Text -- Genesis 23:1-5 (NET)

The Death of Sarah

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. 23:2 Then she died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife and said to the sons of Heth, 23:4 “I am a temporary settler among you. Grant me ownership of a burial site among you so that I may bury my dead.” 23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham,

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Gen 23:1

¹ tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”

NET Notes: Gen 23:2

¹ tn Heb “Sarah.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“she”) for stylistic reasons.

² sn Mourn…weep. The description here is of standard mourning rites (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD³ 149-50). They would have been carried out in the presence of the corpse, probably in Sarah’s tent. So Abraham came in to mourn; then he rose up to go and bury his dead (v. 3).

NET Notes: Gen 23:3

¹ tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”

² tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (also in vv. 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.

NET Notes: Gen 23:4

¹ tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”

² tn Heb “give,” which is used here as an idiom for “sell” (see v. 9). The idiom reflects the polite bartering that was done in the culture at the time.

³ tn Or “possession.”

⁴ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.

⁵ tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

NET Notes: Gen 23:5

¹ tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”