Bible Strands
Genesis 23:15
“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.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Ephron the Hittite addresses Abraham, finalizing the negotiation for the field of Machpelah and directing him to complete the burial.
The words — אֲדֹנִ֣י ('a.do.N/i) translates literally as "my lord" and שְׁמָעֵ֔נִי (she.ma.'E./ni) means "listen to me," framing the exchange as a direct appeal to authority during a commercial transaction.
The thread — The measured weight of four hundred shekels of silver connects to later biblical monetary standards outlined in Exodus 30:13 and Ezekiel 45:12.
Why it lands — The text requires recognition of a settled price and the immediate, unadorned execution of burial duties without further negotiation.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 45:12 The shekel will consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels will equal one mina.
- Exodus 30:13 Everyone who crosses over to those counted must pay a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD.
- Exodus 30:15 In making the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives, the rich shall not give more than a half shekel, nor shall the poor give less.