Genesis 23:19

19 And so Abraham buried Sara, his wife, in the double cave of the field, that looked towards Mambre, this is Hebron in the land of Chanaan

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 And the field that before was Ephron’s, wherein was the double cave, looking towards Mambre, both it and the cave, and all the trees thereof, in all its limits round about,
18 Was made sure to Abraham for a possession, in the sight of the children of Heth, and of all that went in at the gate of his city.
19 And so Abraham buried Sara, his wife, in the double cave of the field, that looked towards Mambre, this is Hebron in the land of Chanaan
20 And the field was made sure to Abraham, and the cave that was in it, for a possession to bury in, by the children of Heth.
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