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Ибрахим покупает участок земли для погребения Сарры

23 Сарра прожила сто двадцать семь лет – это годы жизни Сарры. Она умерла в Кириат-Арбе (то есть Хевроне) в земле Ханаана, и Ибрахим пришёл горевать по Сарре и оплакивать её.

Потом Ибрахим отошёл от тела покойной жены и обратился к хеттам[a]. Он сказал:

– Я среди вас пришелец и странник. Продайте мне в собственность место для погребения, чтобы я мог похоронить умершую.

Хетты ответили Ибрахиму:

– Господин, послушай, ты – могучий князь среди нас. Похорони умершую в лучшей из наших могил. Никто из нас не откажет тебе в погребальном месте, чтобы похоронить умершую.

Тогда Ибрахим встал и поклонился хеттам, жителям той земли. Он сказал им:

– Если вы не против, чтобы я похоронил умершую, то послушайте меня и попросите за меня Эфрона, сына Цохара, чтобы он продал мне пещеру Махпелу, которая принадлежит ему и находится на краю его поля. Пусть продаст её мне за полную цену как место для погребения среди вас.

10 Хетт Эфрон сидел среди своего народа и ответил Ибрахиму при всех хеттах, которые пришли к воротам его города[b].

11 Он сказал:

– Нет, господин мой, послушай меня. Я отдаю тебе поле и отдаю тебе пещеру, которая на нём. Я отдаю тебе это в присутствии моего народа. Хорони свою умершую.

12 Ибрахим вновь поклонился людям той земли 13 и сказал Эфрону при них:

– Выслушай же и ты меня. Я уплачу цену поля. Прими её от меня, чтобы я мог похоронить там умершую.

14 Эфрон ответил Ибрахиму:

15 – Послушай меня, господин мой, земля ценой в пять килограммов[c] серебра – разве это много для тебя или для меня? Хорони свою умершую.

16 Ибрахим согласился с условиями Эфрона и отвесил ему цену поля, названную при хеттах: пять килограммов серебра, по мере, принятой у купцов.

17 Так поле Эфрона в Махпеле, рядом с Мамре – и поле, и пещера на нём, и все деревья в границах поля – перешли 18 в собственность Ибрахиму в присутствии всех хеттов, которые пришли к городским воротам. 19 После этого Ибрахим похоронил свою жену Сарру в пещере на поле Махпела, рядом с Мамре, (что в Хевроне) в земле Ханаана. 20 И поле, и пещера на нём перешли от хеттов в собственность Ибрахиму как место для погребения.

Footnotes

  1. 23:3 Или: «к сыновьям Хета»; также в ст. 5, 7, 10, 16, 18 и 20.
  2. 23:10 Ворота города были центром всей общественной жизни, около них проходили и судебные разбирательства.
  3. 23:15 Букв.: «четыреста шекелей»; также в ст. 16.

The Death of Sarah

23 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba(A) (that is, Hebron)(B) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.(C)

Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.[a](D) He said, “I am a foreigner and stranger(E) among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.(F)

The Hittites replied to Abraham, “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince(G) among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar(H) on my behalf so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah,(I) which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”

10 Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites(J) who had come to the gate(K) of his city. 11 “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give[b](L) you the field, and I give[c] you the cave that is in it. I give[d] it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”

12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 13 and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”

14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels[e] of silver,(M) but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver,(N) according to the weight current among the merchants.(O)

17 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah(P) near Mamre(Q)—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded 18 to Abraham as his property(R) in the presence of all the Hittites(S) who had come to the gate(T) of the city. 19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah(U) near Mamre (which is at Hebron(V)) in the land of Canaan.(W) 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded(X) to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.(Y)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 23:3 Or the descendants of Heth; also in verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18 and 20
  2. Genesis 23:11 Or sell
  3. Genesis 23:11 Or sell
  4. Genesis 23:11 Or sell
  5. Genesis 23:15 That is, about 10 pounds or about 4.6 kilograms

Sarah dies and Abraham buries her

23 Sarah lived for 127 years. She died in the land of Canaan, at Kiriath Arba. That place is also called Hebron. Abraham was very sad. He went to her tent and he cried very much, because she was dead.

Then Abraham went to the Hittite people and he said to them, ‘I am living as a stranger among you. Please, sell me some land here, so that it belongs to me. Then I can use it to bury my wife properly.’

The Hittites replied, ‘Sir, please listen to what we say. We respect you as a great and powerful person. We have good places where we bury our people who have died. Choose the best one that you like. None of us will refuse to give you the place that you choose. Then you will be able to bury your dead wife there.’

Abraham stood up. He turned his face towards the ground to respect the Hittites who lived in that place. He said to them, ‘Since you have agreed to help me, please do this. Speak to Zohar's son, Ephron, for me. Ask him to sell the cave of Machpelah to me. It belongs to Ephron. It is at the edge of his field. You will see that I pay the proper price to him. Then it will belong to me. I can bury my family there when they die.’

10 Ephron was sitting there with his people, at the city gate. He spoke so that all the Hittites could hear him. 11 Ephron said, ‘No sir. Please listen to me. You may take my field as well as the cave. I promise in front of my people that I will give all this to you. Then you can bury your dead wife there.’

12 Abraham again turned his face towards the ground to respect the people who lived in that place. 13 While they were listening, he said to Ephron, ‘Let me say this. I will pay you the price to buy the field. Please accept the money from me. Then I can bury my dead wife there.’

14 Ephron replied to Abraham, 15 ‘Listen to me, sir. The land is worth 400 shekels of silver. But the price is not important, because we are friends. Now bury your dead wife there.’[a]

16 Abraham agreed to the price that Ephron had asked for. He weighed the correct amount of silver to give to Ephron. The Hittites there knew that it had been done properly. The weight of 400 shekels agreed with the weights that people used at that time.

17 In that way, Ephron's field in Machpelah, near Mamre, now belonged to Abraham. This included the field, the cave in the field and all the trees in the field as far as its edge. 18 All the Hittite people who were sitting there at the city gate agreed that Abraham was the new owner.

19 After this, Abraham buried his wife, Sarah, in the cave in the field of Machpelah. This field was near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. That place is also called Hebron. 20 That is how Abraham bought the field and the cave that was in it from the Hittite people. He bought it so that he could bury there his family who died.

Footnotes

  1. 23:15 People used shekels to measure weight. Ephron is telling Abraham how much the land will cost. He knows that Abraham will not accept the field as a gift. This is the way that people would agree to a price.