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Genesis 23:3

23:2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,

KJV

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Abraham rose up from before his dead, and spoke to the children of Heth, saying,

And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,

And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,

23:4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

What does Genesis 23:3 mean?

Genesis 23:3 is a verse in the book of Genesis, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include אַבְרָהָם (ʼAbrâhâm), קוּם (qûwm), פָּנִים (pânîym). It connects to 8 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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And
AbrahamאַבְרָהָםʼAbrâhâm/ab-raw-hawm'/H85Abraham, the later name of Abram
stood
upקוּםqûwm/koom/H6965to rise (in various applications, literal, figurative, intensive and causative)
from
beforeפָּנִיםpânîym/paw-neem'/H6440the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.)
his
dead,מוּתmûwth/mooth/H4191to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill
and
spakeדָבַרdâbar/daw-bar'/H1696perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
unto
the
sonsבֵּןbên/bane/H1121a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
of
Heth,חֵתChêth/khayth/H2845Cheth, an aboriginal Canaanite
saying,אָמַרʼâmar/aw-mar'/H559to say (used with great latitude)

Commentary on Genesis 23:3

HENRY_FULL · Genesis 23:3–4
of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. We have here, 1. Sarah's age, v. 1 . Almost forty years before, she had called herself old, ch. xviii. 12 . Old people will die never the sooner, but may die the better, for reckoning themselves old. 2. Her death, v. 2 . The longest liver must die at last. Abraham and Sarah had lived comfortably together many years; but death parts those whom nothing else could part. The special friends and favourites of Heaven are not exempted from the stroke of death. She died in the land of Canaan, where she had been above sixty years a sojourner. 3. Abraham's mourning for her; and he was a true mourner. He did not only perform the ceremonies of mourning according to the custom of those time, as the mourners that go about the streets, but he did sincerely lament the great loss he had of a good wife, and gave proof of the constancy of his affection to her to the last. Two words are used: he came both to mourn and to weep. His sorrow was not counterfeit, but real. He came to her tent, and sat down by the corpse, there to pay the tribute of his tears, that his eye might affect his heart, and that he might pay the greater respect to the memory of her that was gone. Note, It is not only lawful, but it is a duty, to lament the death of our near relations, both in compliance with the providence of God, who thus calls to weeping and mourning, and in honour to those to whom honour is due. Tears are a tribute due to our deceased friends. When a body is sown, it must be watered. But we must not sorrow as those that have no hope; for we have a good hope through grace both concerning them and concerning ourselves. The Cave of Machpelah. ( b. c. 1857.) 3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, 4 I am a stranger and

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Genesis 10:15

And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, Sidon: Heb. Tzidon

Genesis 23:5

And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,

Genesis 23:7

And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.

Genesis 25:10

The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

Genesis 27:46

And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

Genesis 49:30

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.

1 Samuel 26:6

Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.

2 Samuel 23:39

Uriah the Hittite: thirty and seven in all.

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Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Genesis 23:3.

Genesis 18:16

And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

Genesis 1:20

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. moving: or, creeping life: Heb. soul fowl: Heb. let fowl fly open: Heb. face of the firmament of heaven

Genesis 1:29

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. bearing: Heb. seeding seed yielding: Heb. seeding seed

Genesis 11:28

And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

Genesis 17:17

Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

Genesis 17:18

And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

Genesis 17:22

And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

Genesis 17:23

And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

Frequently asked questions

What does Genesis 23:3 say?

Genesis 23:3 (King James Version) reads: "And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,"

Is Genesis 23:3 in the Old or New Testament?

Genesis 23:3 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Genesis.

Who wrote the book of Genesis?

The book of Genesis is traditionally attributed to Moses.

Reflect

As you read Genesis 23:3, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

Plan a sermon or study on Genesis 23:3
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