Preface: Sarah, Abraham’s wife, passes away. Abraham looks to purchase land from the Hittites where she might be buried.

In Genesis 23, Sarah, wife of Abraham, passes from life to death. Most of this chapter concentrates on Abraham purchasing her burial plot in Hittite territory.

This should be the most extensive examination of Genesis 23 available, where you will be able to see every word of the original text.

Outline of Chapter 23:

Introduction

         v.       1–2           Sarah’s Death

         vv.     3–16         Abraham’s Public Meeting with the Hittites to Purchase a Burial Plot for Sarah

         vv.    17–20         The Conclusion of Abraham’s Land Deal with Ephron ben Zohar

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Preface

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         The Prequel of Genesis 23

         Introduction         The Principals of Genesis 23

         Introduction         The Places of Genesis 23

         Introduction         The Patriarchal Timeline for Genesis 23

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Genesis 23

         Introduction         Matthew Henry’s Alternate Outline of Genesis 23

         Introduction         Chapter Updates

         v.       1              Sarah’s Life

         v.       2              The Doctrine of Physical Death

         v.       2              Map of Hebron

         v.       2              A Brief Summary of the Doctrine of Hebron

         v.       2              Hebron, the Home of Abraham (graphic)

         v.       2              And Sarah died in Kiryat Arba by Yoram Raanan

         v.       3              An Introduction to the Hittites

         v.       3              When Critics Ask, on the Sons of Heth in Canaan

         v.       3              Driver on the Hittites

         v.       9              Genesis 23:8b–9a (graphic)

         v.      12              Map of Hebron and Mamre

         v.      18              Scofield on the Burying Place of Sarah

         v.      18              Who is buried where?

         v.      18              Three Explanations Given by the Pulpit Commentary

         v.      19              The Burial of Sarah from Gustave Doré

         v.      19              The Burial of Sarah in Hebron by Tom Lovell (a graphic)

         Summary            Chapter Summary

         Summary            An Abbreviated Exegesis of Genesis 23

         Addendum          Why Genesis 23 is in the Word of God

         Addendum          What We Learn from Genesis 23

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          Edersheim Summarizes Genesis 23

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Genesis 23

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Genesis 21

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Genesis 23

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Genesis 23

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An Introduction to Genesis 23

I ntroduction: Genesis 23 is one of the most enigmatic chapters of the Bible. This entire chapter seems to deal with relatively trivial information, and could be summed up in one verse: Sarah died at age 127, so Abraham purchased a plot of land with a cave from the Hittites for her grave site. There are details about Abraham’s interactions with some of the prominent Hittite men which seem excessive, to say the least. You may not realize this the first time you read this chapter; but when you read it a second time, and ask yourself, why is this chapter in the Word of God; you might find yourself hard-pressed to answer that question.

It is possible that the previous chapter was so intense and so filled with information, that this chapter cleanses the pallet, so to speak. Our mind is given some time to absorb and digest all that has come before.

There is no illogic to the subject matter. That is, it would make sense that, Abraham, as an old man, would recognize the importance of recording the events of Genesis 22 (where he offers up his son to God) and this chapter, where Abraham buries his wife of many, many decades. See Genesis 22 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

In Genesis 23, we come to the end of Sarah’s life. She is 127 years old. This would make Abraham 137 years old and their son Isaac would be 37. I believe that Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age is given at her death. No other woman’s death is given this much attention—but, the attention is mostly upon the legal purchase of a plot of land that Abraham makes.

In Genesis 23, Abraham will purchase the first plot of land that he will clearly own in the Land of Promise. We do not know about his ranch, whether he leased land or owned it; but he seemed to move around quite a bit—and he may have had several established compounds. This is the first time the Bible speaks of him actually owning a plot of ground.

The content of this chapter argues strongly for Abrahamic authorship. Most of this chapter is about Abraham choosing a plot of land and working out a deal with a group of Hittites to purchase the land. From an historical perspective, this appears to be a very inconsequential chapter. We might wonder, why don’t we have the verse, And Sarah died at age 127, and Abraham purchased a plot of land from the Hittites and buried her there. This should be the verse that we find here rather than 20 verses of a chapter, which goes into this transaction in detail. This is important to Abraham; and since Abraham is a friend of God, this information is important to God. And so it is recorded. Had a later author been in charge of gathering these records and recording the history, this chapter would have been summed up with one verse.

You may wonder, why is Abraham buying this land? Has not God given him and his seed this land? Abraham is going to buy a small portion of this land. Just as he and his wife will be seeds, so to speak, planted to be raised up later, so it would be for his son, his daughter-in-law, and for his grandson and his wife. Even Joseph will ask that his bones be carried back into the Land of Promise when the children of Israel return from Egypt to the land.

What Abraham is doing is claiming a small plot of ground, a little portion of land; and he and the patriarchs would rise up from the dead in the Land of Promise, the land that God had promised to him. They will all rise up in a burial cave which Abraham has legally purchased from the people who live there, the sons of Heth.

There is a blurring of events here. Does this actually take place in Kiriath-arba? Regarding the purchase of this plot of land, how many meetings and where do these meetings occur? We will determine that somewhere between 2 and 4 meetings took place—the first may have occurred at Sarah’s compound and one of them definitely occurred at the gate of the city (v. 10). What is happening is, these details—some of them—are very clear to Abraham, as this is the last day he spends with his wife. However, given the fact that Sarah has died, some of these things are blurred together, as one would expect in the final days of the burial of a loved one. The things which we remember are often odd, often blurred, but some specific memories are very distinct. That describes the style and memories noted in this chapter exactly. Abraham remembers exactly what was said—what he said, what the Hittites said. Except for Ephron, the owner of the land, Abraham does not recall which Hittite said what—but he remembered specific things that were said. If you have not lost a loved one—someone as close to Abraham as Sarah was—you may not have experienced this. However, when this happens, you will remember specific events, specific things which were spoken, but you might jumble up portions of it in your mind.

So that there is no confusion—none of this chapter is incorrectly recalled—there are no misstatements in here. But, as we examine this chapter carefully, it will become clear that there are minor things which are left out, which would have given us a better handle on the narrative. There is nothing left out that we desperately need to know, and that we will crowd around Abraham in heaven and ask him about—but there are some narrative gaps, nevertheless, easily explained by Abraham’s state of mind at the time.

There is also a contrast that we ought to note as we study this chapter; the contrast between Abraham and his relationship to the people of the land; and Lot and his relationship to the people of the land where he lived. Abraham had spiritual power; Lot had political power. Abraham knew the Word of God; Lot was a moral man. Both men were saved, but Abraham had a vibrant spiritual life; and Lot had none. Lot’s spiritual life was so sorry that, when he had gone to his own sons-in-law and warned them of the coming judgment, they laughed at him like some crazy old man.

Barnes notes many of the firsts found in this chapter: This chapter is interesting as containing the first record of mourning for the dead, of burial, of property in land, of purchase of land, of silver as a medium of purchase, and of a standard of weight.

These things named by Barnes are not found in human history here for the first time; they are presented in this chapter as being commonplace events.

Monson makes the observation: It should be stressed here that the world of the patriarchs was that of a developed and organized society and not what is usually regarded as a simple pastoral-bedouin existence. Throughout Genesis 12-50 there are connections to Mesopotamia and to Egypt as well as negotiations with local political centers (Shechem, Salem and Hebron) as well as Gerar in the Western Negev on a branch of the Coastal Highway. Much of the theological relevance of the patriarchs is based upon the fact that there were other more attractive lifestyles available to these early Biblical figures. The option they chose gave them few of the advantages they could have enjoyed elsewhere, especially in Mesopotamia where their family was established. In light of this fact and the great promises made to Abraham during his lifetime, his remark to the leaders of Hebron after the death of his wife, Sarah, takes on new meaning.

The Patriarchal Timeline for Genesis 23

Thomas Coke: Sarah dies. Abraham agrees with the children of Heth for the possession of a burying-place; and buries Sarah in a cave of the field of Machpelah.

Peter Pett: This chapter...is the record of the business transaction between Abraham and Ephron the Hittite and bears the marks of a typical Hittite contract. But as far as the compiler is concerned in it we learn of the first piece of the land which comes permanently into the possession of the family of Abraham. It is the firstfruits, the earnest (visible and tangible guarantee) of his inheritance. Thus Isaac's beginnings are founded in a solemn occasion, first ownership of the land.

Pett continues: So while it is at first sight the record of the closing of an era (the death of Sarah) it is actually the depiction of the beginning of a new era, the commencement of the possession of the land. Genesis 22:20-24 has begun the preparation for the new era, and this continues it. The emphasis of the compiler is on the fact that `the field and the cave that is in it were made sure to Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the children of Heth' (Genesis 23:20). It is a proof of permanence in the land.

As a technical note, I should have combined several verses here, but did not think to do so until I was about ¾^ths through. These verses were broken up in very unusual ways, where often a portion of a verse without much meat in it would be separated out from the rest. Bear in mind that the chapter divisions and the verses are not inspired; however, the text itself is inspired by God the Holy Spirit.

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Sarah's Death

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. Taken from http://targum.info/targumic-texts/pentateuchal-targumim/ and first published in 1862.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so are lives of Sarah a hundred a year and twenty a year and seven years; years of lives of Sarah.

Targum of Onkelos                And the days of the life of Sarah were an hundred and twenty and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.

Latin Vulgate                          And Sara lived a hundred and twenty-seven years.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    AND Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years old; these were the years of the life of Sarah.

Septuagint (Greek)                And the life of Sarah was one hundred and twenty-seven years.

Brenton’s Septuagint             And the life of Sarrha was an hundred and twenty-seven years.

Significant differences:           The targum adds days of the. The Hebrew refers twice to the lives of Sarah; this is not found at all in the Latin and only once in the Greek.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Sarah's death and burial site

Sarah lived to be 127 years old; this was how long she lived.

Contemporary English V.       When Sarah was one hundred twenty-seven years old,...

Easy English                          Sarah dies and Abraham buries her

Sarah lived for 127 years. That was her age when she died.

Easy-to-Read Version            Sarah lived to be 127 years old.

New Berkeley Version           Sarah’s length of life was 127 years;...

New Living Translation           The Burial of Sarah

When Sarah was 127 years old,...

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Well, SarAh lived a hundred and twenty-seven years,...

God’s Word™                         Sarah lived to be 127 years old. This was the length of her life.

International Standard V        A Burial Place for Sarah

Sarah lived for 127 years. That's how long Sarah's life was.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Sarah had lived a hundred and twenty seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.

Bible in Basic English             Now the years of Sarah's life were a hundred and twenty-seven.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 The Death of Sarah

Now the life of Sarah was one hundred and twenty-seven years, the whole life of Sarah;...

HCSB                                     Now Sarah lived 127 years; these were all the years of her life.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

The Heritage Bible                 And the life of Sarah was one hundred and twenty-seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.

New American Bible              Purchase of a Burial Plot.* [23:1-20] The occasion for purchasing the land is the need for a burial site for Sarah, for it would be unthinkable to bury Sarah outside of the promised land. One of the two great promises to Abraham, that of progeny, has been fulfilled (21:1-7). And now the promise of land is to be fulfilled, through a kind of down payment on the full possession that will take place only with the conquest under Joshua and during the reign of David. This purchase has been prepared for by Abimelech's recognition of Abraham's claim to the well at Beer-sheba (21:22-34). Among the ancestral stories this narrative is one of two that are entirely from the P source (chap. 17 being the other). The Priestly writers may have intended to encourage the generation of the exile to a renewed hope of repossessing their land.

The span of Sarah's life was one hundred and twenty-seven years.

New Jerusalem Bible             The length of Sarah's life was a hundred and twenty-seven years.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

exeGeses companion Bible   THE DEATH OF SARAH

And the life of Sarah is a hundred years

and seven years and twenty years

- the years of the life of Sarah:...

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Sarah’s lifetime—the span of Sarah’s life—came to one hundred and twenty-seven years.

Kaplan Translation                 Sarah Dies

Sarah had lived [Literally, 'The life of Sarah was....'] to be 127 years old. [These were] the years of Sarah's life.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

Kretzmann’s Commentary    The Death of Sarah

And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old; these were the years of the life of Sarah. She thus lived to a ripe old age and saw her son Isaac grow up to full manhood, for the latter was now thirty-seven years old. Meanwhile Abraham had moved back to Hebron.

Lexham English Bible            Sarah's Death and Burial

And {Sarah lived} one hundred and twenty-seven years; [these were] the years of the life of Sarah.

NET Bible®                             The Death of Sarah

Sarah lived 127 years [Heb "And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah."]. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote. Some of their notes will be reproduced in the exegesis of the chapter.

Translation for Translators     After Sarah died, Abraham bought a burial place for her

When Sarah was 127 years old, she died at Kiriath-Arba, which is now called Hebron city, in Canaan land. V. 2 is included for context.

The Voice                               When Sarah reached the end of her life, she was 127 years old.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    And coming is the life of Sarah to be a hundred and twenty seven years--the years of the life of Sarah.

Emphasized Bible                  And the life of Sarah came to be, a hundred and twenty-seven years,—the years of the life of Sarah.

English Standard Version      Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.

A Voice in the Wilderness      Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.

Young's Literal Translation     And the life of Sarah is a hundred and twenty and seven years—years of the life of Sarah.

The gist of this verse:          Sarah lived to the age of 127.

Translation: And Sarah’s life was 127 years;...

A word-for-word translation would be quite cumbersome here; suffice it to say, she was 127 years old. There is somewhat more flare in her age being named here than in previous ages of others.

In chapter 22, Abraham was approximately 115 years old and he was 9 years older than Sarah. This would make him 136 years old, so over 20 years have passed between these two chapters. Abraham lived a long time and we only touch on the spiritual high and low points in his life and on the things which touched him.

Translation: ...the years of the life of Sarah.

This is somewhat of an odd phrase, the years of the life of Sarah, and it is the first time in the Bible that we have this particular phrase; however, it will be repeated in Genesis 25:7, 17 47:9 Exodus 6:16, 18, 20 and it is apparently one way of indicating a person’s age.

These last few words are somewhat odd here. Two are repeated exactly as they are at the beginning of this verse, but the years of is the first time this noun is used as a construct. What I tried to do was to set up a title first, and then lead this into: and the years of the lives of Sarah were 127. However, the verb in this verse is placed in such a way so that cannot be done. Perhaps these last 3 words are somewhat of a title for the remainder of this chapter; or an epilogue for what has gone before.

This does not appear to be a common copyist error, because of the addition of the construct of years. However, the Greek and Latin just leave this phrase out. However, it is possible that they did not know what to do with this phrase. The Dead Sea Scrolls do not help us, as there are no Dead Sea manuscripts which exist that contain Genesis 23:1. However, we do find this in the targum, which suggests that they are a part of the original text.

I have a few possible explanations: one or two words were dropped out early in the text; or the verb to be was misplaced, and, without that verb, we have a title, and it belongs with the second half of this verse. Or, this could be an example of a Hebraism with which I am not acquainted (nor anyone else, insofar as I can tell).

Perhaps the best translation was: And the life of Sarah was 127. [These were] the years of the life of Sarah. And, perhaps the explanation is, Abraham or Isaac wrote this, and it was difficult for them to let go, so what is written is repetitive. As if, between these two phrases, the writer pauses and thinks about his memories of Sarah (whether written by Abraham or Isaac)—this thinking might go on for several minutes—and then adds, The years of the life of Sarah.

Interestingly enough, Sarah is the only woman whose age is recorded in Scripture.

Some of Sarah’s life is described in Heb. 11:11–16 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city. (ESV; capitalized) In some ways, Abraham and Sarah coming to Canaan originally is metaphorical, for their heavenly inheritance, for the city that God would later provide for them in eternity.

Genesis 23:1 And Sarah’s life was 127 years; the years of the life of Sarah. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Genesis 23:1 And Sarah lives until she was 127. (Kukis paraphrase)

Even though this verse sounds like a title, this chapter will have little to do with Sarah directly and will examine the business of buying a burial plot in the ancient world.

Nearly every commentator says that Moses wrote Genesis, and leaves it at that. Although I believe that it is possible that Moses edited Genesis, I do not believe that he wrote it; and I certainly do not believe that God dictated it to him. God may have dictated the first two chapters to Adam (or to Seth); but the rest became a family history, which was repeated from generation to generation (not in every generation, obviously). There are at least two intensely personal verses in the book of Genesis, things that God would not dictate, but that God the Holy Spirit would allow the inclusion of: this verse and Genesis 29:20 (something only a man in love would write).

This chapter that we are studying is not something that an historian would seize upon and record. The detail is simple too minute.

Abraham wrote this, and likely Moses, a great student of history and geography, added the information that this was now Hebron. It would be likely that Abraham wrote this portion of Scripture and that it was Moses and not an intervening person who copied it, adding brief bits of geographical information (which would have been a part of his training when a young man destined for the throne of Egypt).

That Moses added in the name Hebron helps to explain many potential contradictions. There are several passages in Genesis, such as when the land of Abraham is spoken of as being Ur of the Chaldees (or, Chaldeans). The Chaldeans did not exist when Abraham lived there (insofar as we know). However, since this material was occasionally updated, with an updated reference to a region or a place, we understand that Ur of the ____ was later changed to Ur of the Chaldees, because the people did not know where ___ was; but they did know where the Chaldeans were.

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Sarah died in Kirjatharba (later known as Hebron). Hebron is 25 miles S-SW of Jerusalem, having been rebuilt around 1728 b.c. (as per Numbers), but archeology has shown it to be consistently occupied back as far as 3300 b.c.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so dies Sarah in Kiriath-arba (that [is] Hebron) in the land of Canaan. And so goes Abraham to grieve for Sarah and to weep for her.

Targum of Onkelos                And Sarah died in Kiryath Arba, which is Hebron. [JERUSALEM. And Sarah died in the city of the giants.] And Abraham came from the mountain of worship, and found that she was dead; and he sat to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

Latin Vulgate                          And she died in the city of Arbee which is Hebron, in the land of Chanaan: and Abraham came to mourn and weep for her.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And Sarah died at Koriath Gabarey (the Town of the Giants); that is Hebron in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Sarah died in Kirjath Arba, which is in the valley, this is Hebron in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to lament for Sarah and to mourn.

Brenton’s Septuagint             And Sarrha died in the city of Arboc, which is in the valley, this is Chebron in the land of Chanaan; and Abraam came to lament for Sarrha and to mourn.

Significant differences:           The Syriac adds that this is the Town of the Giants.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           She died in Kiriath-arba, that is, in Hebron, in the land of Canaan; and Abraham cried out in grief and wept for Sarah.

Contemporary English V.       ...she died in Kiriath-Arba, better known as Hebron, in the land of Canaan. After Abraham had mourned for her,...

Easy English                          Sarah died in Kiriath-Arba. (That is, Hebron.) It is in that country called Canaan. Abraham went to weep about her. And he expressed that he was very sad because of her death.

Easy-to-Read Version            She died in the city of Kiriath Arba (Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham was very sad and cried for her there.

Good News Bible (TEV)         She died in Hebron in the land of Canaan, and Abraham mourned her death.

New Berkeley Version           ...she died at Kiriath-Arba, which is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Abraham [Abraham had moved back to Mamre. Sarah had her own tent; which Abraham entered for the mourning.] came to lament and weep for her.

New Century Version             She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham was very sad and cried because of her.

New Life Bible                        Then Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. And Abraham had sorrow for Sarah and cried for her.

New Living Translation           ...she died at Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron) in the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned and wept for her.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          ...and then [she] died in the city of ArBoc (Hebron in the land of CanaAn), which is located in a valley. So, AbraHam went to SarAh to mourn for her.

God’s Word™                         She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to cry about her death.

International Standard V        She died in Kiriath-arba (that is, in Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went in [i.e. into Sarah's tent] to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

NIRV                                      She died at Kiriath Arba. Kiriath Arba is also called Hebron. It's in the land of Canaan.

Sarah's death filled Abraham with sorrow. He went to the place where her body was lying. There he sobbed over her.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Sarah died in the town of Arba (it's Hebron in the land of Canaan). Abraham came to eulogize Sarah and to weep for her.

Bible in Basic English             And Sarah's death took place in Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan: and Abraham went into his house, weeping and sorrowing for Sarah.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 ...and Sarah died in Kiriath-Arba [“Now Hebron” is also an ancient explanatory note—F. F.], in the land of Canan; and Abraham came to mourn and Lament for Sarah.

New Advent Bible                  And she died in the city of Arbee which is Hebron, in the land of Chanaan: and Abraham came to mourn and weep for her.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

The Heritage Bible                 And Sarah died in Kiriath Arba, which is Hebron, in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn [mourn, caphad. The main meaning of caphad is to beat the breast in lamentation and grief. This is the first occurrence of caphad in the Bible.] for Sarah, and to weep for her.

New American Bible              She died in Kiriath-arba-now Hebron-in the land of Canaan, and Abraham proceeded to mourn and weep for her.

New Jerusalem Bible             She died at Kiriath-Arba -- now Hebron -- in the land of Canaan, and Abraham proceeded to mourn and bewail her.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and Sarah dies in Qiryath Arba;

- Hebron in the land of Kenaan:

and Abraham comes to chop and to weep for Sarah:...

Hebrew Names Version         Sarah died in Kiryat-Arba (the same is Chevron), in the land of Kena`an. Avraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

Judaica Press Complete T.    And Sarah died in Kiriath arba, which is Hebron, in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her.

Kaplan Translation                 Sarah died in Kiryath Arba [See Genesis 35:27. This was the original name for Hebron; see Joshua 14:15, Judges 1:10. Also see Joshua 15:54, 20:7. The name Kiryath Arba literally means 'City of the Four,' or 'City of Arba.' Some say that Arba was the father of a number of giants who lived there (Joshua 15:13, 21:11), and according to this, Arba was the greatest of the Anak-giants (Ibn Ezra here; Joshua 14:15, Rashi ad loc.). It also could have been called 'City of the Four' because four giants lived there, Sheshai, Achiman, Talmi, and their father (Rashi here; Numbers 13:22, Joshua 15:14, Judges 1:10. See Artscroll commentary). Others say that it was given this name because of the four pairs buried there: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah (Bereshith Rabbah 58; Rashi). According to the Talmud, the giant mentioned in Joshua 14:15 is Abraham (Yerushalmi, Shabbath 16:1), and hence 'City of the Four' might have referred to the four allies, Abraham, Aner, Eshkol and Mamre (Genesis 14:13, 14:24; Bereshith Rabbah 58). This name was still retained in later times; Nehemiah 11:25.], also known as Hebron [This would appear to indicate that they lived in Hebron at the time. According to Talmudic tradition, Sarah died right after the Test (chapter 22), and they had lived in Hebron for the past 12 years. Thus, on the way back from Moriah, Abraham only stopped in Beer-sheba for a short while (see note on Genesis 22:19). According to other sources, they lived in Beer-sheba at this time, but Sarah was heading north toward Jerusalem to inquire about her husband and son when she died in Hebron (Sefer HaYashar, p.64)], in the land of Canaan. Abraham came to eulogize Sarah and to weep for her.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

Kretzmann’s Commentary    And 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. It appears from Joshua 14:15 and Judges 1:10 that Hebron, one of the very oldest settlements in Canaan, for a while bore the name of its conqueror, Arba of the Anakims, but the original name was restored by the children of Israel. Here Sarah died. And Abraham came, that is, he went about, he made preparations for the customary period of mourning, the lament for the dead.

Lexham English Bible            And Sarah died in Kiriath Arba; that [is] Hebron, in the land of Canaan.

NET Bible®                             Then she [Heb "Sarah." The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun ("she") for stylistic reasons.] died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her [Mourn...weep. The description here is of standard mourning rites (see K. A. Kitchen, NBD3 149-50). They would have been carried out in the presence of the corpse, probably in Sarah's tent. So Abraham came in to mourn; then he rose up to go and bury his dead (Gen. 23:3).].

The Voice                               She died at Kiriath-arba (a city now known as Hebron) in Canaan. Abraham went in where her body was laid out to mourn and weep over her.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    And dying is Sarah in the town of Arba, in the vale. (It is Hebron, in the land of Canaan.) And coming is Abraham to wail over Sarah and to lament for her.

English Standard Version      And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

World English Bible                Sarah died in Kiriath Arba (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan. Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

Young’s Updated LT             And Sarah dies in Kirjath-Arba, which is Hebron, in the land of Caanan, and Abraham goes in to mourn for Sarah, and to bewail her.

The gist of this verse:          Sarah died in Kiriath-arba, which is later known as Hebron, and Abraham mourns her death.

Translation: Sarah died in Kiriath-arba...

All people must die; it is only a matter of time. Sarah’s death is the first death of a woman that we have in Scripture (possibly the only one).

Application: All believers, no matter how favored by God, will die—this includes you and I. We will all grow old and we will all breathe our last. This is the fate of all mankind. For some, pondering death is key to understanding life and the importance of our choices and actions in this life.

We do not know the reason why Sarah is in Kiriath-arba. The last that we heard, in Genesis 22:19, Abraham was living in Beersheba. However, that would have been as much as 20 years earlier. So, Abraham and Sarah could have both been living in Kiriath-arba; they may have been living in different places; and Abraham may have been seeing to his herds at this time, and not in Kiriath-arba. Sarah may have lived here and she may have been visiting here.

Kiriath-arba is the original name for the city of Hebron. Although this name is only found in Genesis, Joshua, and Judges, it makes an odd reappearance many centuries later in Nehemiah 11:25.

Kiriath-arba means the city of Arba; the city of the Four [Giants?]; the four-fold city. The Jerusalem targum and the Syriac both record that this refers to giants. The Kaplan translation above states who these giants are (I assume by tradition).

Driver suggests that this could be called a Tetrapolis, which is formed from four confederate tribes.

Barnes: Arba is called the father of Anak (Joshua 15:13; Joshua 21:11); that is, of the Anakim or Bene Anak, a tall or gigantic tribe (Num. 13:22; 28; 33), who were subsequently dispossessed by Kaleb. The Anakim were probably Hittites.

Clarke suggests that this may have been called the City of the Four because it was the burial place of Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This would be problematic, as (1) Adam was not buried there and (2) this city would be taking on this name before Isaac and Jacob are buried there.

Some point to Judges 1:10, which reads: And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. The three named men were tribes when defeated by Judah and when added to Arba, their father, that would be four.

The simplest explanation is, Arba founded this city, and Arba was a man of great distinction (Joshua 14:15 15:13). He was the father of Anak, from whom were the Anakim (giants).

Translation:...(that [is], Hebron)...

Hebron is about 25 miles south-southwest of Jerusalem, and a short version of this doctrine is located below:

Kirjatharba is in southern Judah (not as far south as Beer-sheba), about 30 miles south of Jerusalem and about midway down the Dead Sea. This city came to be known as Hebron, and this would be from where David began to rule over Judah and years in the future and where his son, Absalom, would go to foment revolution.

The Map of Hebron below comes from holylandarchive.com, and was accessed June 26, 2013.

Interestingly enough, Abraham is somewhere else at this time, and he comes to Hebron to mourn her. Abraham would be 137 at this time, and he will live for another 38 years. It is likely that he had route that he traveled with his herds. Or his servants moved about with his herds and Moses rode about overseeing the operation (recall that Abraham is a very wealthy man with a huge ranch).

Although some think that Abraham has taken on another wife by this time, I do not believe that to be the case. He will be involved in purchasing a burial plot for Sarah in this chapter and then getting a wife for Isaac in the following chapter. In Genesis 25, Abraham will marry again, apparently fulfilling the ancient saying, “142 is the new 60.” Or, however that goes.

It is also possible that, Abraham lives there with Sarah, and is simply going in to the burial tent to mourn Sarah. And Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. This is another definition for the word bôwʾ (בּוֹא) [pronounced boh], which means to come in, to come, to go in, to go, to enter, to advance. Strong’s #935 BDB #97. There are details left out of this narrative, as if the writer wrote a few words, paused, thought about Sarah, and then added a few more words. So the author knows whether he meant that Abraham came to Hebron to mourn or whether he went into the burial tent to mourn Sarah.

Hebron was not actually built as Hebron until Num. 13:22; but that does not mean that the land had not been occupied prior to that time.

So far, we have: When Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (later known as Hebron)... At the time that this was written (assuming an Abrahamic authorship), there was no Hebron. Therefore, this would be known as a gloss, something which was added by a later editor or copyist. Very likely, this is based upon the geographical training that Abraham received as a young man—and that he only appended the book of Genesis with a few updated geographical references.

It is possible that Joshua added this in, as he would have no doubt copied the Scriptures as he had them. We find the same gloss in Joshua 15:54. This city was known as Hebron only, after Joshua’s conquest of the land.

Apparently Keil suggests that this city was originally called Hebron, then Arba the Anakite called it Kiriath-arba, and then the Jews restored the name to Hebron. Whereas, this may be true; if this is offered as an explanation

as to why the addition of the word Hebron here is not a gloss, that does not solve the problem of dozens of similar glosses throughout the Word of God. Furthermore, this is not really a problem. At some point in time, the book of Genesis was reduced to writing; or was copied—and many believe that Moses had a hand in this (most believe that Moses wrote Genesis, although I have never seen any credible proof of this). A gloss simply means that Moses (or whomever) knows, from his training in geography, that Hebron used to be known as Kiriath-arba; and so he simply adds in this clarification for newer readers without such a background. Such a gloss does not change anything—it simply gives an updated name to a city, village, river, or whatever. That Moses did this for the book of Genesis ought not to be a problem for any believer.

Hebron, the Home of Abraham (graphic) from GoVista.com; accessed December 14, 2014.

Translation: ...in the land of Canaan.

Canaan is the general area where Abraham lived, which later became Israel, as God had given this land to Abraham. God told Abraham to travel throughout this land, to enjoy its beauty and to recognize that it had been given him.

Although Abraham most recently is said to live in Beersheba, he and Sarah had lived in Hebron previously (Genesis 13:18). Why Sarah was there, we do not know—perhaps she was visiting and perhaps she had taken up permanent residence in Hebron.

Translation: Consequently, Abraham went...

This is an odd phrase as Abraham is said to be living in Hebron in Genesis 13:18 14:13 18:1 (the Oaks of Mamre is in Hebron—Genesis 13:18). Since this word can mean to go in, it is possible that Abraham is simply going into his tent or there may have been a tent erected for Sarah’s funeral.

Adam Clarke provides an excellent explanation for this: From Genesis 22:19 of the preceding chapter it appears that Abraham had settled at Beer–sheba; and here we find that Sarah died at Hebron, which was about twenty–four miles distant from Beersheba. For the convenience of feeding his numerous flocks, Abraham had probably several places of temporary residence, and particularly one at Beer–sheba, and another at Hebron; and it is likely that while he sojourned at Beersheba, Sarah died at Hebron; and his coming to mourn and weep for her signifies his coming from the former to the latter place on the news of her death.

Abraham probably had several living quarters, which he traveled to in order to oversee his flocks and herds. He was in Beersheba when his wife died in Hebron.

The lack of specificity here is an interesting trait of this chapter. There will be sequential information left out; and yet, there will be extraordinary detail elsewhere. This is typical of human memory—particularly on a day so emotionally jarring as this day would have been for Abraham. For much of the day, it would appear as if he is walking in a fog. We flit from one scene to another scene, but without any intervening text (Abraham appears to meet with these Hittites anywhere from 2 to 4 times—but there is no clear delineation between these meetings). So, just as a day of great sorrow affects our own recollection of events, so it is with Abraham. There is nothing in this chapter which is incorrectly recalled or distorted; but we simply have an interesting commingling of explicit events (including dialogue) interspersed with some very indistinct narrative. In fact, this is very much like a dream state—where you may have a very vivid dream, but when you go to recall it, you can recall some shapes and colors and events with great specificity, but the interconnectedness of the dream along with many events in your dream, are lost. If you have not yet had such a sorrow-inducing day; perhaps then you have had a dream where you wake up with great sadness, but you do not fully recall the dream. This might help to explain both Abraham’s mental state as well as his recollection of these events.

If you think that everything should be a blur, then you do not understand the human mind. I recall a wonderful principal at the school where I worked, and he was dying of cancer. Apparently there was some discussion or questions going about, should we save electricity by turning off the lights in our room when we leave, or by leaving them on (these are florescent lights, . Mr. Taylor put out a memo—just weeks before his death, if I recall—discussing this very question in the most minute detail possible.

Translation: ...to grieve for Sarah...

Wherever it is that Abraham went, it was to grieve for Sarah or to lament her death.

When a loved one dies, there are often customary steps that one takes—and Abraham, as the first of the Hebrews, was probably quite demonstrative in his grief.

Guzik points out that we are never told to look at Mary, the mother of the humanity of Jesus, as an example; but Sarah is named twice as an example for us (Isaiah 51:1–2 1Peter 3:3–6). Given that Mary was with Jesus when He was on the cross, she was obviously a woman of character and dedication. However, the point that should be taken from this is, there is no Scriptural reason for us to idolize Mary any more than Sarah. There is one celebrity in the heavens and earth, and that is Jesus Christ. It is reasonable to want to emulate some believers from the Bible (they are given to us as examples), but there is only One who receives our worship.

Translation: ...and to weep for her.

This involved great weeping. Although we have no idea when Abraham and Sarah became an item, they left their home with his parents at age 75 and now it is 52 years later, so they have been an independent family unit now for 52 years—meaning independent of his and her family (they were closely related).

Whereas, one could interpret to grieve as a series of actions and ceremony, to weep indicates heartfelt grief.

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown: The "mourning" describes his conformity to the customary usage of sitting on the ground for a time; while the "weeping" indicates the natural outburst of his sorrow.

Genesis 23:2 Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that [is], Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Consequently, Abraham went to grieve for Sarah and to weep for her. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Genesis 23:2 When Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (later known as Hebron) in the land of Canaan, Abraham went to grieve for Sarah and to weep for her. (Kukis paraphrase)

Although sometime is given to describing Abraham’s sorrow, the bulk of this chapter is given over to his purchase of a burial site for Sarah. This is not unusual for a man’s way of dealing with sorrow.

And Sarah died in Kiryat Arba by Yoram Raanan from the Jerusalem Post, accessed December 14, 2014. Quite obviously, Raanan is very impressionistic in his style.

——————————

Abraham's Public Meeting with the Hittites to Purchase a Burial Plot for Sarah

We all process grief differently. Abraham recalls in great detail his purchasing a burial plot for his late wife.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so rises up Abraham from over faces of his dying one. And so he speaks unto the sons of Heth, to say,...

Targum of Onkelos                And Abraham rose up from the sight of the face of his dead, and spake with the sons of Hittah, saying,...

Latin Vulgate                          And after he rose up from the funeral obsequies, he spoke to the children of Heth, saying:...

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And Abraham rose up from before the bier of his dead and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,...

Septuagint (Greek)                And Abraham stood up from before his dead; and Abraham spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,...

Significant differences:           I am unsure about the underlined words found in the Latin and Vulgate; they do not appear to match exactly with the Hebrew.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           After he got up from embracing his deceased wife, he spoke with the Hittites:...

Contemporary English V.       ...he went to the Hittites and said,...

Easy-to-Read Version            Then Abraham left his dead wife and went to talk to the Hittite people. He said,...

Good News Bible (TEV)         He left the place where his wife's body was lying, went to the Hittites, and said,...

The Message                         Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites:...

New Berkeley Version           Then arising from the presence of his dead, Abraham said to the sons of Heth,... The Hittites were a great nation north and east of Palestine. A colony of them had migrated to southern Canaan.

New Living Translation           Then, leaving her body, he said to the Hittite elders,...

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          And as AbraHam stood before his dead [woman], he spoke to the sons of Chet, saying,...

Beck’s American Translation After bowing over the face of his dead wife, Abraham got up and said to the Hittites,...

God’s Word™                         Then Abraham left the side of his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites,...

International Standard V        Then Abraham stood up from beside his dead wife [The Heb. lacks wife] and addressed the Hittites. He said, "I am an alien and an outsider among you. Give me a cemetery among you where I can bury my dead away from my presence." V. 4 is included for context.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Abraham raised his face from over the dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,...

Bible in Basic English             And Abraham came from his dead and said to the children of Heth,...

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Then Abraham rose up from the presence of his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,...

HCSB                                     Then Abraham got up from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites:...

New Advent Bible                  And after he rose up from the funeral obsequies, he spoke to the children of Heth, saying:...

NIV – UK                                Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites [Or the descendants of Heth; also in verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18 and 20]. He said,...

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

The Heritage Bible                 And Abraham stood up from the face of his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth [Heth, the second son of Canaan, Gen 10:15; 1 Chr 1:13, and ancestor of the terrorizing Hittites. Heth means terrible or terrorizing.], saying,...

New American Bible              Then he left the side of his deceased wife and addressed the Hittites:... The Hittites: in the Bible the term is applied to several different groups-inhabitants of the second-millennium Hittite empire in Asia Minor and northern Syria, residents of the Neo-Hittite kingdoms in northern Syria in the first part of the first millennium, and (following Assyrian terminology) the inhabitants of Syria and Palestine. The third group is meant here.

New Jerusalem Bible             Then rising from beside his dead, Abraham spoke to the Hittites,...

Revised English Bible            When at last he rose and left the presence of his dead one, he approached the Hittites:...

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Then he got up from his dead one and said to the sons of Het,...

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and Abraham rises from the face of his who died

and words to the sons of Heth, saying,...

Hebrew Names Version         Avraham rose up from before his dead, and spoke to the children of Chet, saying,...

Kaplan Translation                 Abraham rose from beside his dead, and he spoke to the children of Heth. That is, the Hittites. See note on Genesis 10:15.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Abraham Negotiates for a Burial-Place. â?"

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

Lexham English Bible            And Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from his dead, and he spoke to the Hittites [and] said,...

NET Bible®                             Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife [Heb "And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead."] and said to the sons of Heth,...

Translation for Translators     After Abraham mourned and cried over her, he left the body of his wife and spoke to some of the descendants of Heth, saying, "I am a foreigner [DOU] living among you, so I do not own any land here. Sell me some land here so that I can bury my wife's body." Vv. 2b and 4 are included for context.

The Voice                               When he got up from his place beside her, he spoke to the Hittites who had been his neighbors for many years.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

American KJV                        And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,...

Concordant Literal Version    And rising is Abraham from over the face of his dead. And speaking is he to the sons of Heth, saying,...

World English Bible                Abraham rose up from before his dead, and spoke to the children of Heth, saying,...

Young's Updated LT              And Abraham rises up from the presence of his dead, and speaks unto the sons of Heth, saying,...

The gist of this verse:          After mourning the death of his wife, Abraham stands up to speak before the sons of Heth.

Translation: Abraham rose up from over his dead [wife’s body]...

The participle here logically refers to a state of being, rather than to a state of dying. So Abraham’s wife is dead. We do not know exactly what the customs were of that day, but Abraham apparently went into a place, and here we have him rising up from being over his wife’s body.

Abraham was mourning his wife; and then he stood up. We do not know from what position Abraham came out of, but I suspect that he is laying on the ground, mourning his wife, as the Jews tended to be very demonstrative with their emotions.

Part of the translation of v. 3 has been left out. Every language has its idioms and Hebrew has an abundance of them. The plural of the word face is found here (it is almost always in the plural) and it would have been more accurate to translate this: and Abraham arose from before the faces of his dead. Face is always in the plural in this type of usage because it refers to the various features of the face (in English, pants is always in the plural) and this is not unlike the Greek word προς, which means face to face with. Here is one of the many places where a strictly literal translation does not improve the understanding of the meaning of the passage. It is because of passages like this that I have gone to 3 translations.

Mourning is always a temporary process. For those who remain, life continues. No matter how important a person is to you, once they have died, if you are still alive, then God has a plan for your life. One of the first things which jars people in mourning out of this state is simply the fact of having to deal with the body of the loved one. You cannot leave Aunt Mabel in a rocking chair watching cable news after she has passed. Even in Abraham’s day, there were procedures that must be followed—in his day, procedures dictated not by law but by custom. For Abraham, there were two primary considerations: (1) to bury his wife’s body out of his sight and (2) to place her in a picturesque setting. In any case, Abraham must function; Abraham must transact business—simply as a natural result of Sarah’s passing.

From what follows, there is no indication that Abraham had to search that place out. It appears that he already had a very specific place in mind. Had he thought about this as a grave site originally? Had he and his wife traveled by this place and sat and admired its quiet beauty and peacefulness? We do not really know that part of the backstory.

Translation: ...and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,...

The sons of Heth are thought by some to be the Hittites and, as we have seen so far in Genesis, there are a number of disparate groups throughout Palestine.

However, the NET Bible footnote here is: Some translate the Hebrew term "Heth" as "Hittites" here (also in vv. 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., "Hittites," Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.

Dr. Thomas Constable: These Hittites (Hethites) were residents of Canaan, not members of the mighty Hittite Empire that later flourished north of the Promised Land in Syria. [Note: See Bryant G. Wood, "Hittites and Hethites: A Proposed Solution to an Etymological Conundrum," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 54:2 (June 2011):239-50.].

The Hittites were the descendants of Heth, Canaan's son, and one of the seven tribes which proceeded from Canaan. The relationship that we see here with Abraham is far different than what we will see later. God commanded the Jews to completely annihilate the Hittites, yet they did not do so (Deut. 7:1, 2, 24 Judges 3:5). They occupied this area of the land of Canaan, later known as Hebron (Deut. 7:1 1Kings 10:29). There were honorable Hittites found in Scripture, besides this passage. Ahimelech and Uriah are found in 1Samuel 26:6 and in 2Samuel 11:6, 21. However, in general, the Hittites were a powerful, warlike people.

Archeologists and historians have questioned whether there were Hittites in Palestine during this time because (1) the Hittite kingdom was in Asia Minor (now Turkey); (2) the Hittites did not rise to power until 400 years after this passage. However, we find them here and later in Num. 13:29 when Joshua and 11 other spies discover that there are Hittite settlements in this same area. However, it is very possible that the influence of the Hittites had extended to Palestine. For instance, archeologists have discovered a nonagression pact signed by the Hittite New Kingdom and by Egypt with the treaty line drawn in such a way to put Palestine under Egyptian influence. This was much later in Hittite history—in the 13^th century b.c.; but it shows that there was Hittite interest in Palestine. Earlier than this we have discovered cuneiform mercantile tablets in Cappadocia left by early Assyrian merchants, dating between 1950–1850 b.c. This would indicate trade between the Hittites and the Assyrians.

It is possible that these Hittites are not related to the famous Hittites that we find as a superpower ruling what is now Turkey during the time of King David. It is possible that these are the Hattis—or, possibly the ones who conquered the Hattis an adopted the name for themselves. This would have occurred between 2300–2000 b.c. and in the original Hebrew, Hatti and Hittite would have been spelled exactly the same as there were no vowels used in the original manuscripts. The vowels have been supplied by the oral tradition. If this is the case, then it is likely that it is this group which is found through Genesis during the time of the patriarchs.

However, it is not difficult to believe that these were the original Hittites; that they were pushed north by the Hebrews (although some were left in the land) and that they regrouped and formed a powerful kingdom north of Israel. We are lacking archeological evidence to substantiate this; but, a half century or so ago, we lacked archeological evidence for the Hittites as a world power anyway. As an investigative science, archeology is not finished. We have put but a small dent in the remaining archeological information for ancient history.

Although it is not clear if the Hittites were right there at the time, it does appear as if Abraham speaks before a number of Hittites in a fairly large meeting, and this is when he says the following:

V. 3 reads: Abraham rose up from over his dead [wife’s body] and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,... It is not clear whether they are with Abraham while he is mourning his wife, or if Abraham seeks them out. Again, like the last verse, there are details left out. Sometimes we will be able to fill in these details in this chapter, but here we do not know. If you have ever suffered a great loss—and losing a spouse, even to old age, is a great loss—then your mind does not necessarily remember everything from that time. So, Abraham may have gotten up, and went to Kiriath-arba proper (to the city gate); or he may have turned around and begun speaking to Hittites who were there offering their condolences to him. We do not know where this first meeting takes place. Vv. 17 and 19 suggest that Kiriath-arba is the city where Abraham makes these arrangements (as the cave is said to be opposite of Mamre in those two verses).

Genesis 23:3 Abraham rose up from over his dead [wife’s body] and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,... (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Genesis 23:3 Abraham rose up from over his dead wife’s body, and said to the Hittites:... (Kukis paraphrase)

Although throughout this chapter, these men will appear to be decent folk, the Hittites appear to take a turn for the worst, where two generations from now, their women cause great sadness for Rachel, Abraham’s daughter-in-law (she will become his daughter-in-law in Genesis 24, and her position on her Hittite daughters-in-law will be expressed in Genesis 27:46).

Here is what we have so far: And Sarah’s life was 127 years; the years of the life of Sarah. Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that [is], Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Consequently, Abraham went to grieve for Sarah and to weep for her. Abraham rose up from over his dead [wife’s body] and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,...

Although the gate of the city will be mentioned in v. 10, we are not necessarily at this gate when Abraham first speaks to the sons of Heth. He rises up and speaks to the sons of Heth. It sounds very much as if they are right there with him. This would not be out of the question for many Hittites to be in attendance of Sarah’s funeral (or, they have come to express their own sadness to Abraham). So the men with whom Abraham speaks at first, from this verse till v. 9 could have taken place at Abraham’s compound, which is not too far from the gate of the city. So, if this is not a formal meeting at the gates of the Hittite city; there will be a formal meeting there by the time we get to v. 10.

What is most likely—although this is not clearly laid out—that Abraham knew he needed to provide a burial place for Sarah, so he went to the Hittite city (which may have been Hebron, where Sarah lived) to the gate of the city, where legal business was transacted, and he made his proposal there. However, what Abraham says in vv. 3–9 would have been appropriately said to Hittites who have come to mourn with him. Essentially, he will say, “I need to bury my wife. I have a place where I would like her to be buried.”

The person from whom he would like to purchase the land does not appear to be at the first meeting, but he will be at the second meeting. This second meeting will take place at the gate of the city. What city this is, is not named, unless it is Hebron (Kiriath-arba at this time).

Again, perhaps due to the emotions of the writer, important connecting events are left out and assumed. The verb which means to stand, to get up, to rise up; is often used to indicate that a person is about to do something. He has a clear mission, and this verb indicates that he is going to accomplish this mission. What is possible is, in between v. 3a and 3b is, Abraham travels to a nearby Hittite city and makes this proposal in a town courthouse (which is at the city gate). However, this possibly occurs, as mentioned, at Sarah’s compound, where she is being mourned.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        “A sojourner and a stranger I [am] with you [all]. [You all] give to me a possession of a grave with you [all] and I may bury my dying from to my faces.”

Targum of Onkelos                I am a sojourner and dweller with you; I pray sell me the inheritance of a sepulchre among you, and I will bury my dead there.

Latin Vulgate                          I am a stranger and sojourner among you: give me the right of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    I am a stranger and a sojourner with you; give me the possession of a burial ground with you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

Septuagint (Greek)                I am a sojourner and a stranger among you. Therefore give me possession of a burying-place among you, and I will bury my dead away from me.

Significant differences:           Possession (in the second phrase) can be also translated inheritance and possible as right.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           "I am an immigrant and a temporary resident with you. Give me some property for a burial plot among you so that I can bury my deceased wife near me."

Contemporary English V.       "I live as a foreigner in your land, and I don't own any property where I can bury my wife. Please let me buy a piece of land."

Easy English                          `I am only a foreigner who is living among you. Give to me a grave in your country. So then I will be able to bury my dead wife properly.'

Easy-to-Read Version            “I am only a traveler staying in your country. I have no place to bury my wife. Please give me some land so I can bury my wife.”

Good News Bible (TEV)         "I am a foreigner living here among you; sell me some land, so that I can bury my wife."

New Berkeley Version           “As I am a stranger and immigrant among you, may I have my own burial ground among you, so that I may bury my dead from my presence?”

New Century Version             "I am only a stranger and a foreigner here. Sell me some of your land so that I can bury my dead wife."

New Life Bible                        "I am a stranger living among you for a time. Give me some of your land so I may bury my wife."

New Living Translation           "Here I am, a stranger and a foreigner among you. Please sell me a piece of land so I can give my wife a proper burial."

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          'I'm just a visitor and a stranger among you, so, [please] allow me to buy a burying-place among [your people], and then I will bury my dead away from [my place].'

Beck’s American Translation “I’m living as a foreigner with you. Let me have a burial place with you where I can bury my dead.”

God’s Word™                         "I'm a stranger with no permanent home. Let me have some of your property for a tomb so that I can bury my dead wife."

International Standard V        He said, "I am an alien and an outsider among you. Give me a cemetery among you where I can bury my dead away from my presence." A portion of v. 3 is included for context.

NIRV                                      "I'm an outsider. I'm a stranger among you. Sell me some property here as a place for a family tomb. Then I can bury my wife's body."

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      "I am a stranger and a sojourner with you. Give to me a home for a grave with you to bury my dead in front of me."

Bible in Basic English             I am living among you as one from a strange country: give me some land here as my property, so that I may put my dead to rest.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 “I am a foreigner and wanderer with you, give me the possession of a grave among you, so I can bury my dead from my sight.”

HCSB                                     "I am a resident alien among you. Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead."

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community Bible     ...and spoke to the Hittites, “I am only a stranger among you; give me a burial place among you, so that I may bury my dead.” Obviously, the CCB took a portion of v. 3 and added it to v. 4.

The Heritage Bible                 I am a foreigner and a temporary resident with you; give me a possession of a burying-place with you that I may bury my dead from before my face.

New American Bible              "Although I am a resident alien [A resident alien: such a one would normally not have the right to own property. The importance of Abraham's purchase of the field in Machpelah, which is worded in technical legal terms, lies in the fact that it gave his descendants their first, though small, land rights in the country that God had promised the patriarch they would one day inherit as their own. Abraham therefore insists on purchasing the field and not receiving it as a gift.] among you, sell me from your holdings a burial place, that I may bury my deceased wife." Gn 33:19 Acts 7:16 Heb 11:9.

New Jerusalem Bible             'I am a stranger resident here,' he said. 'Let me have a burial site of my own here, so that I can remove my dead for burial.'

New RSV                               `I am a stranger and an alien residing among you; give me property among you for a burying-place, so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

Revised English Bible            ‘I am an alien and a settler among you,’ he said, ‘Make over to me some ground among you for a burial-place, that I may bury my dead.’

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           "I am a foreigner living as an alien with you; let me have a burial site with you, so that I can bury my dead wife."

Hebrew Names Version         "I am a stranger and a foreigner living with you. Give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               “I am a resident alien among you; sell me a burial site among you, that I may remove my dead for burial.”

Judaica Press Complete T.    "I am a stranger and an inhabitant with you. Give me burial property with you, so that I may bury my dead from before me."

Kaplan Translation                 'I am an immigrant and a resident among you,' he said. 'Sell me property for a burial place with you so that I can bury my dead, [and not have her here] right in front of me.'

The Scriptures 1998              “I am a foreigner and a sojourner among you. Give me property for a burial site among you, so that I bury my dead from my presence.”

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

Kretzmann’s Commentary    I am a stranger and a sojourner with you; give me a possession of a burying-place with you that I may bury my dead out of my sight. That Abraham observed the usual period of mourning did not in any way conflict with his faith. Sarah had been his wife, a believer in the true God, in spite of all her weaknesses, the mother of all believing women. He had loved her dearly, as a faithful husband should, and she was his even in death. He now left the tent where Sarah lay in state, and appeared in the gate of the city, the customary assembling-place of the people, where all business was commonly transacted. The children of Heth, the Hittites, were living there, for Hebron was located in Hittite country, although not far from that of the Amorites on the west. As a stranger and a nomad in their midst he now negotiated for a burial-place, first of all for Sarah, his wife.

Lexham English Bible            "I [am] a stranger and an alien among you; give to me {my own burial site} among you so that I may bury my dead from before me.”

NET Bible®                             "I am a temporary settler [Heb "a resident alien and a settler."] among you. Grant [Heb "give," which is used here as an idiom for "sell" (see v. 9). The idiom reflects the polite bartering that was done in the culture at the time.] me ownership [Or "possession."] of a burial site among you so that I may [Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.] bury my dead [Heb "bury my dead out of my sight." The last phrase "out of my sight" has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.]."

The Voice                               Abraham: I am a stranger and an outsider living here among you. In my heartache, I am asking you please to allow me to obtain some property here among you as a grave site for my dead wife. This would allow me to give her a proper burial.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

American KJV                        I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burial plot with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

Concordant Literal Version    A sojourner and a settler am I with you. Give me a holding for a tomb with you, and I will entomb my dead from my face.

Context Group Version          I am a stranger and a sojourner with you { pl }. Give me a possession of a burying-place with you { pl }, that I may bury my dead out of my sight

English Standard Version      "I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."

LTHB                                     I am an alien and a visitor with you. Give to me a possession among you, so that I may bury my dead from before the eyes.

NASB                                     "I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site [Lit possession of a grave] among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight."

World English Bible                "I am a stranger and a foreigner living with you. Give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."

Young’s Updated LT             “A sojourner and a settler I am with you; give to me a possession of a burying-place with you, and I bury my dead from before me.”

The gist of this verse:          Abraham asks for a burial place among the Hittites.