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 13:1-3

Abram’s Solution to the Strife

13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. ⁴³  He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. ⁴⁴  13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy ⁴⁵  in livestock, silver, and gold.) ⁴⁶ 

13:3 And he journeyed from place to place ⁴⁷  from the Negev as far as Bethel. ⁴⁸  He returned ⁴⁹  to the place where he had pitched his tent ⁵⁰  at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai.

Genesis 15:1

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ⁵¹  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ⁵² 

Genesis 20:1-2

Abraham and Abimelech

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ⁵³  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ⁵⁴  in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

Colossians 1:12

1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ⁵⁵  in the saints’ ⁵⁶  inheritance in the light.

Colossians 1:3

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ⁵⁷  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Colossians 1:6-8

1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel ⁵⁸  is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing ⁵⁹  among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. 1:7 You learned the gospel ⁶⁰  from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave ⁶¹  – a ⁶²  faithful minister of Christ on our ⁶³  behalf – 1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

[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.”

[13:1]  ⁴³ tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).

[13:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev.”

[13:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “heavy.”

[13:2]  ⁴⁶ tn This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), provides information necessary to the point of the story.

[13:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.

[13:3]  ⁴⁸ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[13:3]  ⁴⁹ tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “where his tent had been.”

[15:1]  ⁵¹ sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.

[15:1]  ⁵² tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).

[20:1]  ⁵³ tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”

[20:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and he sojourned.”

[1:12]  ⁵⁵ tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”

[1:3]  ⁵⁷ tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

[1:6]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “just as in the entire world it is bearing fruit.” The antecedent (“the gospel”) of the implied subject (“it”) of ἐστιν (estin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ⁵⁹ tn Though the participles are periphrastic with the present tense verb ἐστίν (estin), the presence of the temporal indicator “from the day” in the next clause indicates that this is a present tense that reaches into the past and should be translated as “has been bearing fruit and growing.” For a discussion of this use of the present tense, see ExSyn 519-20.

[1:7]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “learned it.” The Greek text simply has “you learned” without the reference to “the gospel,” but “the gospel” is supplied to clarify the sense of the clause. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[1:7]  ⁶¹ tn The Greek word translated “fellow slave” is σύνδουλος (sundoulo"); the σύν- prefix here denotes association. Though δοῦλος is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:7]  ⁶² tn The Greek text has “who (ὅς, Jos) is a faithful minister.” The above translation conveys the antecedent of the relative pronoun quite well and avoids the redundancy with the following substantival participle of v. 8, namely, “who told” (ὁ δηλώσας, Jo dhlwsa").

[1:7]  ⁶³ tc ‡ Judging by the superior witnesses for the first person pronoun ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “us”; Ì⁴⁶ א* A B D* F G 326* 1505 al) vs. the second person pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “you”; found in א² C D¹ Ψ 075 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co), ἡμῶν should be regarded as original. Although it is possible that ἡμῶν was an early alteration of ὑμῶν (either unintentionally, as dittography, since it comes seventeen letters after the previous ἡμῶν; or intentionally, to conform to the surrounding first person pronouns), this supposition is difficult to maintain in light of the varied and valuable witnesses for this reading. Further, the second person is both embedded in the verb ἐμάθετε (emaqete) and is explicit in v. 8 (ὑμῶν). Hence, the motivation to change to the first person pronoun is counterbalanced by such evidence. The second person pronoun may have been introduced unintentionally via homoioarcton with the ὑπέρ (Juper) that immediately precedes it. As well, the second person reading is somewhat harder for it seems to address Epaphras’ role only in relation to Paul and his colleagues, rather than in relation to the Colossians. Nevertheless, the decision must be based ultimately on external evidence (because the internal evidence can be variously interpreted), and this strongly supports ἡμῶν.