then she died at Kiriath-arba (or Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went in#23:2. “Went in”: possibly into the tent where the body lay. to mourn her death and to weep over her.
3Then Abraham got up from beside his wife's body and went to talk with the leaders of the Hittites. 4“I am a foreigner, a stranger living among you,” he said. “Please let me buy a burial site so I can bury my dead wife.”
5The Hittites answered Abraham, telling him, 6“Listen, my lord, you are a highly-respected prince among us. Choose the very best of our burial sites to bury your dead. None of us will say no to you.”
7Abraham got up and bowed low before the Hittites, the local people, 8and said to them, “If you agree to help me bury my dead, listen to my proposal. Could you please ask Ephron, son of Zohar, 9to sell me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him, down at the end of his field. I'm willing to pay him the full price here in your presence so I can have my own burial site.”
10Ephron the Hittite was sitting there among his people. He replied to Abraham in the presence of the Hittites who were there at the town gate. 11“No, my lord,” he said. “Please listen to me. I give you the field and the cave that is there. I give it to you and my people are my witnesses. Please go and bury your dead.”
12Abraham bowed low before the local people, 13and said to Ephron so everyone could hear, “Please listen to me. I will pay the price for the field. Take the money and let me go and bury my dead there.”
14Ephron replied to Abraham, telling him, 15“My lord, please listen to me. The land is worth four hundred pieces of silver.#23:15. “Four hundred pieces of silver”: it is generally agreed that this was an exorbitant amount. But what's that between us? Go and bury your dead.”
16Abraham accepted Ephron's offer. Abraham weighed out and gave to Ephron the four hundred pieces of silver he'd mentioned, using the standard weights used by merchants, and with the Hittites acting as witnesses.
17So the property was legally transferred. It comprised Ephron's field in Machpelah near Mamre, both the field and the cave there, as well as all the trees in the field, and all the area up to the existing boundaries. 18This all became Abraham's property, and the transaction was witnessed by the Hittites who were there at the town gate.
19Then Abraham went and buried Sarah his wife in the cave in the field at Machpelah near Mamre (or Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20Ownership of the field and the cave there was transferred from the Hittites to Abraham to serve as his burial place.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com