Genesis 23
1599 Geneva Bible
23 2 Abraham laments the death of Sarah. 4 He buyeth a field to bury her, of the Hittites. 13 The equity of Abraham. 19 Sarah is buried in Machpelah.
1 When Sarah was an hundred twenty and seven years old ([a]so long lived she.)
2 Then Sarah died in Kirjath Arba: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3 ¶ Then Abraham [b]rose up from the sight of his corpse, and talked with the [c]Hittites, saying,
4 I am a stranger, and a foreigner among you: give me a possession of burial with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
5 Then the Hittites answered Abraham, saying unto him,
6 Hear us, my lord: thou art a prince [d]of God among us: in the chiefest of our sepulchers bury the dead: none of us shall forbid thee his sepulcher, but thou mayest bury thy dead therein.
7 Then Abraham stood up, and bowed himself before the people of the land of the Hittites.
8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be [e]your mind, that I shall bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,
9 That he would give me the cave of [f]Machpelah, which he hath in the end of his field: that he would give it me for as much [g]money as it is worth, for a possession to bury in among you.
10 (For Ephron dwelt among the Hittites) Then Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of all the Hittites that [h]went in at the gates of his city, saying,
11 No, my Lord, hear me: the field give I thee and the cave that therein is, I give it thee: even in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee to bury thy dead.
12 Then Abraham [i]bowed himself before the people of the land,
13 And spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the country, saying, Seeing thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me, I will give the price of the field: receive it of me, and I will bury my dead there.
14 Ephron then answered Abraham, saying unto him,
15 My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred [j]shekels of silver: what is that between me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
16 So Abraham hearkened unto Ephron, and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named, in the audience of the Hittites, even four hundred silver shekels of current money among merchants.
17 ¶ So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, and over against Mamre, even the field and the cave that was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, which were in all the borders round about, was made sure
18 Unto Abraham for a possession, in the sight of the Hittites, even of all that [k]went in at the gates of his city.
19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah over against Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.
20 Thus the field, and the cave that is therein, was made sure unto Abraham for a possession of burial [l]by the Hittites.
Footnotes
- Genesis 23:1 Hebrew, the years of the life of Sarah.
- Genesis 23:3 That is, when he had mourned: so the godly may mourn, if they pass not measure, and the natural affection is commendable.
- Genesis 23:3 Hebrew, sons of Heth.
- Genesis 23:6 That is, godly or excellent: for the Hebrews so speak of all things that are notable, because all excellency cometh of God.
- Genesis 23:8 Hebrew, in your soul.
- Genesis 23:9 Or, double cave, because one was within another.
- Genesis 23:9 Hebrew, in full silver.
- Genesis 23:10 Meaning, all the citizens and inhabitants.
- Genesis 23:12 To show that he had them in good estimation and reverence.
- Genesis 23:15 The common shekel is about 20 pence, so then 400 shekels mount to 33 pound 6 shillings and 8 pence after 5 shilling sterling the ounce.
- Genesis 23:18 Or, citizens.
- Genesis 23:20 That is, all the people confirmed the sale.
Genesis 23
Names of God Bible
Sarah’s Death
23 Sarah lived to be 127 years old. This was the length of her life. 2 She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to cry about her death.
3 Then Abraham left the side of his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites, 4 “I’m a stranger with no permanent home. Let me have some of your property for a tomb so that I can bury my dead wife.”
5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Listen to us, sir. You are a mighty leader among us. Bury your dead in one of our best tombs. Not one of us will withhold from you his tomb for burying your dead.”
7 Abraham got up in front of the Hittites, the people of that region, and bowed with his face touching the ground. 8 He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my wife, listen to me. Encourage Ephron, son of Zohar, 9 to let me have the cave of Machpelah that he owns at the end of his field. He should sell it to me for its full price as my property to be used as a tomb among you.”
10 Ephron was sitting among the Hittites. He answered Abraham so that everyone who was entering the city gate could hear him. He said, 11 “No, sir, listen to me. I’m giving you the field together with the cave that is in it. My people are witnesses that I’m giving it to you. Bury your wife!”
12 Abraham bowed down again in front of the people of that region. 13 He spoke to Ephron so that the people of that region could hear him. He said, “If you would only listen to me. I will pay you the price of the field. Take it from me so that I can bury my wife there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Sir, listen to me. The land is worth ten pounds of silver. What is that between us? Bury your wife!”
16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms. So he weighed out for Ephron the amount stated in front of the Hittites: ten pounds of silver at the current merchants’ exchange rate.
17 So Ephron’s field at Machpelah, east of Mamre, was sold 18 to Abraham. His property included the field with the cave in it as well as all the trees inside the boundaries of the field.[a] The Hittites together with all who had entered the city gate were the official witnesses for the agreement.
19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre (that is, Hebron). 20 So the field and its cave were sold by the Hittites to Abraham as his property to be used as a tomb.
Footnotes
- Genesis 23:18 The last part of verse 17 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 18 to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English.
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