Bible Strands
Genesis 49:30
The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jacob addresses his sons at the end of his life, giving final burial instructions before he is gathered to his people. He specifies the exact location where he must be laid to rest with his ancestors.
The words — The text identifies the cave (מְעָרָה, məʿārâ) situated within the field (שָׂדֶה, śādeh) on the face of Mamre. These terms anchor the burial site to its precise geographical coordinates in Canaan.
The thread — This location corresponds to the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial possession (Genesis 23:8; Genesis 23:16; Genesis 23:20). The narrative continuity confirms the site's established ownership and function across generations.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to verify that the patriarchal burial plot matches the land Abraham legally acquired. It demands recognition of how a purchased Canaanite field becomes the designated resting place for the family line.
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
In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
Cross-references
- Genesis 23:8 “If you are willing for me to bury my dead,” he said to them, “listen to me, and approach Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf
- Genesis 23:16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the standard of the merchants.
- Genesis 23:20 So the field and its cave were deeded by the Hittites to Abraham as a burial site.