“No, my lord, hear me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the children of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.”
Parallel Translations
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“No, my lord, hear me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the children of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.”
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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.
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'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.'
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to Genesis 23:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Luke 19:24 He said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to him who has the ten minas.’
- Isaiah 32:8 But the noble devises noble things; and he will continue in noble things.
- Genesis 23:6 “Hear us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb. Bury your dead.”
- Genesis 23:18 to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.
- Numbers 35:30 “ ‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain based on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify alone against any person so that he dies.
- Deuteronomy 17:6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death. At the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
- Deuteronomy 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin that he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.
- Ruth 4:1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there. Behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by. Boaz said to him, “Come over here, friend, and sit down!” He came over, and sat down.
- Ruth 4:4 I thought I should tell you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who sit here, and before the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know. For there is no one to redeem it besides you; and I am after you.” He said, “I will redeem it.”
- Ruth 4:9 Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, “You are witnesses today, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi.
- Ruth 4:11 All the people who were in the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May Yahweh make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, which both built the house of Israel; and treat you worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem.
- 2 Samuel 24:20-24 Araunah looked out, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. Then Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy your threshing floor, to build an altar to Yahweh, that the plague may be stopped from afflicting the people.” Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Behold, the cattle for the burnt offering, and the threshing instruments and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. All this, O king, does Araunah give to the king.” Araunah said to the king, “May Yahweh your God accept you.” The king said to Araunah, “No; but I will most certainly buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to Yahweh my God which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
- 1 Chronicles 21:22-24 Then David said to Ornan, “Give me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar to Yahweh on it. You shall sell it to me for the full price, that the plague may be stopped from afflicting the people.” Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes. Behold, I give the oxen for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal offering. I give it all.” King David said to Ornan, “No; but I will most certainly buy it for the full price. For I will not take that which is yours for Yahweh, nor offer a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”
- Jeremiah 32:7-12 ‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field that is in Anathoth; for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.” ’ ” “So Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard according to Yahweh’s word, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours. Buy it for yourself.’ “Then I knew that this was Yahweh’s word. I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, called witnesses, and weighed the money in the balances to him. So I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, containing the terms and conditions, and that which was open; and I delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the guard.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 11. Hear me. Although Ephron earnestly insisted upon giving…
11. Hear me. Although Ephron earnestly insisted upon giving the field freely to Abraham, the holy man adheres to his purpose, and at length compels him, by his entreaties, to sell the field. Ephron, in excusing himself, says that the price was too small for Abraham to insist upon giving; yet he estimates it at four hundred shekels. Now, since Josephus says that the shekel of the sanctuary was worth four Attic drachms, if he is speaking of these, we gather from the computation of Budaeus that the price of the field was about two hundred and fifty pounds of French money; if we understand the common shekel, it will be half that amount. Abraham was not so scrupulous but that he would have received a greater gift, if there had not been a sufficient reason to prevent him. He had been presented with considerable gifts both by the king of Egypt and the king of Gerar, but he observed this rule; that he would neither receive all things, nor in all places, nor from all persons. And I have lately explained, that he bought the field, in order that he might not possess a foot of land, by the gift of any man.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 23:11 Nay, my lord, hear me: the field…
Gen 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.
Ver. 11. The field give I thee, &c.] A brave speech of a bountiful spirit, to a stranger especially; and in that respect beyond that of Araunah the noble Jebusite to David, his liege lord; "All these things did Araunah as a king give to the king". {2Sa 24:23} Indeed, to give is a kingly employment; making men like to "the Father of lights, from whom comes every good gift and perfect giving". {Jas 1:17} Kings are styled benefactors; {a} and of the ancient kings of Egypt it is recorded, and was rehearsed among other of their praises, that they were ευμεταδοτοι, και κοινωνικοι, "willing to distribute, ready to communicate," which are the apostle’s two words in 1Ti 6:18. Cyrus took more delight in giving than possessing, as his soldiers could say of him in Xenophon. {b} It is not only better, but sweeter to do good, than to receive good, said Epicurus. {c} It is a "more blessed" thing, saith our Saviour. Titus would say, when he had done no good, he had lost a day: et molestius erat Severo Imperatori nihil peti, quam dare . Our General Norrice, like that Bishop of Lincoln, never thought he had that thing, which he did not give. Few such now-a-days.
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{a} ευεργεκαι. - Diodor. Sic., lib. i. {Luk 22:25}
{b} Dιδους μαλλον η κτωμενος ηδεται
{c} του ευ παχειν το ευ ποιειν, ου καλλιον μονον αλλα κια ηδιον. - Epicur.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Nay, my lord, hear me,.... Or not so, my…
Nay, my lord, hear me,.... Or not so, my lord, as Aben Ezra paraphrases it; not that he denied his request entirely, or refused him the cave at any rate, but that he should not buy it of him, he would give it to him, and therefore he desires he would hear what he had to say further:
the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein I give it thee; which was more than Abraham asked to purchase; he only desired to have the cave, which lay in one corner of the field, but Ephron proposes both to give him the cave, and the field also:
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in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee; both field and cave; three times he says, "I give it thee", to show that he freely gave it, and that Abraham was welcome to it, and for the confirmation of the grant:
bury thy dead; in the cave, at once, immediately, without any more ado.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The field give I thee - Abraham thought he…
The field give I thee - Abraham thought he must be intreated to sell it, but upon the first mention, without intreaty, he freely gives it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 23:11. The field I give thee — Thus…
Gen 23:11. The field I give thee — Thus Ephron manifests his generosity. So far was he from needing to be entreated to sell it, that, upon the first mention, he freely gives it. In the presence of my people — Grants, or contracts, were then made before all the people, or their representatives. And the gates of cities were in those days, and for many centuries after, the places of judicature and common resort, for transacting business. We may observe that Abraham finds favour in the sight of every people wherever he goes. And we need not wonder at this, considering of what a noble, candid, upright, and generous character he was. Undoubtedly, however, the peculiar favour he found among all people was chiefly owing to the providence of God: for the Scriptures always teach us to ascribe our finding favour with men to the divine blessing.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Ephron answered, Nay, my lord, &c.--Here is a great…
Ephron answered, Nay, my lord, &c.--Here is a great show of generosity, but it was only a show; for while Abraham wanted only the cave, he joins "the field and the cave"; and though he offered them both as free gifts, he, of course, expected some costly presents in return, without which, he would not have been satisfied. The patriarch, knowing this, wished to make a purchase and asked the terms.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 11. Give I thee — Three times over this…
11. Give I thee — Three times over this princely son of Zohar offers to give field, cave, and all. And yet, doubtless, like the modern sheik, he would expect a splendid present in return, or, by his show of kindness and profuse liberality, prevent Abraham from objecting to his price when once named.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. the field give I thee, &c.] As in…
11. the field give I thee, &c.] As in Gen_23:6, we have here the complimentary style of bargaining. Observe the successive stages: Abraham in Gen_23:9 asks to buy the cave only; Ephron in Gen_23:11 offers to give the whole field and the cave in it for nothing; Abraham in Gen_23:13 offers to pay for the field; Ephron in Gen_23:15 mentions the price for the land; Abraham in Gen_23:16 duly pays for the field and the cave (Gen_23:17).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11) The field give I thee.—Only the cave had!…
(11) The field give I thee.—Only the cave had! been mentioned, but for its quiet possession the land around was necessary. In the thrice repeated “give I it thee,” there is the same courtly idea as in Gen_23:6, that they were not buying and selling, but making mutual presents.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I…
Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee an Oriental mode of expressing willingness to sell. Ephron would make a present of cave and field to the patriarch, just so have I had a hundred houses, and fields, and horses given to me" ("Land and Book," p. 578), the design being either to obtain a valuable compensation in return, or to preclude any abatement in the price (Keil), though possibly the offer to sell the entire field when he might have secured a good price for the cave alone was an indication of Ephron"s good intention (Lange). At least it seems questionable to conclude that Ephron"s generous phrases, which have now become formal and hollow courtesies indeed, meant no more in that simpler age when the ceremonies of intercourse were newer, and more truly reflected its spirit (Dykes, "Abraham, the Friend of God," p. 287). In the presence of the ions of my people give I it thee (literally, have I given, the transaction being viewed as finished): bury thy dead.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 23:11 Ephron did not intend to give the cave…
23:11 Ephron did not intend to give the cave to Abraham; Abraham was expected to “give” the full price in return. Ephron wanted to sell as much as he could to avoid responsibility for caring for the cave and to receive as high a price as possible.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.