Genesis 23:3-4

23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife ¹  and said to the sons of Heth, ²  23:4 “I am a temporary settler ³  among you. Grant ⁴  me ownership ⁵  of a burial site among you so that I may ⁶  bury my dead.” ⁷ 

[23:3]  ¹ tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”

[23:3]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”

[23:4]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “possession.”

[23:4]  ⁶ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.

[23:4]  ⁷ 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.