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[CHAYYE SARAH]

23 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty shanah old: these were the shnei chayyai Sarah.

And Sarah died in Kiryat- Arba; the same is Chevron in eretz Kena’an: and Avraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

And Avraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke unto the bnei Chet, saying,

I am a ger and a sojourner with you: give me an achuzzah (possession) of a kever with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

And the bnei Chet answered Avraham, saying unto him,

Hear us, adoni: thou art a nasi Elohim among us; in the choice of kevareinu bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his kever, that thou mayest bury thy dead.

And Avraham stood up, and bowed himself to the am ha’aretz, even to the bnei Chet.

And he spoke to them, saying, If it be your nefesh (will) that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intercede for me to Ephron ben Tzochar,

That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his sadeh; for the kesef maleh (full price) he shall give it me for an achuzzah (possession) of a kever amongst you.

10 And Ephron dwelt among the bnei Chet: and Ephron the Chitti answered Avraham in the hearing of the bnei Chet, even of all that went in at the sha’ar of his city, saying,

11 Lo, adoni, hear me; the sadeh give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the bnei ammi give I it thee; bury thy dead.

12 And Avraham bowed down himself before the am ha’aretz.

13 And he spoke unto Ephron in the hearing of the am ha’aretz, saying, But if thou wilt give it, now, hear me; I will give thee kesef for the sadeh; accept it from me, and I will bury my dead there.

14 And Ephron answered Avraham, saying unto him,

15 Pay heed, adoni, unto me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of kesef; what is that between me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.

16 And Avraham paid heed unto Ephron; and Avraham weighed to Ephron the kesef, which he had named in the hearing of the bnei Chet four hundred shekels of kesef, according to current merchant value.

17 And the sadeh of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was near Mamre, the sadeh, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the sadeh, that were in all the borders round about, were deeded

18 Unto Avraham for a property in the presence of the bnei Chet, before all that went in at the sha’ar of his city.

19 And after this, Avraham buried Sarah his isha in the cave of the sadeh of Machpelah near Mamre; the same is Chevron in the eretz Kena’an.

20 And the sadeh, and the cave that is therein, were deeded unto Avraham for an achuzzah of a kever by the bnei Chet.

The Death of Sarah

23 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba(A) (that is, Hebron)(B) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.(C)

Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.[a](D) He said, “I am a foreigner and stranger(E) among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.(F)

The Hittites replied to Abraham, “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince(G) among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar(H) on my behalf so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah,(I) which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”

10 Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites(J) who had come to the gate(K) of his city. 11 “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give[b](L) you the field, and I give[c] you the cave that is in it. I give[d] it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”

12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 13 and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”

14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels[e] of silver,(M) but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver,(N) according to the weight current among the merchants.(O)

17 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah(P) near Mamre(Q)—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded 18 to Abraham as his property(R) in the presence of all the Hittites(S) who had come to the gate(T) of the city. 19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah(U) near Mamre (which is at Hebron(V)) in the land of Canaan.(W) 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded(X) to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.(Y)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 23:3 Or the descendants of Heth; also in verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18 and 20
  2. Genesis 23:11 Or sell
  3. Genesis 23:11 Or sell
  4. Genesis 23:11 Or sell
  5. Genesis 23:15 That is, about 10 pounds or about 4.6 kilograms