Genesis 23:1-20

The Death of Sarah

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. ¹  23:2 Then she ²  died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ³ 

23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife ⁴  and said to the sons of Heth, ⁵  23:4 “I am a temporary settler ⁶  among you. Grant ⁷  me ownership ⁸  of a burial site among you so that I may ⁹  bury my dead.” ¹⁰ 

23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, ¹¹  23:6 “Listen, sir, ¹²  you are a mighty prince ¹³  among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you ¹⁴  from burying your dead.”

23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, ¹⁵  the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree ¹⁶  that I may bury my dead, ¹⁷  then hear me out. ¹⁸  Ask ¹⁹  Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell ²⁰  me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly ²¹  for the full price, ²²  so that I may own it as a burial site.”

23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite ²³  replied to Abraham in the hearing ²⁴  of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate ²⁵  of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell ²⁶  you both the field and the cave that is in it. ²⁷  In the presence of my people ²⁸  I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”

23:12 Abraham bowed before the local people 23:13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay ²⁹  to you the price ³⁰  of the field. Take it from me so that I may ³¹  bury my dead there.”

23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth ³²  400 pieces of silver, ³³  but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”

23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price ³⁴  and weighed ³⁵  out for him ³⁶  the price ³⁷  that Ephron had quoted ³⁸  in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. ³⁹ 

23:17 So Abraham secured ⁴⁰  Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 23:18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. ⁴¹ 

23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 23:20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site ⁴²  from the sons of Heth.

Genesis 3:1

The Temptation and the Fall

3:1 Now ⁴³  the serpent ⁴⁴  was more shrewd ⁴⁵ 

than any of the wild animals ⁴⁶  that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that ⁴⁷  God ⁴⁸  said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?” ⁴⁹ 

Acts 3:25

3:25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, ⁵⁰  saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants ⁵¹  all the nations ⁵²  of the earth will be blessed.’ ⁵³ 

Romans 4:13-18

4:13 For the promise ⁵⁴  to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 4:14 For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. ⁵⁵  4:15 For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression ⁵⁶  either. 4:16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, ⁵⁷  with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants – not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, ⁵⁸  who is the father of us all 4:17 (as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”). ⁵⁹  He is our father ⁶⁰  in the presence of God whom he believed – the God who ⁶¹  makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do. ⁶²  4:18 Against hope Abraham ⁶³  believed ⁶⁴  in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations ⁶⁵  according to the pronouncement, ⁶⁶  “so will your descendants be.” ⁶⁷ 

Romans 9:8-9

9:8 This means ⁶⁸  it is not the children of the flesh ⁶⁹  who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants. 9:9 For this is what the promise declared: ⁷⁰  “About a year from now ⁷¹  I will return and Sarah will have a son.” ⁷² 

[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.”

[23:2]  ² tn Heb “Sarah.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“she”) for stylistic reasons.

[23:2]  ³ 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).

[23:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”

[23:3]  ⁵ 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.

[23:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”

[23:4]  ⁷ 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.

[23:4]  ⁸ tn Or “possession.”

[23:4]  ⁹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.

[23:4]  ¹⁰ 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.

[23:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”

[23:6]  ¹² tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”

[23:6]  ¹³ 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.

[23:6]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to the people of the land” (also in v. 12).

[23:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “If it is with your purpose.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here has the nuance “purpose” or perhaps “desire” (see BDB 661 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ).

[23:8]  ¹⁷ 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.

[23:8]  ¹⁸ tn Or “hear me.”

[23:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “intercede for me with.”

[23:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “give.” This is used here (also a second time later in this verse) as an idiom for “sell”; see the note on the word “grant” in v. 4.

[23:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “in your presence.”

[23:9]  ²² tn Heb “silver.”

[23:10]  ²³ tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.

[23:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.

[23:10]  ²⁵ sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.

[23:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “give.” The perfect tense has here a present nuance; this is a formal, legally binding declaration. Abraham asked only for a burial site/cave within the field; Ephron agrees to sell him the entire field.

[23:11]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “to you I give [i.e., sell] it.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[23:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”

[23:13]  ²⁹ tn Heb “give.”

[23:13]  ³⁰ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:13]  ³¹ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.

[23:15]  ³² tn The word “worth” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:15]  ³³ sn Four hundred pieces of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 4.6 kilograms, or 160 ounces (about 10 pounds).

[23:16]  ³⁴ tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”

[23:16]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”

[23:16]  ³⁶ tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:16]  ³⁷ tn Heb “silver.”

[23:16]  ³⁸ tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[23:16]  ³⁹ tn Heb “passing for the merchant.” The final clause affirms that the measurement of silver was according to the standards used by the merchants of the time.

[23:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “And it was conveyed.” The recipient, Abraham (mentioned in the Hebrew text at the beginning of v. 18) has been placed here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:18]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “his city”; the referent (Ephron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:20]  ⁴² tn Heb “possession of a grave.”

[3:1]  ⁴³ tn The chapter begins with a disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + predicate) that introduces a new character and a new scene in the story.

[3:1]  ⁴⁴ sn Many theologians identify or associate the serpent with Satan. In this view Satan comes in the disguise of a serpent or speaks through a serpent. This explains the serpent’s capacity to speak. While later passages in the Bible may indicate there was a satanic presence behind the serpent (see, for example, Rev 12:9), the immediate context pictures the serpent as simply one of the animals of the field created by God (see vv. 1, 14). An ancient Jewish interpretation explains the reference to the serpent in a literal manner, attributing the capacity to speak to all the animals in the orchard. This text (Jub. 3:28) states, “On that day [the day the man and woman were expelled from the orchard] the mouth of all the beasts and cattle and birds and whatever walked or moved was stopped from speaking because all of them used to speak to one another with one speech and one language [presumed to be Hebrew, see 12:26].” Josephus, Ant. 1.1.4 (1.41) attributes the serpent’s actions to jealousy. He writes that “the serpent, living in the company of Adam and his wife, grew jealous of the blessings which he supposed were destined for them if they obeyed God’s behests, and, believing that disobedience would bring trouble on them, he maliciously persuaded the woman to taste of the tree of wisdom.”

[3:1]  ⁴⁵ tn The Hebrew word עָרוּם (’arum) basically means “clever.” This idea then polarizes into the nuances “cunning” (in a negative sense, see Job 5:12; 15:5), and “prudent” in a positive sense (Prov 12:16, 23; 13:16; 14:8, 15, 18; 22:3; 27:12). This same polarization of meaning can be detected in related words derived from the same root (see Exod 21:14; Josh 9:4; 1 Sam 23:22; Job 5:13; Ps 83:3). The negative nuance obviously applies in Gen 3, where the snake attempts to talk the woman into disobeying God by using half-truths and lies.

[3:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “animals of the field.”

[3:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Indeed that God said.” The beginning of the quotation is elliptical and therefore difficult to translate. One must supply a phrase like “is it true”: “Indeed, [is it true] that God said.”

[3:1]  ⁴⁸ sn God. The serpent does not use the expression “Yahweh God” [Lord God] because there is no covenant relationship involved between God and the serpent. He only speaks of “God.” In the process the serpent draws the woman into his manner of speech so that she too only speaks of “God.”

[3:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “you must not eat from all the tree[s] of the orchard.” After the negated prohibitive verb, מִכֹּל (mikkol, “from all”) has the meaning “from any.” Note the construction in Lev 18:26, where the statement “you must not do from all these abominable things” means “you must not do any of these abominable things.” See Lev 22:25 and Deut 28:14 as well.

[3:25]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[3:25]  ⁵¹ tn Or “in your offspring”; Grk “in your seed.”

[3:25]  ⁵² tn Or “families.” The Greek word πατριά (patria) can indicate persons of succeeding generations who are related by birth (“lineage,” “family”) but it can also indicate a relatively large unit of people who make up a sociopolitical group and who share a presumed biological descent. In many contexts πατριά is very similar to ἔθνος (eqnos) and λαός (laos). In light of the context of the OT quotation, it is better to translate πατριά as “nations” here.

[3:25]  ⁵³ sn A quotation from Gen 22:18.

[4:13]  ⁵⁴ sn Although a singular noun, the promise is collective and does not refer only to Gen 12:7, but as D. Moo (Romans 1-8 [WEC], 279) points out, refers to multiple aspects of the promise to Abraham: multiplied descendants (Gen 12:2), possession of the land (Gen 13:15-17), and his becoming the vehicle of blessing to all people (Gen 12:13).

[4:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “rendered inoperative.”

[4:15]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “violation.”

[4:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “that it might be according to grace.”

[4:16]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “those who are of the faith of Abraham.”

[4:17]  ⁵⁹ tn Verses 16-17 comprise one sentence in Greek, but this has been divided into two sentences due to English requirements.

[4:17]  ⁶⁰ tn The words “He is our father” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to show that they resume Paul’s argument from 16b. (It is also possible to supply “Abraham had faith” here [so REB], taking the relative clause [“who is the father of us all”] as part of the parenthesis, and making the connection back to “the faith of Abraham,” but such an option is not as likely [C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:243].)

[4:17]  ⁶¹ tn “The God” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[4:17]  ⁶² tn Or “calls into existence the things that do not exist.” The translation of ὡς ὄντα (Jw" onta) allows for two different interpretations. If it has the force of result, then creatio ex nihilo is in view and the variant rendering is to be accepted (so C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:244). A problem with this view is the scarcity of ὡς plus participle to indicate result (though for the telic idea with ὡς plus participle, cf. Rom 15:15; 1 Thess 2:4). If it has a comparative force, then the translation given in the text is to be accepted: “this interpretation fits the immediate context better than a reference to God’s creative power, for it explains the assurance with which God can speak of the ‘many nations’ that will be descended from Abraham” (D. Moo, Romans [NICNT], 282; so also W. Sanday and A. C. Headlam, Romans [ICC], 113). Further, this view is in line with a Pauline idiom, viz., verb followed by ὡς plus participle (of the same verb or, in certain contexts, its antonym) to compare present reality with what is not a present reality (cf. 1 Cor 4:7; 5:3; 7:29, 30 (three times), 31; Col 2:20 [similarly, 2 Cor 6:9, 10]).

[4:18]  ⁶³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:18]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “who against hope believed,” referring to Abraham. The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:18]  ⁶⁵ sn A quotation from Gen 17:5.

[4:18]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “according to that which had been spoken.”

[4:18]  ⁶⁷ sn A quotation from Gen 15:5.

[9:8]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “That is,” or “That is to say.”

[9:8]  ⁶⁹ tn Because it forms the counterpoint to “the children of promise” the expression “children of the flesh” has been retained in the translation.

[9:9]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “For this is the word of promise.”

[9:9]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “About this time I will return.” Since this refers to the time when the promised child would be born, it would be approximately a year later.

[9:9]  ⁷² sn A quotation from Gen 18:10, 14.