Genesis 23:9 KJV

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 23:3-16

Typically ancient Near Easterners buried family members in their native land. [Note: Ross, "Genesis," p. 66.] Abraham’s desire to bury Sarah in the Promised Land shows that he had turned his back on Mesopotamia forever (Genesis 23:4). Canaan was his adopted homeland.God had made Abraham a powerful person, which his neighbors acknowledged (Genesis 23:6). [Note: On Abraham as a "mighty prince," see Wiseman, "Abraham . . . Part II: Abraham the Prince," pp. 228-37.] "Abraham has put himself at the... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 23:1-20

Death of Sarah and Purchase of the Buryingplace of Machpelah by AbrahamThis section is from the Priestly source and dwells on the legal transaction.2. Came] rather, ’went in,’ perhaps from his own tent to that of Sarah. 3. Stood up from before his dead] To sit upon the ground was the posture of mourning: cp. Job 2:13. Sons of Heth] i.e. the Hittites: see on Genesis 10:15.6. After true Eastern custom, there was excessive courtesy in the transaction, but a large sum was in the end required. ’In... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 23:9

(9) The cave of Machpelah.—That is, the double cave, consisting probably of an outer and an inner compartment. As the land around is also called “the field of Machpelah” (Genesis 49:30; Genesis 1:13), some imagine that it was the valley that was double; but more probably’it took its name from the cavern. For a description of the Haram, within which the bones of Abraham and Sarah probably still lie, see Palmer, Desert of the Exodus, p. 397; Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 101; and also the... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Genesis 23:1-20

PURCHASE OF MACHPELAHGenesis 23:1-20IT may be supposed to be a needless observation that our life is greatly influenced by the fact that it speedily and certainly ends in death. But it might be interesting, and it would certainly be surprising, to trace out the various ways in which this fact influences life. Plainly every human affair would be altered if we lived on here for ever, supposing that were possible. What the world would be had we no predecessors, no wisdom but what our own past... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Genesis 23:1-20

CHAPTER 23 The Death of Sarah 1. Sarah dies (Genesis 23:1-2 ) 2. The grave obtained (Genesis 23:3-18 ) 3. The burial of Sarah (Genesis 23:19-20 ) We call the attention to the typical meaning of the death of Sarah. She is the type of the nation Israel and her death in this chapter signifies the death of Israel, nationally. This must be brought in connection with the previous chapter. There we learned that Isaac was upon the altar and taken from it. This is typical of the death and... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 23:1-20

THE DEATH AND BURIAL OF SARAH The time arrives for Sarah's death at the age of 127 years. This illustrates another lesson as regards the aftermath of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Sarah is typical of the elect remnant of faith in the nation Israel, the godly, who virtually gave birth to the Lord Jesus. But after the cross, Israel practically withered away and died so far as any godliness was concerned, and since that time has not been revived to take any place of godly devotion to their... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Genesis 23:1-20

ISAAC ’S BIRTH , SARAH ’S DEATH THE BONDWOMAN AND HER SON (CHAP. 21) There is little requiring explanation in this chapter, but Genesis 21:9-13 should not be passed without a look at Galatians 4:21-31 . Christians are the spiritual seed of Abraham, and those who would supplement faith in Christ by the works of the law are the children of the bond-woman, who have no place with the children of the promise. God, however, is not unmindful of Hagar and Ishmael, nor of His promise to Abraham... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Genesis 23:1-20

The Burial of Sarah Genesis 23:0 It has been remarked as a singular circumstance that Sarah is the only woman whose age is mentioned in the Scriptures. At the time of her death her only son Isaac was thirty-seven years old, she herself being ninety at the time of his birth. We know little about Sarah, except that she was comely to look upon; somewhat severe towards Hagar her handmaid, and that she was the mother of Isaac! This seems quite little when mentioned in one sentence, but really it... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 23:1-13

1-13 The longest life must shortly come to a close. Blessed be God that there is a world where sin, death, vanity, and vexation cannot enter. Blessed be his name, that even death cannot part believers from union with Christ. Those whom we most love, yea, even our own bodies, which we so care for, must soon become loathsome lumps of clays, and be buried out of sight. How loose then should we be to all earthly attachments and adornments! Let us seek rather that our souls be adorned with heavenly... read more

Paul E. Kretzmann

The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann - Genesis 23:3-9

Abraham Negotiates for a Burial-Place. v. 3. And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, v. 4. I am a stranger and a sojourner with you; give me a possession of a burying-place with you that I may bury my dead out of my sight. That Abraham observed the usual period of mourning did not in any way conflict with his faith. Sarah had been his wife, a believer in the true God, in spite of all her weaknesses, the mother of all believing women. He had loved... read more