Bible/Genesis/23

Genesis 23:4

23:3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,
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.

KJV

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“I am a stranger and a foreigner living with you. Give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

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.

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

23:5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,

What does Genesis 23:4 mean?

Genesis 23:4 is a verse in the book of Genesis, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include גֵּר (gêr), תּוֹשָׁב (tôwshâb), נָתַן (nâthan). It connects to 16 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

Full chapter interlinear →
I
am
a
strangerגֵּרgêr/gare/H1616properly, a guest; by implication, a foreigner
and
a
sojournerתּוֹשָׁבtôwshâb/to-shawb'/H8453resident alien
with
you:
giveנָתַןnâthan/naw-than'/H5414to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.)
me
a
possessionאֲחֻזָּהʼăchuzzâh/akh-ooz-zaw'/H272something seized, i.e. a possession (especially of land)
of
a
buryingplaceקֶבֶרqeber/keh'-ber/H6913a sepulchre
with
you,
that
I
may
buryקָבַרqâbar/kaw-bar'/H6912to inter
my
deadמוּתmûwth/mooth/H4191to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill
out
of
my
sight.פָּנִיםpânîym/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.)

Commentary on Genesis 23:4

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 3:19

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Genesis 17:8

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. wherein: Heb. of thy sojournings

Genesis 23:19

And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 47:9

And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

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.

Genesis 50:13

For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

1 Chronicles 29:15

For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. abiding: Heb. expectation

Job 30:23

For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.

Psalms 39:12

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

Ecclesiastes 6:3

If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.

Ecclesiastes 12:5

Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

Ecclesiastes 12:7

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Acts 7:5

And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

Hebrews 11:9

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

Hebrews 11:13

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. in faith: Gr. according to faith

1 Peter 2:11

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

Topics

AbrahamLandPilgrims and Strangers

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Genesis 23:4.

Genesis 23:11

Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.

Genesis 23:13

And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.

Genesis 23:6

Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. a mighty: Heb. a prince of God

Genesis 23:9

That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you. as much: Heb. full money

Genesis 50:13

For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

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 17:8

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. wherein: Heb. of thy sojournings

Frequently asked questions

What does Genesis 23:4 say?

Genesis 23:4 (King James Version) reads: "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."

Is Genesis 23:4 in the Old or New Testament?

Genesis 23:4 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 23:4, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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