Genesis 23
1And the life of Sarah was one hundred years and twenty
years and seven years; [these were] the years of the life of Sarah.
2And Sarah died in Kiriath arba, which is Hebron, in the
land of Canaan, and Abraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail
her.
3And Abraham arose from before his dead, and he spoke to
the sons of
Heth, saying,
4’I am a stranger and an inhabitant with you. Give me
burial property with you, so that I may bury my dead from before
me.’
5And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,
6’Listen to us, my lord; you are a prince of God in our
midst; in the choicest of our graves bury your dead. None of us will
withhold his grave from you to bury your dead.’
7And Abraham arose and prostrated himself to the people
of the land, to the sons of Heth.
8And he spoke with them, saying, ‘If it is your will that
I bury my dead from before me, listen to me and entreat for me to
Ephron the son of Zohar.
9That he may give me the
Machpelah (double) Cave, which
belongs to him, which is at the end of his field; for a full price
let him give it to me in your midst for burial property.’
10Now Ephron was sitting in the midst of the sons of
Heth, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the
sons of Heth, of all those who had come into the gate of his city,
saying,
11’No, my lord, listen to me. I have given you the field,
and the cave that is in it, I have given it to you. Before the eyes
of the sons of my people, I have given it to you; bury your dead.’
12And Abraham prostrated himself before the people of the
land.
13And he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of
the land, saying, ‘But, if only you would listen to me. I am giving
the money for the field; take [it] from me, and I will bury my dead
there.’
14And Ephron replied to Abraham, saying to him,
15’My lord, listen to me; a [piece of] land worth four
hundred shekels of silver, what is it between me and you? Bury your
dead.’
16And Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out
to Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the sons of
Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, accepted by the merchant.
17And so the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah,
facing Mamre, was established (as Abraham's possession). [This
included] the field and the cave that was in it, and all the trees
that were in the field, which were within its entire border around.
18[It was] to Abraham as a possession before the eyes of
the sons of Heth, in the presence of all who had come within the
gate of his city.
19And afterwards, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the
cave of the field of
Machpelah, facing
Mamre, which is Hebron, in the land of Canaan.
20And the field and the cave within it were established
to Abraham as burial property, [purchased] from the sons of Heth.
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