Genesis 23

Genesis 23

Genesis 23:1 Sarah lived 127 years, the years of Sarah’s life.

Genesis 23:2 And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (also known as Hebron) in Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah, to cry over her loss.

Genesis 23:3 And Abraham rose from before his dead and spoke to the Hittites, and this is what he said,

Genesis 23:4 “I am a foreign guest among you; give me some property for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

Genesis 23:5 The Hittites answered Abraham, and this is what he said,

Genesis 23:6 “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince from God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will hold back from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.”

Genesis 23:7 Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of that land.

Genesis 23:8 And he said to them, “If your throats are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar.

Genesis 23:9 Ask him to give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price, let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.”

Genesis 23:10 Now Ephron was sitting among those Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the other Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city,

Genesis 23:11 “No, my lord, hear me: I will give you the field, and I will 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.”

Genesis 23:12 Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.

Genesis 23:13 And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me: I will give the price of the field. Accept it from me that I may bury my dead there.”

Genesis 23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, and this is what he said,

Genesis 23:15 “My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

Genesis 23:16 Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the other Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

Genesis 23:17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was sold

Genesis 23:18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city as witnesses.

Genesis 23:19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah, his wife, in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (also known as Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 23:20 The field and the cave that is in it were sold to Abraham as property for a cemetery by the Hittites.

Genesis 23 quotes:

“The story in Genesis 23 is filled with the detailed circumstances surrounding the purchase of the burial site. Such detail befits the occasion. It may also be that the Holy Spirit, in his marvelous choice of diverse literature and diction, means to emphasize hereby the first transfer of a tiny piece of the promised land into Abrahams possession. This was no small matter, and the recording of this incident should be duly noted.”

Woudstra, Marten H. The Abraham Stories: A Study Guide. 2nd ed, 2nd ed., CRC Publications, 1995. p. 43.

“After a deal was reached and Abraham paid Ephron for the land, the transaction was “made sure” (Genesis 23:17), or witnessed, by members of Ephron’s clan, as well as others who passed through the city gate. In Bible times business was transacted in the gateway of the city (see note on Genesis 19:1).”

Knight, George. The Illustrated Guide to Bible Customs and Curiosities More Than 750 Entries on Why They Did What They Did. Barbour Pub, 2014. p.15.

“A Hittite enclave flourished around Hebron in the Patriarchal Age. Genesis 23 portrays Abraham buying a plot of land from Ephron, the Hittite, in the presence of the whole Hittite community there because land could not be sold to an alien unless the community sanctioned the sale. The transaction, moreover, is according to Hittite law, rather than Hebrew or Mesopotamian law. The issue raised during the dickering before the sale has nothing to do with haggling over price, though this had usually been read into the text by moderns in spite of the clear wording. The issue is whether Abraham will be permitted to buy only the corner of the estate containing the cave for burying his dead, or whether he will have to buy the whole estate in order to get the cave. In Hittite law, a property owner continues to render feudal obligation on land until he sells all of it. Thus the issue is clear: Abraham wanted the burial plot without assuming feudal obligations; but Ephron, the Hittite, insisted that Abraham buy all or nothing. Since Abraham had on his hands a corpse requiring burial, he had no time for protracted negotiations; instead he yielded and bought the land on Ephron’s terms. The inclusion of the trees on the land, in the statement of the sale, is also typical of Hittite law.”

Gordon, Cyrus H. The Common Background of Greek and Hebrew Civilizations. Norton Library, 1965. p. 94.