Genesis 23:3-18

3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.[a] He said,
4 “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”
5 The Hittites replied to Abraham,
6 “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”
7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites.
8 He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf
9 so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”
10 Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city.
11 “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give[b] you the field, and I give[c] you the cave that is in it. I give[d] it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”
12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land
13 and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham,
15 “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels[e] of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.
17 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded
18 to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city.

Cross References 17

  • 1. S Genesis 10:15
  • 2. S Genesis 17:8; Genesis 19:9; Exodus 2:22; Leviticus 25:23; 1 Chronicles 29:15; Psalms 39:12; Psalms 105:12; Psalms 119:19; Hebrews 11:9,13
  • 3. Genesis 49:30; Acts 7:16
  • 4. Genesis 14:14-16; Genesis 24:35
  • 5. Genesis 25:9
  • 6. ver 17,19; Genesis 25:9; Genesis 47:30; Genesis 49:30; Genesis 50:13
  • 7. ver 18
  • 8. S Genesis 18:1; Deuteronomy 22:15; Deuteronomy 25:7; Joshua 20:4; Ruth 4:11; 2 Samuel 15:2; 2 Kings 15:35; Psalms 127:5; Proverbs 31:23; Jeremiah 26:10; Jeremiah 36:10; Genesis 34:20-24; Ruth 4:4
  • 9. 2 Samuel 24:23
  • 10. Ezekiel 45:12
  • 11. 2 Samuel 24:24; Jeremiah 32:9; Zechariah 11:12
  • 12. 2 Samuel 14:26
  • 13. S ver 9
  • 14. S Genesis 13:18; Genesis 25:9; Genesis 49:30-32; Genesis 50:13; Acts 7:16
  • 15. S Genesis 12:7
  • 16. ver 10
  • 17. S Genesis 18:1

Footnotes 5

  • [a]. Or "the descendants of Heth" ; also in verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18 and 20
  • [b]. Or "sell"
  • [c]. Or "sell"
  • [d]. Or "sell"
  • [e]. That is, about 10 pounds or about 4.6 kilograms
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