Genesis 23:19

19 Then Abraham buried the body of his wife Sarah. He buried her in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in the land of Canaan. Mamre is at Hebron

Genesis 23:19 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 23:19

And after this
After this affair was over, the bargain struck, the money paid, and possession secured: Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah,
before Mamre;
and here he himself was buried, and also Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah, ( Genesis 25:9 Genesis 25:10 ) ( Genesis 49:29 Genesis 49:30 ) ( 50:13 ) . Benjamin of Tudela F8 says, in his time (who lived in the latter end of the twelfth century), in the field of Machpelah was a city or town, and in it a large temple called Saint Abraham, where were shown the sepulchres of the six persons before mentioned, and inscriptions over each of them, showing whose they were; and that at the end of the field was the house of Abraham, and before the house a fountain, and no other was suffered to be built there in honour to Abraham: the same [is] Hebron in the land of Canaan;
that is, Mamre is the same place which afterwards was called Hebron, a city in the land of Canaan, in the tribe of Judah, about twenty two miles from Jerusalem to the south, and was one of the cities of refuge. Hebron has the title of Hhaleah, i.e. the chosen or beloved, among the Arabs, where the (Maggarel Mamra) cave of Mamre or Machpelah is still shown, and is always lighted up with lamps, and held in extraordinary veneration by the Mahometans F9.


FOOTNOTES:

F8 Itinerarium, p. 48, 49.
F9 Shaw's Travels, p. 339. Marg. Ed. 2.

Genesis 23:19 In-Context

17 So Ephron sold his field in Machpelah near Mamre to Abraham. He bought the field and the cave that was in it. He also bought all of the trees that were inside the borders of the field. Everything was sold
18 to Abraham as his property. He bought it in front of all of the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city.
19 Then Abraham buried the body of his wife Sarah. He buried her in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in the land of Canaan. Mamre is at Hebron
20 So the field and the cave that was in it were sold to Abraham by the Hittites. The property became a place for his family tomb.
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