My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
Parallel translations
- WEB “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.”
- BSB “Listen to me, my lord. The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
- NKJV “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.”
- NASB “My lord, listen to me: a plot of land worth four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
- NLT “My lord, please listen to me. The land is worth 400 pieces of silver, but what is that between friends? Go ahead and bury your dead.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Ephron names the field's worth at four hundred shekels of silver, framing it as a trifle between friends. He states a substantial price while maintaining polite manners.
Overview
Ephron downplays the sizable sum of four hundred shekels as if it were nothing between them, in keeping with bargaining etiquette. The amount was significant, yet Abraham does not haggle. He pays in full to secure the burial site beyond all dispute.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Ezek 45:12And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh.
- Exod 30:13This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD.
- Exod 30:15The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 23:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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