Then, leaving her body, he said to the Hittite elders,
Parallel translations
- WEB Abraham rose up from before his dead, and spoke to the children of Heth, saying,
- KJV And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,
- BSB Then Abraham got up from beside his dead wife and said to the Hittites,
- NKJV Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,
- NASB Then Abraham arose from mourning before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,
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
Abraham rises from beside Sarah's body to speak with the Hittites about a burial place. He turns from mourning to the responsible task of burying his dead.
Overview
Abraham approaches the local Hittites to secure a proper grave. His careful, courteous dealing models honoring the dead and acting with integrity among neighbors. The negotiation that follows will give him his first owned foothold in the promised land.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Gen 10:15Canaan became the father of Sidon (his firstborn), Heth,
- Gen 49:30in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place.
- 1 Sam 26:6Then David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?” Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”
- Gen 23:7Abraham rose up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.
- Gen 23:5The children of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,
- Gen 27:46Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good will my life do me?”
- 2 Sam 23:39and Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.
- Gen 25:10the field which Abraham purchased of the children of Heth. Abraham was buried there with Sarah, his wife.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 23:3 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.