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The Torah · Old Testament

Genesis 23

Abraham buys a burial place for Sarah

General context

Sarah dies at one hundred and twenty-seven in Hebron, and Abraham mourns and weeps for her. Calling himself a stranger and sojourner, he asks the sons of Heth for a burial possession. They offer access to their tombs. Abraham asks specifically for Ephron's cave of Machpelah and insists on paying for the property. Ephron names four hundred shekels of silver, and Abraham weighs out that amount in the hearing of the people. The field, cave and trees become his possession through this public transaction. He then buries Sarah in the cave, and the closing notice confirms the field and cave as his burial possession.

Cited passages: Genesis 23:1, Genesis 23:2, Genesis 23:3, Genesis 23:4, Genesis 23:5, Genesis 23:6, Genesis 23:7, Genesis 23:8, Genesis 23:9, Genesis 23:10, Genesis 23:11, Genesis 23:12, Genesis 23:13, Genesis 23:14, Genesis 23:15, Genesis 23:16, Genesis 23:17, Genesis 23:18, Genesis 23:19, Genesis 23:20

Genesis 23 (KJV)

1And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.

2And 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.

3And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,

4I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

5And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,

6Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.

7And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.

8And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,

9That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.

10And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

11Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.

12And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.

13And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.

14And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

15My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.

16And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

17And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure

18Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

19And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

20And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The account identifies Kirjath-arba with Hebron in Canaan and locates Machpelah before Mamre. Ephron is named as a Hittite and the son of Zohar. The negotiations occur in the hearing of the sons of Heth and those entering the city gate. Payment is weighed silver, described as current with merchants, not a stated number of coins. The transferred property includes the field, its cave and the trees within its boundaries. The chapter gives the agreed amount but no comparison that establishes whether it was a bargain or an inflated price.

Cited passages: Genesis 23:2, Genesis 23:8, Genesis 23:9, Genesis 23:10, Genesis 23:13, Genesis 23:15, Genesis 23:16, Genesis 23:17, Genesis 23:18, Genesis 23:19, Genesis 23:20

Literary context

Mourning opens the chapter, but most of its space is given to the exchange that secures a place for burial. Repeated requests to hear and Abraham's repeated bows give the negotiation a formal pattern. Offers of a burial place are answered with his insistence on paying. The account becomes increasingly specific about the property, price and witnesses before reporting Sarah's burial. Its final confirmation repeats that the field and cave are Abraham's possession, bringing the negotiation back to the need expressed after her death.

Cited passages: Genesis 23:2, Genesis 23:4, Genesis 23:6, Genesis 23:7, Genesis 23:8, Genesis 23:9, Genesis 23:11, Genesis 23:12, Genesis 23:13, Genesis 23:15, Genesis 23:16, Genesis 23:17, Genesis 23:18, Genesis 23:19, Genesis 23:20

Key moments

  1. Abraham mourns Sarah (Genesis 23:2). Sarah dies in Hebron, and Abraham mourns and weeps for her.
  2. A sojourner asks for a burial possession (Genesis 23:4). Abraham describes his position among the people and asks for a place to bury his dead.
  3. The silver is weighed (Genesis 23:16). Abraham weighs four hundred shekels of silver to Ephron in the hearing of the sons of Heth.
  4. Sarah is buried at Machpelah (Genesis 23:19). Abraham buries Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre.

For reflection

What does the attention to payment, witnesses and the burial place add to the chapter's opening account of grief?

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