Discovery BoxGenesis 23:1-20
Context23:1 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 11:1
Context11:1 The whole earth 43 had a common language and a common vocabulary. 44
Genesis 16:11
Context16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 45 pregnant
and are about to give birth 46 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 47
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 48
Leviticus 19:35
Context19:35 You must not do injustice in the regulation of measures, whether of length, weight, or volume. 49
Deuteronomy 25:13-15
Context25:13 You must not have in your bag different stone weights, 50 a heavy and a light one. 51 25:14 You must not have in your house different measuring containers, 52 a large and a small one. 25:15 You must have an accurate and correct 53 stone weight and an accurate and correct measuring container, so that your life may be extended in the land the Lord your God is about to give you.
Amos 8:4-7
Context8:4 Listen to this, you who trample 54 the needy,
and do away with 55 the destitute in the land.
8:5 You say,
“When will the new moon festival 56 be over, 57 so we can sell grain?
When will the Sabbath end, 58 so we can open up the grain bins? 59
We’re eager 60 to sell less for a higher price, 61
and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! 62
8:6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, 63
a pair of sandals 64 for the needy!
We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!” 65
8:7 The Lord confirms this oath 66 by the arrogance of Jacob: 67
“I swear 68 I will never forget all you have done! 69
Micah 6:10-11
Context6:10 “I will not overlook, 70 O sinful house, the dishonest gain you have hoarded away, 71
or the smaller-than-standard measure I hate so much. 72
6:11 I do not condone the use of rigged scales,
or a bag of deceptive weights. 73
[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] 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] 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.”
[23:10] 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] 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] 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.”
[11:1] 43 sn The whole earth. Here “earth” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the people who lived in the earth. Genesis 11 begins with everyone speaking a common language, but chap. 10 has the nations arranged by languages. It is part of the narrative art of Genesis to give the explanation of the event after the narration of the event. On this passage see A. P. Ross, “The Dispersion of the Nations in Genesis 11:1-9,” BSac 138 (1981): 119-38.
[11:1] 44 tn Heb “one lip and one [set of] words.” The term “lip” is a metonymy of cause, putting the instrument for the intended effect. They had one language. The term “words” refers to the content of their speech. They had the same vocabulary.
[16:11] 45 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”
[16:11] 46 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.
[16:11] 47 sn The name Ishmael consists of the imperfect or jussive form of the Hebrew verb with the theophoric element added as the subject. It means “God hears” or “may God hear.”
[16:11] 48 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.
[19:35] 49 tn That is, liquid capacity (HALOT 640 s.v. מְשׂוּרָה). Cf. ASV, NIV, NRSV, TEV “quantity”; NAB, NASB “capacity.”
[25:13] 50 tn Heb “a stone and a stone.” The repetition of the singular noun here expresses diversity, as the following phrase indicates. See IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.
[25:13] 51 tn Heb “a large and a small,” but since the issue is the weight, “a heavy and a light one” conveys the idea better in English.
[25:14] 52 tn Heb “an ephah and an ephah.” An ephah refers to a unit of dry measure roughly equivalent to five U.S. gallons (just under 20 liters). On the repetition of the term to indicate diversity, see IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.
[25:15] 53 tn Or “just”; Heb “righteous.”
[8:4] 54 tn See the note on the word “trample” in 2:7.
[8:4] 55 tn Or “put an end to”; or “exterminate.”
[8:5] 56 sn Apparently work was prohibited during the new moon festival, just as it was on the Sabbath.
[8:5] 58 tn The verb, though omitted in the Hebrew text, is supplied in the translation from the parallel line.
[8:5] 59 tn Heb “sell grain.” Here “grain” could stand by metonymy for the bins where it was stored.
[8:5] 60 tn Here and in v. 6 the words “we’re eager” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[8:5] 61 tn Heb “to make small the ephah and to make great the shekel.” The “ephah” was a unit of dry measure used to determine the quantity purchased, while the “shekel” was a standard weight used to determine the purchase price. By using a smaller than standard ephah and a heavier than standard shekel, these merchants were able to increase their profit (“sell less for a higher price”) by cheating the buyer.
[8:5] 62 tn Heb “and to cheat with deceptive scales”; NASB, NIV “dishonest scales”; NRSV “false balances.”
[8:6] 63 tn Heb “to buy the poor for silver.”
[8:6] 64 tn See the note on the word “sandals” in 2:6.
[8:6] 65 tn Heb “The chaff of the grain we will sell.”
[8:7] 67 sn In an oath one appeals to something permanent to emphasize one’s commitment to the promise. Here the
[8:7] 68 tn The words “I swear” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation because a self-imprecation is assumed in oaths of this type.
[8:7] 69 tn Or “I will never forget all your deeds.”
[6:10] 70 tn The meaning of the first Hebrew word in the line is unclear. Possibly it is a combination of the interrogative particle and אִשׁ (’ish), an alternate form of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is/are”). One could then translate literally, “Are there treasures of sin [in] the house of the sinful?” The translation assumes an emendation to הַאֶשֶּׁה (ha’esheh, from נָשָׁא, nasha’, “to forget”), “Will I forget?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I will not forget.”
[6:10] 71 tn Heb “the treasures of sin”; NASB “treasures of wickedness”; NIV “ill-gotten treasures.”
[6:10] 72 tn Heb “the accursed scant measure.”
[6:11] 73 tn Heb “Do I acquit sinful scales, and a bag of deceptive weights?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I do not,” and has been translated as a declarative statement for clarity and emphasis.
