The First Book of Moses, called Genesis
Genesis 23
Chapter XXIII · Vol. I, p. 249
1 The age and death of Sarah. 3 The purchase of Machpelah, 19 where Sarah was buried.
1 And Sarah was aan hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.
A.M. 2144. B.C. 1860.
a Sarah is the only woman whose age is recorded in Scripture, ch. 17.17; 15.15; 25.8.
2 And Sarah died in bKirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to cmourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
b ch. 13.18. Nu. 13.20. Jos. 14.14,15.
c ch. 50.20. De. 34.8. 2 Sa. 1.12,17. Jn. 11.35. Je. 22.18.
3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,
4 I am a dstranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may ebury my dead out of my sight.
d Le. 25.23. 1 Ch. 29.15. Ps. 39.12; 119.19; 105.12,13. He. 11.13-16. ch. 17.8. 1 Pe. 2.11.
e ch. 3.19. Ec. 12.5,7; 6.3. Job 30.23.
5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,
6 Hear us, my lord: Thou art a mighty prince8 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.
8 Heb. a prince of God, ch. 21.22. Is. 45.14. 1 Jn. 3.1,2.
7 And Abraham stood up, and fbowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.
f ch. 18.2; 19.1. 2 Sa. 16.4. 1 Pe. 3.8. Pr. 18.24. Ro. 12.17,18. He. 12.14.
8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,
9 That he may give me the cave of Machpelah,9 which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money1 as it is worth he shall give it me, for a possession of a burying-place among you.
9 Machpelah, if derived from the Hebrew, signifies double, and may have been so called from one cave being situated within, or beside another. If derived from the Arabic, it signifies shut or walled up, as is common in eastern countries, to prevent thieves from harbouring in them, or to protect them from violation.—C.
10 And Ephron dwelt2 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 gate3 of hisg city, saying,
2 And Ephron sat.—C.
3 Cities with walls and gates indicate the neighbourhood of warlike or predatory tribes, and the phrase—all that went in at the gate—seems to intimate the exclusion of strangers as dangerous to peace or property.—Note, Let us pray for the blessed time, and it surely will come, when 'salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks,' Is. 26.1.—C.
11 Nay, my lord, hear me: The field hgive4 I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; iin the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.
4 The ready present which Ephron makes of his field, with the uncertainty of obtaining it expressed by Abraham in ver. 13, is to be explained by a custom still prevailing in several eastern countries, and even in some provinces of Spain, of offering as a gift whatever a stranger praises, or seems desirous of obtaining. Abraham evidently understood the offered gift as a mere complimentary mode of expression, without any serious meaning that the offer should be accepted.—C.
i ver. 18. Ru. 4.1,4,9,11. Je. 32.7-12. Nu. 35.30. De. 17.6; 19.15.
13 And 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: lI will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.
14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,
15 My lord, hearken unto me: The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver[≈ 4.6 kg · 10 lb · silver worth ≈ US$7,900];5 what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
5 i. e. forty-five pounds twelve shillings and sixpence, Ex. 30.15. Eze. 45.22. [Now equal to about £00? British money.—C.]
16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed6 to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver[≈ 4.6 kg · 10 lb · silver worth ≈ US$7,900], mcurrent money with the merchant.
17 And nthe 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 omade sure
n ch. 49.32; 50.13; 25.9. Ac. 7.16. ver. 20.
o Je. 32.7,9. ver. 20. Ps. 112.5. Ep. 5.15. Mat. 10.16. Col. 4.5.
18 Unto Abraham for a possession, in the presence of the children of Heth, before pall that went in at the gate of his city.
p Ru. 4.1. ch. 34.20. Je. 32.12.
19 And after this, Abraham qburied Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.
q ch. 3.19. Ec. 12.5,7; 6.3. Job 30.23.
Notes
Ver. 3-20. Abraham wanted to purchase a burying-place in Canaan, and to have the claims thereto ascertained, that he and his nearest relations might have their dust laid there apart from the heathen natives; and might have it as a pledge and earnest to confirm their faith in God's promise of their possession of the whole country in his due time, ch. 25. 9; 47. 29, 30; 49. 31; 50. 13, 24, 25.——[Ver. 10. In ancient times the gate of a town or village was the place where the elders or judges sat, where cases were heard and adjudicated, and where all matters affecting the public welfare were discussed, Ge. 34. 20; De. 16. 18; Ru. 4. 1. At the present day in many of the outlying villages of Palestine, where primitive customs are still kept up, I have seen the elders sitting in the gates conducting public business.——Ver. 19. Machpelah still exists, encompassed by a high and massive wall, which must have been built before the Christian era. It is one of the holiest shrines of Mohammedanism, and consequently neither Jew nor Christian is permitted to enter it. The Prince of Wales was admitted within the walls, but was informed that the entrance to the cave had long been walled up, and that no person can now gain admission. P.]
Reflections.—Ponder, my soul, how the clouds of trouble return after the rain; how death parts the nearest and most affectionate relatives! The marriage state is but the forerunner of death and sorrow; it is but a porch of entrance into eternity! Tears and grief are the tribute which we owe to our departed friends. But if they and we be Christ's, let us not 'mourn as those that have no hope.' 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord'—they are not lost, but gone before us. How death changes the comely countenance, and makes the dearest body loathsome! Let the death of others always remind me of my own; and let me live as a stranger and sojourner in this world. Let me so behave as to make my friendship valued and sought for by all around me. Never let Hittites or other heathens outstrip me in humanity or kindness, but let good manners, civility, modesty, and the strictest regard to equity, adorn my profession, and mingle themselves with all my behaviour. Let me carefully avoid being a burden to my neighbours, or being too much indebted for favours to carnal men; and though I be heir of the world through the righteousness of faith, let me be content with little of it now, and rejoice that the Canaan above, where neither death, nor famine, nor war ever enter, is my inheritance! If my flesh rest in hope, it is enough if I am allowed a grave on earth.
Measures in square brackets are modern equivalents added for this edition. They are not in the King James text or in Brown’s notes. They use common scholarly estimates: a cubit is about 45.7 cm (18 in), a shekel about 11.4 g (0.4 oz), an ephah about 22 litres. Money values give the worth of the silver or gold at spot prices on 28 October 2026, not what the sum would buy in the ancient world.