The Book of
Genesis 23
20 verses≈ 3 min3 peopleBSB
Images are artistic interpretations.
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In this chapter
Where we are
- 1–11BeginningsCreation, fall, flood, Babel
- 12–24AbrahamThe call and the promiseChapter 23
- 25–36Isaac and JacobThe promise passed on
- 37–50JosephGod meant it for good
The Death and Burial of Sarah
Now Sarah lived to be 127 years old.
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She died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went out to mourn and to weep for her.
Stylised map · locations approximate
On the map
Beersheba to Hebron
After Moriah, Abraham had settled at Beersheba in the dry south. Sarah died about 25 miles to the north, in “Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan,” near the oaks of Mamre where Abraham had pitched his tent before.
Reflect
He wept for her
Abraham was a man of great faith, and when Sarah died he still “went out to mourn and to weep for her.” Faith doesn’t mean pretending a loss doesn’t hurt. Who are you grieving, or who do you miss today? Write their name, and one thing you are thankful to God for in them.
Abraham
Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.”
The Hittites replied to Abraham,
The Hittites
“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.”
I am a foreigner and an outsider among you.
Genesis 23:4
Pray
Strangers on the earth
God had promised Abraham the whole land, and yet he stood at the gate and said, “I am a foreigner and an outsider among you.” Christians live the same way: at home in God’s promises, not yet at home in the world. Ask God to keep your hope fixed on what He has promised, and to make you gracious and honest with the people around you while you wait.
Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites.
Abraham
“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 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.”
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,
Ephron the Hittite
“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.”
Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 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.”
Ephron answered Abraham, “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.”
0:22
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
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.
So the field and its cave were deeded by the Hittites to Abraham as a burial site.
All the land, and one field
Whiteboard
God promised Abraham the whole land. When Sarah died he owned none of it, so he bought one field and its cave “as a burial site.” Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all buried there still waiting, holding on to the promise and looking past it to a better country.
Question
Quick question
Ephron offered the field for nothing, but Abraham insisted on paying.
How much silver did Abraham weigh out for the field and the cave?
You’ve experienced
Genesis 23
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A verse to carry with you
I am a foreigner and an outsider among you.
Genesis 23:4
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