Genesis 23

Chapter 23

Death and Burial of Sarah

¹Now ¹Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.

²Sarah died in ^aKiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham ¹went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

³Then Abraham rose from before his dead, and spoke to the ^asons of Heth, saying,

⁴“I am ^aa stranger and a sojourner among you; ^bgive me ¹a ^cburial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

⁵The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,

⁶“Hear us, my lord, you are a ^1amighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.”

⁷So Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth.

⁸And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your ¹wish for me to bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and approach ^aEphron the son of Zohar for me,

⁹that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in ¹your presence for ²a burial site.”

¹⁰Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth; even ^aof all who went in at the gate of his city, saying,

¹¹“No, my lord, hear me; ^aI give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.”

¹²And Abraham bowed before the people of the land.

¹³He spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will only please listen to me; I will give the price of the field, accept it from me that I may bury my dead there.”

¹⁴Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,

¹⁵“My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred ^ashekels of silver, what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”

¹⁶Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham ^aweighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the ¹hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, ²commercial standard.

¹⁷So ^aEphron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were ¹within all the confines of its border, ²were deeded over

¹⁸to Abraham for a possession ^ain the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

¹⁹After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

²⁰So the field and the cave that is in it, ¹were ^adeeded over to Abraham for ²a burial site by the sons of Heth.