¹tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”
²tn Heb “Sarah.” The proper name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“she”) for stylistic reasons.
³sn Mourn…weep. The description here is of standard mourning rites (see K. A. Kitchen, “Burial and Mourning,” NBD3, 149-50). They would have been carried out in the presence of the corpse, probably in Sarah’s tent. So Abraham came in to mourn; then he rose up to go and bury his dead (v. 3).
⁴tn Heb “And Abraham arose from upon the face of his dead.”
⁵tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (also in vv. 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.
⁶tn Heb “a resident alien and a settler.”
⁷tn Heb “give,” which is used here as an idiom for “sell” (see v. 9). The idiom reflects the polite bartering that was done in the culture at the time.
⁸tn Or “possession.”
⁹tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose.
¹⁰tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
¹¹tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”
¹²tn Heb “Hear us, my lord.”
¹³tn Heb “prince of God.” The divine name may be used here as a means of expressing the superlative, “mighty prince.” The word for “prince” probably means “tribal chief” here. See M. H. Gottstein, “Nasi’ ‘elohim (Gen 23:6),” VT 3 (1953) 298-99; and D. W. Thomas, “Consideration of Some Unusual Ways of Expressing the Superlative in Hebrew,” VT 3 (1953) 215-16.
¹⁴tn The phrase “to prevent you” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
¹⁵tn Heb “to the people of the land” (also in v. 12).
¹⁶tn Heb “If it is with your purpose.” The Hebrew noun vp#n\ (n\p#v) here has the nuance “purpose” or perhaps “desire” (see BDB 661).
¹⁷tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
¹⁸tn Or “hear me.”
¹⁹tn Heb “intercede for me with.”
²⁰tn Heb “give.” This is used here (also a second time later in this verse) as an idiom for “sell”; see the note on the word “grant” in v. 4.
²¹tn Heb “in your presence.”
²²tn Heb “silver.”
²³tn Or perhaps “Hittite,” but see the note on the name “Heth” in v. 3.
²⁴tn Heb “ears.” By metonymy the “ears” stand for the presence or proximity (i.e., within earshot) of the persons named.
²⁵sn On the expression all who entered the gate see E. A. Speiser, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate,” BASOR 144 (1956): 20-23; and G. Evans, “‘Coming’ and ‘Going’ at the City Gate: A Discussion of Professor Speiser’s Paper,” BASOR 150 (1958): 28-33.
²⁶tn Heb “give.” The perfect tense has here a present nuance; this is a formal, legally binding declaration. Abraham asked only for a burial site/cave within the field; Ephron agrees to sell him the entire field.
²⁷tn The Hebrew text adds “to you I give [i.e., sell] it.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
²⁸tn Heb “in the presence of the sons of my people.”
²⁹tn Heb “give.”
³⁰tn Heb “silver.”
³¹tn After the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction expresses purpose or result.
³²tn The word “worth” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
³³sn Four hundred pieces of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 4.6 kilograms, or 160 ounces (about 10 pounds).
³⁴tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”
³⁵tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”
³⁶tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
³⁷tn Heb “silver.”
³⁸tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
³⁹tn Heb “passing for the merchant.” The final clause affirms that the measurement of silver was according to the standards used by the merchants of the time.
⁴⁰tn Heb “And it was conveyed.” The recipient, Abraham (mentioned in the Hebrew text at the beginning of v. 18) has been placed here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁴¹tn Heb “his city”; the referent (Ephron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
sn See G. M. Tucker, “The Legal Background of Genesis 23,” JBL 85 (1966):77-84; and M. R. Lehmann, “Abraham’s Purchase of Machpelah and Hittite Law,” BASOR 129 (1953):15-18.
⁴²tn Heb “possession of a grave.”