Genesis 23
Legacy Standard Bible
Sarah’s Death and Burial
23 And [a]Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 Sarah died in (A)Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham [b]came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 Then Abraham rose from before his dead and spoke to the (B)sons of Heth, saying, 4 “I am (C)a sojourner and a foreign resident among you; (D)give me a (E)possession for a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 “Hear us, my lord, you are a [c](F)mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial sites; none of us will refuse you his burial sites for burying your dead.” 7 So Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your [d]desire for me to bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with (G)Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which belongs to him, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in [e]your presence as a possession for a burial site.” 10 Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth, even (H)of all who went in at the gate of his city, saying, 11 “No, my lord, hear me; (I)I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.” 12 And Abraham bowed before the people of the land. 13 And he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will only please hear me; I will give the silver for the field, accept it from me that I may bury my dead there.” 14 Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, hear me; a piece of land worth [f]four hundred (J)shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.” 16 So Abraham heard Ephron; and Abraham (K)weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the [g]hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, [h]commercial standard.
17 So (L)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 [i]within all the confines of its border, [j]were deeded over 18 to Abraham as purchased (M)in the sight of the sons of Heth, before all who came in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it [k]were (N)deeded over to Abraham for a possession for a burial site by the sons of Heth.
Footnotes
- Genesis 23:1 Lit the life of Sarah was
- Genesis 23:2 Or proceeded
- Genesis 23:6 Lit prince of God
- Genesis 23:8 Lit soul
- Genesis 23:9 Lit the midst of you
- Genesis 23:15 Approx. 10 lb. or 4.4 kg, a shekel was approx. 0.4 oz. or 11 gm
- Genesis 23:16 Lit ears
- Genesis 23:16 Lit current according to the merchant
- Genesis 23:17 Lit in all its border around
- Genesis 23:17 Or were ratified
- Genesis 23:20 Lit were confirmed
Genesis 23
Common English Bible
Sarah’s death and burial site
23 Sarah lived to be 127 years old; this was how long she lived. 2 She died in Kiriath-arba, that is, in Hebron, in the land of Canaan; and Abraham cried out in grief and wept for Sarah. 3 After he got up from embracing his deceased wife, he spoke with the Hittites: 4 “I am an immigrant and a temporary resident with you. Give me some property for a burial plot among you so that I can bury my deceased wife near me.”
5 The Hittites responded to Abraham, 6 “Listen to us, sir. You are an eminent man of God among us. Bury your dead in one of our own select burial sites. None of us will keep our own burial plots from you to bury your dead.”
7 Abraham rose, bowed to the local citizens the Hittites, 8 and spoke with them: “If you yourselves allow me to bury my dead near me, listen to me and ask Ephron, Zohar’s son, 9 to give me his own cave in Machpelah at the edge of his field. Let him give it to me for the full price, to be witnessed by you, as my own burial property.”
10 Now Ephron was a native Hittite. So Ephron the Hittite responded to Abraham publicly in order that the Hittites and everyone at his city’s gate could hear: 11 “No, sir. Listen, I will give you the field, and I will give you the cave in it. In front of my people’s witnesses, I will give it to you. Bury your dead!”
12 Abraham bowed before the local citizens 13 and spoke to Ephron publicly in the presence of the local citizens: “If only you would accept my offer. I will give you the price of the field. Take it from me so that I can bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron responded to Abraham, 15 “Sir, what is four hundred shekels of silver between me and you for the land so that you can bury your dead?” 16 Abraham accepted Ephron’s offer and weighed out for Ephron the silver he requested publicly before the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver at the current rate of exchange.
17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah near Mamre—the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the field’s boundaries—was officially transferred 18 to Abraham as his property in the presence of the Hittites and of everyone at his city’s gate. 19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan. 20 The field and the cave in it were officially transferred from the Hittites to Abraham as his burial property.
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