So the field and its cave were deeded by the Hittites to Abraham as a burial site.
Parallel translations
- WEB The field, and the cave that is in it, were deeded to Abraham for a possession of a burying place by the children of Heth.
- KJV And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.
- NKJV So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.
- NASB So the field and the cave that was in it were deeded over to Abraham for a burial site by the sons of Heth.
- NLT So the field and the cave were transferred from the Hittites to Abraham for use as a permanent burial place.
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
The field and cave are confirmed as Abraham's possession from the Hittites. The chapter closes by stressing the secure, legal ownership of this burial ground.
Overview
The repeated confirmation of the deed underscores that this is now Abraham's rightful possession. It is the only land he ever owned in Canaan, yet it anchors the covenant hope in the soil itself. The purchased grave stands as a pledge of the inheritance God will fulfill for his descendants.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jer 32:10–14I signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales.
- Ruth 4:7–10Now in former times in Israel, concerning the redemption or exchange of property, to make any matter legally binding a man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party, and this was a confirmation in Israel.
- 2 Kgs 21:18And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. And his son Amon reigned in his place.
- Gen 50:13They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
- Gen 50:24–25Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
- Gen 25:9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.
- Gen 49:31–32There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah.
- 2 Sam 24:24“No,” replied the king, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
- Gen 50:5my father made me swear an oath when he said, ‘I am about to die. You must bury me in the tomb that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Now let me go and bury my father, and then return.”
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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 23:20 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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