Genesis 23:1-9

1 And Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years old; these were the years of the life of Sarah.

2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba (the same is Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke unto the sons of Heth, saying,

4 "I am a stranger and a sojourner with you. Give me a possession for a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,

6 "Hear us, my lord: Thou art a mighty prince among us; in the choicest of our sepulchers bury thy dead. None of us shall withhold from thee his sepulcher, that thou mayest bury thy dead."

7 And Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.

8 And he communed with them, saying, "If it be in your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar,

9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he hath, which is in the end of his field. For as much money as it is worth he shall give it to me as a possession for a burying place amongst you."

Genesis 23:1-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 23

This chapter treats of the age, death, and funeral of Sarah, and the place of her interment: of her age, Ge 23:1; of her death, Ge 23:2; of the motion Abraham made to the sons of Heth, to obtain a burial place among them, Ge 23:3,4; of the answer of them to him, giving him leave to bury in any of their sepulchres, Ge 23:5,6; of a second motion of his to them, to use their interest with Ephron the Hittite, to let him have the cave of Machpelah for the above purpose, Ge 23:7-9; of Ephron's consent unto it, Ge 23:10,11; of the purchase Abraham made of it for four hundred shekels of silver, Ge 23:12-16; and of its being secured unto him, which he interred Sarah his wife, Ge 23:17-20.