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Genesis 23

KJV · Chapter 23/50

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

2And Sarah died in Kirjath–arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

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

4I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

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

6Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.

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

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

9That 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 me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.

10And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

11Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.

12And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.

13And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.

14And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

15My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.

16And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

17And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure

18Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

19And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

20And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Sarah dies at 127 years old in Hebron, and Abraham carefully negotiates with the sons of Heth to buy the cave of Machpelah as a burial place for his family.

Explanation

This chapter, though it may seem like just a detailed real-estate transaction, carries important symbolic weight: it is the first permanent property Abraham acquires in the promised land, even though he had lived there as a sojourner and stranger for decades. The care with which he negotiates — refusing to receive the field for free and insisting on paying the fair price — shows his integrity and his desire to secure a legitimate, unquestionable title of ownership for future generations. This small piece of land would become the burial place of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah, a lasting physical marker of the family's faith in God's promise, even though full possession of the land was still centuries away. The lesson is that faith in future promises does not remove the need to act with wisdom and integrity in the practical matters of the present.

Fun facts

  • The cave of Machpelah, in Hebron, is today revered as one of the most sacred sites for both Jews and Muslims, with a shrine built over the site since the time of King Herod, still open to visitors today.
  • The price Abraham paid, 400 shekels of silver, is described as valued 'according to the weight current among the merchants' (v. 16), an expression that shows a standardized commercial system of weights and measures already existed in that ancient era.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Genesis 23:1Records Sarah’s age at death: 127 years — she is the only woman in the Bible whose age at death is given in such detail, a sign of how central she is to Abraham’s story.
  2. Genesis 23:2Sarah dies in Hebron, and Abraham goes there to mourn and weep for her — the formal mourning before dealing with the practical matter of burial, told in the rest of the chapter.
  3. Genesis 23:3Abraham rises from mourning and goes to negotiate with the Hittites, the local people — even in the midst of grief, he needs to quickly settle where he will bury his wife.
  4. Genesis 23:4Abraham presents himself to the Hittites as “a stranger and a sojourner,” asking for “a possession of a buryingplace” — even though he had lived there for decades, he owned no land of his own, not even to bury his wife. Buying a tomb is, in practice, the family’s first permanent possession in the promised land.
  5. Genesis 23:5The Hittites answer Abraham’s request from the previous verse, opening the negotiation that takes up much of the chapter.
  6. Genesis 23:6The Hittites treat Abraham with respect, calling him “a mighty prince” and offering the best burial site available — but that general offer is not yet the specific request Abraham had in mind.
  7. Genesis 23:7Abraham bows before the local people as a sign of respect, before making the more specific request told in the next verse.
  8. Genesis 23:8Abraham asks them to intercede for him with Ephron, owner of the specific plot he wants to buy — a cave called Machpelah, mentioned in the next verse.
  9. Genesis 23:9Abraham insists on buying “the cave of Machpelah... for as much money as it is worth,” refusing any offer given for free. Land received as a gift could later be reclaimed by the giving family; paying the full price, before witnesses, is what made the ownership unquestionable.
  10. Genesis 23:10Ephron, who was present among the people gathered at the city gate, answers Abraham directly in front of everyone — the city gate was where important business was closed publicly.
  11. Genesis 23:11Ephron offers, “the field give I thee... the cave that is therein, I give it thee,” for free, but this is negotiating etiquette of the region, not a real offer — the expected response from Abraham was to insist on paying, which does in fact happen right after. This same courtesy game still exists in Middle Eastern negotiations today.
  12. Genesis 23:12Abraham bows again before the people, keeping the same formal respect throughout the negotiation.
  13. Genesis 23:13Abraham insists on paying the full price for the field, even after Ephron’s free offer in the previous verse — he does not want to owe anyone anything.
  14. Genesis 23:14Ephron responds to Abraham’s insistence, finally revealing the value of the land in the next verse.
  15. Genesis 23:15Ephron mentions the price, four hundred shekels of silver, but still tries to make it sound small, as if it were nothing between friends — part of the courtesy game of the negotiation.
  16. Genesis 23:16Ephron asks for “four hundred shekels of silver,” and Abraham “weighed” the silver on the spot — because coined money did not exist yet, the metal was weighed on a scale with each payment. The shekel here is a unit of weight, not a coin like today’s.
  17. Genesis 23:17Details exactly what Abraham is buying: not just the cave, but the whole field around it and the trees that were there — a complete and well-documented purchase.
  18. Genesis 23:18The purchase “was made sure unto Abraham... in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.” The city gate was where the authorities gathered and important business was closed before witnesses — it was the registry office and the courthouse of the time, all in the public square.
  19. Genesis 23:19With the deal closed, Abraham finally buries Sarah in the cave he bought — the reason for the whole negotiation reaches its conclusion.
  20. Genesis 23:20Closes the chapter confirming that the field and the cave officially passed into Abraham’s possession, acknowledged by the Hittites.

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