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Genesis

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Sarah's Death and Burial

Chapter 23

1 Sarah lived 127 years. 2 Then she died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife and said to the sons of Heth, 4 “I am a foreign resident, a temporary settler,⁠ among you. Grant me ownership of a burial site among you so that I may bury my dead.” 5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, 6 “Listen, sir, you are a mighty prince among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you from burying your dead.” 7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, the sons of Heth. 8 Then he said to them, “If you agree that I may bury my dead, then hear me out. Ask Ephron the son of Zohar 9 if he will sell me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly for the full price, so that I may own it as a burial site.” 10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hittite replied to Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth—before all who entered the gate of his city— 11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell you both the field and the cave that is in it. In the presence of my people I sell it to you. Bury your dead.” 12 Abraham bowed before the local people 13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay to you the price of the field. Take it from me so that I may bury my dead there.” 14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth 400 pieces of silver, but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.” 16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price and weighed out for him the price that Ephron had quoted in the hearing of the sons of Heth—400⁠ pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. 17 So Abraham secured Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. 19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron)⁠ in the land of Canaan. 20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site from the sons of Heth.

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 23:19 and Jubilees 19:5

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions

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Summary

Genesis tells how Abraham buys a field with its cave from the Hittites for 400 silver pieces to bury Sarah. Jubilees retells this narrative, calling the site the double cave and describing the negotiation as a test of Abraham.

Passages

Genesis 23:19

Hebrew Bible
17 So Abraham secured Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. 19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site from the sons of Heth.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Jubilees 19:5

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
4 For in patience of spirit he spoke with the children of Heth, so that they should give him a place in which to bury his dead. 5 And the Lord gave him grace before all who saw him, and he gently pleaded with the sons of Heth, and they gave him the land of the double cave opposite Mamre, that is Hebron, for four hundred pieces of silver. 6 And they urged him saying, We shall give it to you for nothing; but he would not take it from their hands for nothing, for he gave the price of the place, the money in full, and he bowed down before them twice, and after this he buried his dead in the double cave.
170–125 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jubilees

References

... Very little of the detailed account remains in Jubilees, not even the courteous, honorific titles the Hittites use in addressing Abraham or the name of the man who sold the field—Ephron the Hittite. There are several instances in which Jubilees mentions just one time what Genesis, which distinguishes the stages in the negotiation, expresses twice. 19:4: He spoke with the Hittites . . . so that they would give him a place in which to bury his dead: see Genesis 23:3-4 (with the Hittites), 8-9 and 13 (with Ephron). 19:5: The verse takes up elements from Genesis 23:9, 11, 19 (Machpelah), 15-16 (four hundred shekels of silver). 19:6: They wanted to give it to Abraham free of charge (Genesis 23:6, 11), but he insisted on paying the full price (verses 9, 13). He bowed twice (Genesis 23:7, 12). The writer does reproduce the fact that Abraham approached the Hittites in a patient fashion to acquire a burial plot, and he was able to infer from Genesis that they received him favorably. Jubilees 19:5 describes the burial plot in language drawn from Genesis 23:19. ...
James C. VanderKam, Jubilees 1: A Commentary on the Book of Jubilees Chapters 1–21 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2018), 587–589.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 23:19 and Jubilees 19:5

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