OET-RV GEN Chapter 23

23 Sarah went on to be 127 years old 2 when she died in the city of Kiryat-Arba (now called Hevron) in the Kena’an (Canaan) region. Avraham went in by her bed to weep and mourn for her.

3 After a time, Avraham got up from beside his dead wife and he spoke to the Hitim, requesting, 4 “I’m a foreigner and just staying among you. Give me property for a burial place on your land so that I can bury my dead wife.”[ref]

5 Those descendants of Het replied to Avraham, telling him, 6 “My master, listen to us. You’re a godly leader among us. Go ahead and bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. We’ve all agreed not to prevent you from burying your dead in any of our cemeteries.”

7 Then Avraham stood and bowed to the Hitim who were the land-owners, 8 and asked them, “Since you’re all allowing me to bury my dead, listen to me and intercede for me with Tsohar’s son Efron, 9 so that he’ll sell me Makpelah’s cave which belongs to him and which is at the end of his field. I’ll pay full price if he’ll give it to me to use as a burial place.”

10 Now Efron (a Hiti) was sitting there among Het’s other descendants, so he responded to Avraham while the other land-owners were listening, along with everyone else at the city gate, 11 “No, my master. Listen to me: I’ll give you the field and the cave that’s in it. I give it to you in front of all these others, then you can bury your dead.”

12 Then Avraham bowed before the people of the land, 13 and he told Efron while all the others were listening, “But if you would, please listen to me. I’ll pay the value of the field. Accept it from me, then I’ll bury my dead there.”

14 Efron responded to Avraham, 15 “My master, listen to me. That land’s worth 400 shekels of silver, but that’s nothing between me and you. Just go ahead and bury your dead.” 16 So Avraham accepted Efron’s words and weighed out for Efron the price that he had mentioned in the hearing of Het’s descendants: 400 shekels of silver (the currency among the merchants).

17 So Efron’s field that was in Makpelah which faced Mamre (including the field and the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field that was within all of its surrounding borders) was deeded 18 to Avraham as the new owner as witnessed by Het’s descendants and everyone else who had come to the city gate. 19 Then after that, Avraham laid the body of his wife Sarah to rest in the cave in Makpelah’s field facing Mamre (also called Hevron, in the Kena’an (Canaan) region). 20 So the field was deeded as property to Avraham by Het’s descendants, including the cave in it for a burial place.