Genesis 23
23
Abraham Purchases Machpelah
1Now Sarah’s life was 127 years—the years of Sarah’s life.
2Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), in the land of Canaan. Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
3Then Abraham rose from before his dead one and spoke to the sons of Heth saying,
4“I am an outsider and a sojourner among you. Give me a gravesite among you so that I may bury my dead from before my presence.”
5The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,
6“Listen to us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the best of our graves. None among us will withhold his grave from you, to bury your dead one.”
7Then Abraham got up and bowed down to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth,
8and spoke with them saying, “If you are of a mind to let me bury my dead from before my presence, listen to me. Plead with Ephron son of Zophar on my behalf,
9that he may give me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him, that is at the end of his field. At the full price let him give it to me in your midst for a gravesite.”
10Now Ephron was sitting in the midst of the sons of Heth. And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the ears of the sons of Heth, all those who enter the gate of his city, saying,
11“No, my lord, listen to me. The field—I hereby give it to you. Also the cave that is in it—I hereby give it to you. In the eyes of the sons of my people, I hereby give it to you. Bury your dead one.”
12Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land,
13and spoke to Ephron in the ears of the people of the land saying, “But if only you would please listen to me. I hereby give the price of the field. Accept it from me that I may bury my dead one there.”
14So Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,
15“My lord, listen to me. A land worth 400 shekels of silver—what is that between me and you? Bury your dead one.”
16Abraham heard Ephron. So Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver that he had spoken of in the ears of the sons of Heth—400 shekels of silver at the merchant’s rate.
17Now Ephron’s field that is in Machpelah next to Mamre—the field and the cave that is in it, and all the trees that are in the field in all its surrounding territory—was handed over
18to Abraham as a purchased possession in the eyes of the sons of Heth, before all those who enter the gate of his city.
19Afterward, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron), in the land of Canaan.
20So the field and the cave that was in it were handed over to Abraham as a gravesite from the sons of Heth.
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Genesis 23: TLV
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
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