Bible Strands
Genesis 23:13
and said to Ephron in their presence, “If you will please listen to me, I will pay you the price of the field. Accept it from me, so that I may bury my dead there.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Abraham addresses Ephron publicly after bowing to the people of the land and before Ephron replies. He speaks to secure legal burial rights for his deceased wife.
The words — וַיְדַבֵּר (va/y.da.Ber) means "and he spoke," and אַךְ ('akh) translates literally as "nevertheless" or "only," marking his firm insistence on payment. These terms anchor his direct negotiation with Ephron amid witnesses.
The thread — The commitment to pay a fair price parallels Abraham’s vow to the king of Sodom in Genesis 14:22 and David’s refusal to offer costless sacrifices in 2 Samuel 24:24, while the obligation to meet financial duties aligns with Romans 13:8.
Why it lands — The text explicitly records Abraham’s offer to pay the field’s price so he may bury his dead, establishing that sacred transactions require full compensation. A reader must apply this by honoring material and social obligations rather than seeking unearned transfers.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.
Cross-references
- Romans 13:8 Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
- Genesis 14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
- 2 Samuel 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.
- Acts 20:35 In everything, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
- Philippians 4:5 Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near.
- Colossians 4:5 Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time.
- Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”