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 9:4

9:4 But ⁴³  you must not eat meat ⁴⁴  with its life (that is, ⁴⁵  its blood) in it. ⁴⁶ 

Genesis 9:1

God’s Covenant with Humankind through Noah

9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Jeremiah 7:4-10

7:4 Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, ⁴⁷  “We are safe! ⁴⁸  The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!” ⁴⁹  7:5 You must change ⁵⁰  the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly. ⁵¹  7:6 Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands. ⁵²  Stop killing innocent people ⁵³  in this land. Stop paying allegiance to ⁵⁴  other gods. That will only bring about your ruin. ⁵⁵  7:7 If you stop doing these things, ⁵⁶  I will allow you to continue to live in this land ⁵⁷  which I gave to your ancestors as a lasting possession. ⁵⁸ 

7:8 “‘But just look at you! ⁵⁹  You are putting your confidence in a false belief ⁶⁰  that will not deliver you. ⁶¹  7:9 You steal. ⁶²  You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to ⁶³  other gods whom you have not previously known. 7:10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own ⁶⁴  and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! ⁶⁵ 

Zephaniah 3:11

3:11 In that day you ⁶⁶  will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me, ⁶⁷ 

for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast, ⁶⁸ 

and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.

Luke 10:28

10:28 Jesus ⁶⁹  said to him, “You have answered correctly; ⁷⁰  do this, and you will live.”

John 5:45

5:45 “Do not suppose that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. ⁷¹ 

John 7:19

7:19 Hasn’t Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps ⁷²  the law! Why do you want ⁷³  to kill me?”

John 9:28-29

9:28 They ⁷⁴  heaped insults ⁷⁵  on him, saying, ⁷⁶  “You are his disciple! ⁷⁷  We are disciples of Moses! 9:29 We know that God has spoken to Moses! We do not know where this man ⁷⁸  comes from!”

[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.”

[9:4]  ⁴³ tn Heb “only.”

[9:4]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “flesh.”

[9:4]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “its life, its blood.” The second word is in apposition to the first, explaining what is meant by “its life.” Since the blood is equated with life, meat that had the blood in it was not to be eaten.

[9:4]  ⁴⁶ tn The words “in it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:4]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Stop trusting in lying words which say.”

[7:4]  ⁴⁸ tn The words “We are safe!” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these (i.e., these buildings).” Elsewhere triple repetition seems to mark a kind of emphasis (cf. Isa 6:3; Jer 22:29; Ezek 21:27 [32 HT]). The triple repetition that follows seems to be Jeremiah’s way of mocking the (false) sense of security that people had in the invincibility of Jerusalem because God dwelt in the temple. They appeared to be treating the temple as some kind of magical charm. A similar feeling had grown up around the ark in the time of the judges (cf. 1 Sam 3:3) and the temple and city of Jerusalem in Micah’s day (cf. Mic 3:11). It is reflected also in some of the Psalms (cf., e.g., Ps 46, especially v. 5).

[7:5]  ⁵⁰ tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[7:5]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “you must do justice between a person and his fellow/neighbor.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[7:6]  ⁵² tn Heb “Stop oppressing foreigner, orphan, and widow.”

[7:6]  ⁵³ tn Heb “Stop shedding innocent blood.”

[7:6]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “going/following after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.

[7:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “going after other gods to your ruin.”

[7:7]  ⁵⁶ tn The translation uses imperatives in vv. 5-6 followed by the phrase, “If you do all this,” to avoid the long and complex sentence structure of the Hebrew sentence which has a series of conditional clauses in vv. 5-6 followed by a main clause in v. 7.

[7:7]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “live in this place, in this land.”

[7:7]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “gave to your fathers [with reference to] from ancient times even unto forever.”

[7:8]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “Behold!”

[7:8]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “You are trusting in lying words.” See the similar phrase in v. 4 and the note there.

[7:8]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “not profit [you].”

[7:9]  ⁶² tn Heb “Will you steal…then say, ‘We are safe’?” Verses 9-10 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text.

[7:9]  ⁶³ tn Heb “You go/follow after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.

[7:10]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:10]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “‘We are safe!’ – safe, you think, to go on doing all those hateful things.” Verses 9-10 are all one long sentence in the Hebrew text. It has been broken up for English stylistic reasons. Somewhat literally it reads “Will you steal…then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe’ so as to/in order to do…” The Hebrew of v. 9 has a series of infinitives which emphasize the bare action of the verb without the idea of time or agent. The effect is to place a kind of staccato like emphasis on the multitude of their sins all of which are violations of one of the Ten Commandments. The final clause in v. 8 expresses purpose or result (probably result) through another infinitive. This long sentence is introduced by a marker (ה interrogative in Hebrew) introducing a rhetorical question in which God expresses his incredulity that they could do these sins, come into the temple and claim the safety of his protection, and then go right back out and commit the same sins. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 52) catches the force nicely: “What? You think you can steal, murder…and then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe…’ just so that you can go right on…”

[3:11]  ⁶⁶ sn The second person verbs and pronouns are feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed here.

[3:11]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “In that day you not be ashamed because of all your actions, [in] which you rebelled against me.”

[3:11]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “the arrogant ones of your pride.”

[10:28]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:28]  ⁷⁰ sn Jesus commends the reply (you have answered correctly). What is assumed here, given the previous context, is that he will respond to Jesus’ message, as to love God is to respond to his Son; see v. 22.

[5:45]  ⁷¹ sn The final condemnation will come from Moses himself – again ironic, since Moses is the very one the Jewish authorities have trusted in (placed your hope). This is again ironic if it is occurring at Pentecost, which at this time was being celebrated as the occasion of the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai. There is evidence that some Jews of the 1st century looked on Moses as their intercessor at the final judgment (see W. A. Meeks, The Prophet King [NovTSup], 161). This would mean the statement Moses, in whom you have placed your hope should be taken literally and relates directly to Jesus’ statements about the final judgment in John 5:28-29.

[7:19]  ⁷² tn Or “accomplishes”; Grk “does.”

[7:19]  ⁷³ tn Grk “seek.”

[9:28]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[9:28]  ⁷⁵ tn The Greek word means “to insult strongly” or “slander.”

[9:28]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “and said.”

[9:28]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “You are that one’s disciple.”

[9:29]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “where this one.”