1 Now Sarah lived to be 127 years old. 2 She died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went out to mourn and to weep for her. 3 Then Abraham got up from beside his dead wife and said to the Hittites, 4 “I am a foreigner and an outsider among you. Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.” 5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 “Listen to us, sir. You are God’s chosen one among us. Bury your dead in the finest of our tombs. None of us will withhold his tomb for burying your dead.” 7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 “If you are willing for me to bury my dead,” he said to them, “listen to me, and approach Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9 to sell me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me in your presence for full price, so that I may have a burial site.” 10 Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth. So in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham, 11 “No, my lord. Listen to me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give 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 said to Ephron in their presence, “If you will please listen to me, I will pay you the price of the field. Accept it from me, so that I may bury my dead there.” 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Listen to me, my lord. The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, 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, according to the standard of the merchants. 17 So Ephron’s field at Machpelah near Mamre, the cave that was in it, and all the trees within the boundaries of the field were deeded over 18 to Abraham’s possession in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and its cave were deeded by the Hittites to Abraham as a burial site.
Genesis · Majority Standard Bible
Genesis 23 Majority Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Abraham
Called by God, he left home in faith to become the father of a chosen people.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 12–25
Ephron
A Hittite at Hebron, son of Zohar, who sold Abraham the field and cave of Machpelah for four hundred shekels of silver, where Abraham buried Sarah and was himself buried.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 23:8–10; Genesis 23:16; Genesis 25:9
Zohar
A Hittite named only as the father of Ephron, from whom Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 23:8; Genesis 25:9
Places
Hebron
One of the region's oldest cities, holding the patriarchs' burial cave (Machpelah). It was David's first royal capital, over Judah.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 23:19; Genesis 13:18; 2 Samuel 5:3
Cross references (17)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 2 Genesis 23:19; Genesis 13:18; 1 Chronicles 6:57; Judges 1:10; Genesis 27:41
- 3 Genesis 10:15; Genesis 23:7; Genesis 23:5; Genesis 27:46; 2 Samuel 23:39
- 4 Hebrews 11:9; 1 Chronicles 29:15; Genesis 17:8; Psalm 119:19; Psalm 39:12
- 6 Genesis 24:35; Genesis 14:14; Genesis 44:5; Genesis 13:2; Genesis 32:4–5
- 7 Hebrews 12:14; Romans 12:17–18; Genesis 19:1; Genesis 18:2; Proverbs 18:24
- 8 1 Kings 2:17; Hebrews 7:26; Genesis 25:9; 1 John 2:1–2; Luke 7:3–4
- 9 Romans 12:17; Romans 13:8
- 10 Genesis 34:20; Genesis 34:24; Genesis 23:18; Matthew 9:1; Ruth 4:1–4
- 11 Luke 19:24; Isaiah 32:8; 2 Samuel 24:20–24; Genesis 23:6; Jeremiah 32:7–12
- 12 Genesis 19:1; Genesis 18:2; Genesis 23:7
- 13 Romans 13:8; Genesis 14:22–23; 2 Samuel 24:24; Acts 20:35; Hebrews 13:5
- 15 Ezekiel 45:12; Exodus 30:13; Exodus 30:15
- 16 Jeremiah 32:9; Zechariah 11:12; Exodus 30:13; Romans 13:8; Matthew 7:12
- 17 Genesis 50:13; Genesis 25:9; Genesis 23:20; Acts 7:16; Genesis 49:29–32
- 18 Jeremiah 32:12; Genesis 34:20; Ruth 4:1
- 19 Genesis 49:29–32; Genesis 25:9–10; Genesis 50:25; Genesis 50:13; Genesis 35:27–29
- 20 Jeremiah 32:10–14; Ruth 4:7–10; 2 Kings 21:18; Genesis 50:5; Genesis 25:9
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences