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Genesis 23:1-20 — The Death of Sarah

Gen.23.1-20

¹Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of Sarah's life. ²Sarah died in Kiriath Arba, that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ³Then Abraham rose from before his dead and spoke to the Hittites, saying, ⁴I am a resident alien and a sojourner among you. Give me a burial possession among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. ⁵The Hittites answered Abraham, ⁶Hear us, my lord: you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold his tomb from you for burying your dead. ⁷Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. ⁸And he spoke with them, saying, If it is your will that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and intercede for me with Ephron son of Zohar, ⁹that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the edge of his field. Let him give it to me in your presence for the full price in silver as a burial possession. ¹⁰Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, before all who entered the gate of his city, saying, ¹¹No, my lord, please listen to me. 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. ¹²Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. ¹³And he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, If only you would please hear me: I will give the silver for the field. Take it from me, that I may bury my dead there. ¹⁴Ephron answered Abraham, ¹⁵My lord, listen to me. A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between me and you? Bury your dead. ¹⁶So Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the merchants' standard. ¹⁷So Ephron's field, which was at Machpelah, before Mamre—the field, the cave that was in it, and every tree in the field, within all its surrounding boundary—was legally transferred ¹⁸to Abraham as his property, in the sight of the Hittites, before all who entered the gate of his city. ¹⁹After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah, before Mamre, that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. ²⁰Thus the field and the cave that was in it were confirmed to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial possession.

Translation Notes

4/11/2026

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