1And Sarah lived#Literally “the lives of Sarah were” one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2And Sarah died in Kiriath Arba; that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. 3And Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from his dead, and he spoke to the Hittites#Or “sons of Heth” and said, 4“I am a stranger and an alien among you; give to me my own burial site#Literally “ownership of a grave” among you so that I may bury my dead from before me.” 5And the Hittites#Or “sons of Heth” answered Abraham and said to him, 6“Hear us, my lord, you are a mighty prince#Or “prince of God” in our midst. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial sites. None of us will withhold his burial site#Literally “will withhold from himself his burial site from you for burying your dead.” 7And Abraham rose up and bowed to the people of the land, to the Hittites.#Or “sons of Heth” 8And he spoke with them, saying, “If you are willing#Literally “if there is with your inner selves / souls” that I bury my dead from before me, hear me and intercede for me with Ephron the son of Zohar, 9that he may sell#Or “give” to me the cave of Machpelah which belongs to him,#Literally “which is to him” which is at the end of his field. At full value let him sell#Or “give” it to me in your midst as a burial site.”#Literally “ownership of a grave” 10Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites.#Or “sons of Heth” And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites#Or “sons of Heth” with respect to all who were entering the gate of his city, and said, 11“No, my lord, hear me. I give you the field and the cave which is in it, I also give it to you in the sight of the children of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.” 12And Abraham bowed before the people of the land. 13And he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If only you will hear me#Literally “Only if you perhaps hear me”—I give the price of the field. Take it from me that I may bury my dead there.” 14And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15“My lord, hear me. A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between me and you? Bury your dead.” 16Then Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed for Ephron the silver that he had named#Or “spoken” in the hearing of the Hittites:#Or “sons of Heth” four hundred shekels of silver at the merchants’ current rate.#Literally “passing to the merchant” 17So the field of Ephron which was in the Machpelah, which was near Mamre—the field and the cave which was in it, with all the trees that were in the field, which were within all its surrounding boundaries—passed#Literally “went up” 18to Abraham as a property in the presence of the Hittites,#Or “sons of Heth” with respect to all who were entering the gate of his city. 19And thus afterward Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah near Mamre; that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. 20And the field and the cave which was in it passed#Literally “went up” to Abraham as a burial site#Literally “ownership of a grave” from the Hittites.#Or “sons of Heth”

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Genesis 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.

Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com

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Genesis 23

Genesis 23