Genesis 23: The Death of Sarah - Diary of a Christian

Genesis 23

¹Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. ²She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

³Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said,

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⁴“I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”

⁵The Hittites replied to Abraham, ⁶“Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

⁷Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. ⁸He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf ⁹so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”

¹⁰Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. ¹¹“No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”

¹²Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land ¹³and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”

¹⁴Ephron answered Abraham, 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.”

¹⁶Abraham 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 weight current among the merchants.

¹⁷So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded ¹⁸to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. ¹⁹Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

Genesis 23 (NIV)

Sarah, Abraham’s wife of many many years, dies at 127 at Kiriath Arba in Canaan. As you can imagine, this was not easy for Abraham, he mourned and wept over her.

The Hitites made a generous offer to Abraham, to offer him any piece of property he wanted for free so that he could bury his dead wife. This was an act of appreciation and honour for Abraham who they considered very highly.

Generous as their offer was, Abraham insisted on paying full price for the property that would serve as a burial site.

Discussion: dealing with grief

Grief manifests itself in different ways for different individuals. Losing a loved one is never an easy thing to deal with. If you are currently in a period of mourning, here are some Bible verses to comfort you:

Psalm 34:18 – “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Matthew 5:4 – “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
Revelation 21:4 – “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Psalm 147:3 – “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Isaiah 41:10 – “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
1 Peter 5:7 – “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Psalms 30:5 – “…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

Prayer

Father, you are my comforter. Thank you for always being with me no matter what I am going through. I may not always see the picture but I trust that you are in control. Let your peace fill my heart every day. In Jesus name, amen.