Parashah 5: Hayyei-Sarah ·Life of Sarah [Princess]· 23:1-25:18
23
1 Sarah [Princess] lived one hundred twenty-seven years. This was the length of Sarah [Princess]’s life. 2 Sarah [Princess] died in Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron), in the land of Canaan [Humbled]. Abraham [Father of a multitude] came to mourn for Sarah [Princess], and to weep for her. 3 Abraham [Father of a multitude] rose up from before his dead, and spoke to the children of Heth [Trembling fear], saying, 4 “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.”
5 The children of Heth [Trembling fear] answered Abraham [Father of a multitude], saying to him, 6 “Sh'ma ·hear obey· us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb. Bury your dead.”
7 Abraham [Father of a multitude] rose up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth [Trembling fear]. 8 He talked with them, saying, “If you agree that I should bury my dead out of my sight, sh'ma ·hear obey· me, and entreat for me to Ephron [Fawn-like] the son of Zohar, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah [Double], which he has, which is in the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me among you for a possession of a burying-place.”
10 Now Ephron [Fawn-like] was sitting in the middle of the children of Heth [Trembling fear]. Ephron [Fawn-like] the Hittite [Descendant of Trembling fear] answered Abraham [Father of a multitude] in the hearing of the children of Heth [Trembling fear], even of all who went in at the gate of his city, saying, 11 “No, my lord, sh'ma ·hear obey· me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the children of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.”
12 Abraham [Father of a multitude] bowed himself down before the people of the land. 13 He spoke to Ephron [Fawn-like] in the audience of the people of the land, saying, “But if you will, please sh'ma ·hear obey· me. I will give the price of the field. Take it from me, and I will bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron [Fawn-like] answered Abraham [Father of a multitude], saying to him, 15 “My lord, sh'ma ·hear obey· unto me. What is a piece of land worth four hundred shekels [10 lb; 4.54 kg] of silver between me and you? Therefore bury your dead.”
16 Abraham [Father of a multitude] sh'ma ·heard obeyed· to Ephron [Fawn-like]. Abraham [Father of a multitude] weighed to Ephron [Fawn-like] the silver which he had named in the audience of the children of Heth [Trembling fear], four hundred shekels [10 lb; 4.54 kg] of silver, according to the current merchants’ standard [where one shekel is 0.4 oz; 11.34 g].
(2) 17 So the field of Ephron [Fawn-like], which was in Machpelah [Double], which was before Mamre [Bitter, Fatness], the field, the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all of its borders, were deeded 18 to Abraham [Father of a multitude] for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth [Trembling fear], before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham [Father of a multitude] buried Sarah [Princess] his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah [Double] before Mamre [Bitter, Fatness] (that is, Hebron), in the land of Canaan [Humbled]. 20 The field, and the cave that is in it, were deeded to Abraham [Father of a multitude] for a possession of a burying place by the children of Heth [Trembling fear].
* 23:4 . Quoted in Heb 11:13; 1 Pet 2:11