Genesis 23:1-9

Context

The Death of Sarah

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years.¹ 23:2 Then she² 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 wife⁴ and said to the sons of Heth,⁵ 23:4 “I am a temporary settler⁶ among you. Grant⁷ me ownership⁸ of a burial site among you so that I may⁹ bury my dead.”¹⁰

23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham,¹¹ 23:6 “Listen, sir,¹² you are a mighty prince¹³ among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you¹⁴ 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 agree¹⁶ that I may bury my dead,¹⁷ then hear me out.¹⁸ Ask¹⁹ Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell²⁰ me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly²¹ for the full price,²² so that I may own it as a burial site.”

[23:1] ¹tn 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] ²tn Heb “Sarah.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“she”) for stylistic reasons.

[23:2] ³sn 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] ⁴tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”

[23:3] ⁵tn 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] ⁶tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”

[23:4] ⁷tn 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] ⁸tn Or “possession.”

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

[23:4] ¹⁰tn 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] ¹¹tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”

[23:6] ¹²tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”

[23:6] ¹³tn 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] ¹⁴tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

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

[23:8] ¹⁶tn 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] ¹⁷tn 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] ¹⁸tn Or “hear me.”

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

[23:9] ²⁰tn 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] ²¹tn Heb “in your presence.”

[23:9] ²²tn Heb “silver.”