Genesis 23:4

Genesis 23:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
• New International Version (NIV)“I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)"I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."
• New King James Version (NKJV)“I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

Context of Genesis 23:4

2Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3Then Abraham arose from mourning before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, “I am a stranger and a foreign resident among you; give me a burial site among you so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6“Hear us, my lord: you are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.”

Genesis 23:4 word by word

גֵּר־וְתוֹשָׁ֥ב אָנֹכִ֖י עִמָּכֶ֑ם תְּנ֨וּ לִ֤י אֲחֻזַּת־קֶ֙בֶר֙ עִמָּכֶ֔ם וְאֶקְבְּרָ֥ה מֵתִ֖י מִלְּפָנָֽי׃Read the interlinear

• a strangerגֵּרgêr gêyr · sojournerH1616
• and a foreignתּוֹשָׁבtôshâb tôshâb · sojournerH8453
• residentתּוֹשָׁבtôshâb tôshâb · sojournerH8453
• amongעִם‛im · withH5973
• giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• burialקֶ֫בֶרqeber qibrâh · graveH6913
• siteאֲחֻזָּה'ăchûzzâh · possessionH272
• you so that I may buryקָבַרqâbar · to buryH6912
• my deadמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• out of my sightפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440

Cross-references for Genesis 23:4

• Genesis 17:8And I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land where you live as a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
• Genesis 47:9So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my living abroad are 130; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their living abroad.”
• Leviticus 25:23‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, because the land is Mine; for you are only strangers and residents with Me.
• 1 Chronicles 29:15For we are strangers before You, and temporary residents, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope.
• Psalms 39:12“Hear my prayer, Lord, and listen to my cry for help; Do not be silent to my tears; For I am a stranger with You, One who lives abroad, like all my fathers.
• Psalms 105:12When they were only a few people in number, Very few, and strangers in it.
• Psalms 119:19I am a stranger on the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me.
• Hebrews 11:9By faith he lived as a stranger in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;
• 1 Peter 2:11Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul.
• Genesis 3:19By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, Until you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
• Genesis 49:30in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
• Genesis 50:13for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah opposite Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial site from Ephron the Hittite.
• Job 30:23For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house of meeting for all living.
• Ecclesiastes 6:3If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they may be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, then I say, “Better the miscarriage than he,
• Ecclesiastes 12:5Furthermore, people are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caper berry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home while the mourners move around in the street.
• Acts 7:5But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child.

Commentaries on Genesis 23:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4I am a stranger and a sojourner - It appears from Hebrews 11:13-16; 1 Peter 2:11, that these words refer more to the state of his mind than of his body. He felt that he had no certain dwelling place, and was seeking by faith a city that had foundations. Give me a possession of a burying place - It has been remarked that in different nations it was deemed ignominious to be buried in another's ground; probably this prevailed in early times in the east, and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-20Verses 1-20 - The Death of Sarah 2. ארבע קרית qı̂ryat -'arba‛ “Qirjath-arba, city of Arba.” ארבע 'arba‛ “Arba, four.” 8. עפרון ‛eprôn “Ephron, of the dust, or resembling a calf.” צחר tshochar “Tsochar, whiteness.” 9. מכפלה makpêlâh “Makpelah, doubled.” The death and burial of Sarah are here recorded. This occasions the purchase of the field of Makpelah, in the cave of which is her sepulchre. Genesis 23:1-2 Sarah is the only woman whose age is recorded…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4Abraham negotiated with local Hittite elders to buy land for a burial site. These Hittites had moved south to Canaan from the large Hittite empire in what is now Turkey (compare 10:15). Abraham was a foreigner and an outsider among them. But he trusted God's promise that he would eventually own the land.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-203. Abraham stood up, &c.--Eastern people are always provided with family burying-places; but Abraham's life of faith--his pilgrim state--had prevented him acquiring even so small a possession (Ac 7:5). spake unto the sons of Heth--He bespoke their kind offices to aid him in obtaining possession of a cave that belonged to Ephron--a wealthy neighbor.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 23:4

• Abraham
• Land

In the dictionaries

• Abraham
• Burial
• Cave
• Choice
• Cunning
• Field
• Hittites
• Machpelah
• Mourn
• Stranger

Commentaries on Genesis 23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings