Genesis 23
23
Death and Burial of Sarah
1Now #23:1 Lit the life of Sarah wasSarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham #23:2 Or proceededcame in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3Then Abraham arose from mourning before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, 4“I am a stranger and a foreign resident among you; give me #23:4 Lit possession of a burial placea burial site among you so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6“Hear us, my lord: you are a #23:6 Lit prince of Godmighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.” 7So Abraham stood up and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8And he spoke with them, saying, “If #23:8 Lit it is with your soulyou are willing to let me bury my dead out of my sight, listen to me, and plead with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in #23:9 Lit the midst of youyour presence for #23:9 Lit possession of a burial placea burial site.” 10Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham #23:10 Lit in the ears ofso that the sons of Heth heard, that is, all who entered the gate of his city, saying, 11“No, my lord, listen to 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.” 12And Abraham bowed before the people of the land. 13But he spoke to Ephron #23:13 Lit in the ears ofso that the people of the land heard, saying, “If you will only please listen to me; I will give the price of the field, accept it from me so that I may bury my dead there.” 14Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15“My lord, listen to me: a plot of land worth #23:15 About 12.5 lb. or 5.7 kgfour hundred shekels of silver—what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.” 16Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the #23:16 Lit earspresence of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency acceptable to a merchant.
17So Ephron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were #23:17 Lit in all its border aroundwithin all the confines of its border, #23:17 Or were ratifiedwere deeded over 18to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who entered the gate of his city. 19After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron), in the land of Canaan. 20So the field and the cave that was in it #23:20 Or were ratifiedwere deeded over to Abraham for #23:20 Lit possession of a burial placea burial site by the sons of Heth.
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Genesis 23: NASB2020
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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