23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, 6 23:6 “Listen, sir, 7 you are a mighty prince 8 among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you 9 from burying your dead.”
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.
6 tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”
7 tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”
8 tn Heb “prince of God.” The divine name may be used here as a means of expressing the superlative, “mighty prince.” The word for “prince” probably means “tribal chief” here. See M. H. Gottstein, “Nasi’ ‘elohim (Gen 23:6),” VT 3 (1953) 298-99; and D. W. Thomas, “Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew,” VT 3 (1953) 215-16.
9 tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.