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Genesis 23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Genesis 23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 23
Purchase of a Burial Plot.[a] 1 The span of Sarah’s life was one hundred and twenty-seven years. 2 She died in Kiriath-arba—now Hebron—in the land of Canaan, and Abraham proceeded to mourn and weep for her. 3 Then he left the side of his deceased wife and addressed the Hittites:[b] 4 “Although I am a resident alien[c] among you, sell me from your holdings a burial place, that I may bury my deceased wife.”(A) 5 The Hittites answered Abraham: “Please, 6 sir, listen to us! You are a mighty leader among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial sites. None of us would deny you his burial ground for the burial of your dead.” 7 Abraham, however, proceeded to bow low before the people of the land, the Hittites, 8 and said to them: “If you will allow me room for burial of my dead, listen to me! Intercede for me with Ephron, son of Zohar, 9 so that he will sell me the cave of Machpelah that he owns; it is at the edge of his field. Let him sell it to me in your presence at its full price for a burial place.”
10 Now Ephron was sitting with the Hittites. So Ephron the Hittite replied to Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, all who entered the gate of his city: 11 “Please, sir, listen to me! I give you both the field and the cave in it; in the presence of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead!” 12 But Abraham, after bowing low before the people of the land, 13 addressed Ephron in the hearing of these men: “If only you would please listen to me! I will pay you the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” 14 Ephron replied to Abraham, “Please, 15 sir, listen to me! A piece of land worth four hundred shekels[d] of silver—what is that between you and me? Bury your dead!” 16 (B)Abraham accepted Ephron’s terms; he weighed out to him the silver that Ephron had stipulated in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver at the current market value.[e]
17 (C)Thus Ephron’s field in Machpelah, facing Mamre, together with its cave and all the trees anywhere within its limits, was conveyed 18 to Abraham by purchase in the presence of the Hittites, all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. 19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre—now Hebron—in the land of Canaan. 20 Thus the field with its cave was transferred from the Hittites to Abraham as a burial place.
Footnotes
- 23:1–20 The occasion for purchasing the land is the need for a burial site for Sarah, for it would be unthinkable to bury Sarah outside of the promised land. One of the two great promises to Abraham, that of progeny, has been fulfilled (21:1–7). And now the promise of land is to be fulfilled, through a kind of down payment on the full possession that will take place only with the conquest under Joshua and during the reign of David. This purchase has been prepared for by Abimelech’s recognition of Abraham’s claim to the well at Beer-sheba (21:22–34). Among the ancestral stories this narrative is one of two that are entirely from the P source (chap. 17 being the other). The Priestly writers may have intended to encourage the generation of the exile to a renewed hope of repossessing their land.
- 23:3 The Hittites: in the Bible the term is applied to several different groups—inhabitants of the second-millennium Hittite empire in Asia Minor and northern Syria, residents of the Neo-Hittite kingdoms in northern Syria in the first part of the first millennium, and (following Assyrian terminology) the inhabitants of Syria and Palestine. The third group is meant here.
- 23:4 A resident alien: such a one would normally not have the right to own property. The importance of Abraham’s purchase of the field in Machpelah, which is worded in technical legal terms, lies in the fact that it gave his descendants their first, though small, land rights in the country that God had promised the patriarch they would one day inherit as their own. Abraham therefore insists on purchasing the field and not receiving it as a gift.
- 23:15 Four hundred shekels: probably an exorbitant sum; Jeremiah (32:9) paid only seventeen shekels for his field in Anathoth, though the Babylonian invasion no doubt helped to reduce the price.
- 23:16 The current market value: the standard weight called a shekel varied according to time and place.
Genesis 23
New King James Version
Genesis 23
New King James Version
Sarah’s Death and Burial
23 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 So Sarah died in (A)Kirjath Arba (that is, (B)Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of (C)Heth, saying, 4 (D)“I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. (E)Give me property for a burial place 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 (F)a [a]mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.”
7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and [b]meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9 that he may give me the cave of (G)Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.”
10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who (H)entered at the gate of his city, saying, 11 (I)“No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!”
12 Then Abraham bowed himself down 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 give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.”
14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred (J)shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” 16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham (K)weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.
17 So (L)the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.
19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it (M)were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.
Footnotes
- Genesis 23:6 Lit. prince of God
- Genesis 23:8 entreat
Genesis 23
Expanded Bible
Genesis 23
Expanded Bible
Sarah Dies
23 Sarah lived to be one hundred twenty-seven years old [L such were the years of Sarah’s life]. 2 She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron [C city nineteen miles south of Jerusalem]) in the land of Canaan. Abraham ·was very sad [mourned] and cried because of her. 3 After a while he got up from the side of his ·wife’s body [L dead] and went to talk to the Hittites [C one of the many groups that made up the population of Canaan at the time, notable in that they were not Semitic as the others were]. He said, 4 “I am only a ·stranger [sojourner; wanderer; resident alien] and a ·foreigner [settler; C the combination of terms indicates a resident alien] here. Sell me some ·of your land [property for a burial place] so that I can bury my ·dead wife [L dead].”
5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “·Sir [My lord], you are a ·great leader [mighty prince; or prince of God; C a man of wealth and power even though he owned no land] among us. You may have the ·best [choicest] place we have to bury your dead. You may have any of our burying places that you want, and none of us will stop you from burying your ·dead wife [L dead].”
7 Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 He said to them, “If you truly ·want to help me [are willing for me to] bury my ·dead wife [L dead] here, ·speak to [entreat] Ephron, the son of Zohar for me. 9 Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah at the edge of his field. I will pay him the full price. You can be the witnesses that I am buying it as a burial place.”
10 Ephron was sitting among the Hittites at the city gate [C place where commercial transactions took place]. He answered Abraham [L in the hearing of the Hittites], 11 “No, ·sir [my Lord]. [L Hear me,] I will give you the ·land [field] and the cave that is in it, with these people as witnesses. Bury your ·dead wife [L dead].”
12 Then Abraham bowed down before the ·Hittites [L people of the land]. 13 He said to Ephron ·before [L in the hearing of] all the people, “·Please let me [L Listen to me. I will] pay you the full price for the field. Accept my money, and I will bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “·Sir [My Lord], [L Listen to me,] the land is worth ·ten pounds [L 400 shekels] of silver, ·but I won’t argue with you over the price [L what is that between you and me?]. Take the land, and bury your ·dead wife [L dead].”
16 Abraham ·agreed [listened] and paid Ephron in front of the Hittite witnesses. He weighed out the full price, ·ten pounds [L 400 shekels] of silver, and they counted the weight as the traders normally did.
Génesis 23
Traducción en lenguaje actual
Génesis 23
Traducción en lenguaje actual
Muerte de Sara
23 Sara llegó a vivir ciento veintisiete años, 2 y murió en la ciudad de Hebrón, que está en la región de Canaán. Después de que Abraham lloró su muerte, 3 fue a hablar con los hititas que allí vivían, y les dijo:
4 —Aunque no soy más que un extranjero que ha venido a vivir entre ustedes, véndanme algún terreno en donde pueda enterrar a mi esposa.
5 Los hititas le respondieron:
6 —Respetable señor, todos nosotros lo consideramos una persona muy importante. Entierre usted a su esposa en la mejor de nuestras tumbas, que ninguno de nosotros se la negará.
7 Abraham se puso de pie, y con mucho respeto, 8 les dijo:
—Si realmente quieren que yo entierre aquí a mi esposa, les ruego que convenzan a Efrón hijo de Sóhar, 9 de que me venda la cueva que tiene en Macpelá, la que está junto a su campo. Díganle que me la venda en su justo precio, para que yo tenga entre ustedes una tumba de mi propiedad.
10 Como Efrón estaba sentado entre ellos, le respondió a Abraham en voz alta, para que lo oyeran todas las autoridades hititas allí reunidas:
11 —Respetable señor, no le vendo la cueva; más bien, se la regalo junto con el campo en el que está. Nuestras autoridades son testigos de que yo le regalo todo esto. Entierre usted a su esposa.
12 Pero Abraham, con mucho respeto, 13 le dijo a Efrón delante de todos ellos:
—Tenga usted la bondad de escucharme. Yo le pagaré el precio del campo. Le ruego aceptar mi dinero, para que pueda yo enterrar a mi esposa.
14 Efrón le contestó:
15 —Señor mío, el terreno vale cuatrocientas monedas de plata. Eso no es gran cosa entre usted y yo. ¡Vaya usted y entierre a su esposa!
16-20 Este precio le pareció bien a Abraham, y le pagó a Efrón las cuatrocientas monedas de plata, siguiendo las reglas de los comerciantes. Así fue como el campo y la cueva pasaron a ser propiedad legal de Abraham, junto con todos los árboles que había en el campo. De esto fueron testigos todas las autoridades hititas.
Una vez cerrado el trato, Abraham enterró a Sara en esa cueva, la cual está en Hebrón, frente al bosque de Mamré, en la región de Canaán.
Genesis 23
New International Version
Genesis 23
New International Version
The Death of Sarah
23 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 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)
3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.[a](D) He said, 4 “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)”
5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 “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.”
7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 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 9 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
- Genesis 23:3 Or the descendants of Heth; also in verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18 and 20
- Genesis 23:11 Or sell
- Genesis 23:11 Or sell
- Genesis 23:11 Or sell
- Genesis 23:15 That is, about 10 pounds or about 4.6 kilograms
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Expanded Bible (EXB)
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Traducción en lenguaje actual (TLA)
Copyright © 2000 by United Bible Societies
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.