BibleInTonguesWEB
Genesis 23
Sarah dies at 127 in Kiriath Arba (Hebron), and Abraham, a resident foreigner, has no ground to bury her. The whole chapter is one negotiation: he seeks the cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite, conducted publicly at the city gate. Watch the courtesy of bargaining, the Hittites call him "a prince of God," Ephron offers the field for free, and Abraham insists on paying the full price, four hundred shekels weighed out. It is the first patch of the Promised Land he actually owns.
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Sarah lived one hundred twenty-seven years. This was the length of Sarah’s life.
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Sarah died in Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron), in the land of Canaan. Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
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Abraham rose up from before his dead and spoke to the children of Heth, saying,
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“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.”
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The children of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,
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“Hear 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.”
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Abraham rose up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, to the children of Heth.
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He talked with them, saying, “If you agree that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,
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that he may sell me the cave of Machpelah, which he has, which is in the end of his field. For the full price let him sell it to me among you as a possession for a burial place.”
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Now Ephron was sitting in the middle of the children of Heth. Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the children of Heth, even of all who went in at the gate of his city, saying,
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“No, my lord, hear 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.”
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Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land.
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He spoke to Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, “But if you will, please hear me. I will give the price of the field. Take it from me, and I will bury my dead there.”
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Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,
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“My lord, listen to me. What is a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver between me and you? Therefore bury your dead.”
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Abraham listened to Ephron. Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the current merchants’ standard.
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So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, 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
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to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.
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After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (that is, Hebron), in the land of Canaan.
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The field, and the cave that is in it, were deeded to Abraham by the children of Heth as a possession for a burial place.
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Sara viveu cento e vinte e sete anos. Esta foi a duração da vida de Sara.
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Sara morreu em Quiriate-Arba (também chamada Hebrom), na terra de Canaã. Abraão veio para lamentar por Sara e chorar por ela.
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Abraão levantou-se de diante da sua morta e falou aos filhos de Hete, dizendo:
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“Sou estrangeiro e peregrino vivendo entre vocês. Deem-me a propriedade de um lugar de sepultamento entre vocês, para que eu possa sepultar a minha morta e tirá-la de diante dos meus olhos.”
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Os filhos de Hete responderam a Abraão, dizendo-lhe:
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“Ouça-nos, meu senhor. O senhor é um príncipe de Deus entre nós. Sepulte a sua morta no melhor dos nossos túmulos. Nenhum de nós lhe negará o seu túmulo. Sepulte a sua morta.”
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Abraão levantou-se e curvou-se diante do povo da terra, os filhos de Hete.
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Ele falou com eles, dizendo: “Se vocês concordam que eu sepulte a minha morta de diante dos meus olhos, ouçam-me, e intercedam por mim junto a Efrom, filho de Zoar,
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para que ele me venda a caverna de Macpela, que lhe pertence, que está na extremidade do seu campo. Pelo preço total, que ele a venda a mim entre vocês como propriedade para um lugar de sepultamento.”
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Ora, Efrom estava sentado no meio dos filhos de Hete. Efrom, o heteu, respondeu a Abraão aos ouvidos dos filhos de Hete, de todos os que entravam pela porta da sua cidade, dizendo:
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“Não, meu senhor, ouça-me. Eu lhe dou o campo, e lhe dou a caverna que nele está. Na presença dos filhos do meu povo eu a dou ao senhor. Sepulte a sua morta.”
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Abraão curvou-se diante do povo da terra.
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Ele falou a Efrom aos ouvidos do povo da terra, dizendo: “Mas, se o senhor quiser, por favor, ouça-me. Eu darei o preço do campo. Aceite-o de mim, e eu sepultarei a minha morta ali.”
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Efrom respondeu a Abraão, dizendo-lhe:
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“Meu senhor, escute-me. O que é um pedaço de terra no valor de quatrocentos siclos de prata entre mim e o senhor? Portanto, sepulte a sua morta.”
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Abraão ouviu a Efrom. Abraão pesou para Efrom a prata que ele havia mencionado aos ouvidos dos filhos de Hete, quatrocentos siclos de prata, de acordo com o peso corrente entre os mercadores.
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Assim, o campo de Efrom, que estava em Macpela, que ficava em frente a Manre, o campo, a caverna que nele estava, e todas as árvores que estavam no campo, que estavam em todos os seus limites, foram transferidos
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para Abraão como propriedade na presença dos filhos de Hete, diante de todos os que entravam pela porta da sua cidade.
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Depois disso, Abraão sepultou Sara, sua mulher, na caverna do campo de Macpela, em frente a Manre (isto é, Hebrom), na terra de Canaã.
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O campo, e a caverna que nele está, foram transferidos pelos filhos de Hete para Abraão como propriedade para um lugar de sepultamento.
Buying a grave in a promised land
The irony is sharp: God has pledged Abraham the whole land, yet here he must purchase a single field to bury his wife, paying "four hundred shekels of silver" (v.16) at the merchants' standard.
The legal precision, field, cave, and every tree deeded before witnesses at the gate, marks Machpelah as the family's permanent foothold, the tomb later holding Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
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