The Years of Sarah's Life
Sarah dies, and Abraham weeps, then negotiates. Offered a burial cave as a gift, he insists on paying full price in front of witnesses. The first land he actually owns in the promised country is a grave.
23 1Sarah lived to be 127 years old; these were the years of Sarah's life. 2Sarah died at Kiriath-arba, Hebron, in Canaan. Abraham came to mourn and weep for her. 3Then Abraham rose from beside her body and said to the Hittites, 4"I am a foreigner and stranger among you; give me burial ground among you, to bury my dead out of my sight."
5The Hittites replied to Abraham. 6"Hear us, my lord: you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in our best tomb; none of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead." a a v6 'A prince of God' was an ancient Hebrew expression for an exceptionally great or honored leader — not a religious title.
7Abraham rose and bowed low before the people of the land, the Hittites. 8He said to them, "If you're willing I bury my dead away from me, hear me, and plead with Ephron son of Zohar for me, 9to give me his cave of Machpelah, at his field's edge. Let him sell it to me among you, for full price, as burial property."
10Ephron the Hittite, sitting among the Hittites, answered Abraham before all the Hittites entering his city's gate. b b v10 The city gate was the public place where business was done and legal matters were settled before witnesses. 11"No, my lord, listen: I give you the field, I give you the cave in it. Before my people I give it to you. Bury your dead."
12Again Abraham bowed before the people of the land. 13He said to Ephron before the people, "If you're willing, hear me: I'll pay for the field—take it from me, so I can bury my dead there."
14Ephron replied to Abraham. 15"My lord, hear me: land worth about ten pounds of silver—what is that between us? Bury your dead." c c v15 A shekel was a weight of silver (about 11 grams); four hundred shekels was the price of the burial field.
16Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms and weighed out for him the price he had named before the Hittites: about ten pounds of silver, at the standard weight used by merchants.
17Ephron's field in Machpelah, facing Mamre—the field, its cave, and every tree within its borders, all around—was confirmed, 18to Abraham as his property, before all the Hittites who came to his city's gate. 19After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of Machpelah's field, facing Mamre—Hebron—in the land of Canaan. 20So the field and its cave were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial holding.
