Bible Strands
Genesis 23:20
So the field and its cave were deeded by the Hittites to Abraham as a burial site.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator concludes the account of Abraham securing a permanent plot of land to bury his wife Sarah. This legal transfer occurs immediately after Abraham pays the full price to the Hittites.
The words — The text emphasizes וַיָּקָם (va-yakom), meaning "and it was confirmed," and אֲחֻזַּת קֶבֶר (achuzat qever), literally "a possession of a burial site." These terms denote a finalized, permanent legal deed rather than a temporary lease.
The thread — This formalized transfer parallels ancient property customs documented in Ruth 4:7 and Jeremiah 32:10, where deeds are sealed and witnessed. The same Machpelah field later serves as the burial place for Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Ishmael, as recorded in Genesis 25:9.
Why it lands — The verse demonstrates that covenant promises advance through concrete, legally binding human agreements. It requires the reader to acknowledge that sacred inheritance often proceeds through ordinary, documented transactions rather than supernatural intervention.
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 the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.
Cross-references
- Ruth 4:7 Now 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.
- Jeremiah 32:10 I signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales.
- Genesis 25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.
- Genesis 49:31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah.
- Genesis 50:5 my 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.”
- Genesis 50:13 They 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.
- Genesis 50:24 Then 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.”
- 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.
- 2 Kings 21:18 And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. And his son Amon reigned in his place.