Genesis 25:10
in Genesis 25This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
the field which Abraham purchased of the children of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
KJV
The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
⋯
This verse in Genesis 25
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth,.... Of one of them, Ephron, the rest being witnesses of it, Gen 23:16, there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife; Sarah had been buried there thirty eight years before, which was the reason why his sons buried, him there; if he died in Beersheba, as seems probable, see Gen 24:62; from thence to Hebron were sixteen miles (h); so far was he carried to be interred. (h) Bunting's Travels, p. 57.
This site's exposition
His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah
on Genesis 25:9-10
The two sons who had been apart for most of their lives stand at one grave. Isaac is named first, though he is the younger. Genesis brings rival brothers back together over a father's burial, Esau with Jacob at 35:29 and Joseph with his brothers at 50:13. Ishmael had been sent away at 21:14 and comes back for this.
This site's exposition
Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah
The field bought in chapter 23 now holds both of them. John Gill counted thirty-eight years between Sarah's burial there and his own. If Abraham died at Beersheba, Gill reckoned the body was carried about sixteen miles to Hebron.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Yet the bodies of the dead, especially of the just and faithful, are not to be despised or cast aside. The soul has used them as organs and vessels for all good work in a holy manner. If a paternal garment or a ring or anything else of this kind is as dear to children as is their love for their parents, in no way are their very bodies to be spurned, since they are much more familiar and intimate than any garment we put on. Bodies are not for ornament or for aid, as something that is applied externally, but pertain to the very nature of the man. Hence the funerals of the just men of old were cared for with dutiful devotion, the processions solemnized and a fitting burial provided. Oftentimes they themselves, while they were yet alive, gave directions to their sons concerning everything pertaining to their burial.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth,.... Of one of them, Ephron, the rest being witnesses of it, Gen 23:16, there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife; Sarah had been buried there thirty eight years before, which was the reason why his sons buried, him there; if he died in Beersheba, as seems probable, see Gen 24:62; from thence to Hebron were sixteen miles (h); so far was he carried to be interred. (h) Bunting's Travels, p. 57.
Here is nothing recorded of the pomp or ceremony of his funeral; only we are told, 1. Who buried him: His sons Isaac and Ishmael. It was the last office of respect they had to pay to their good father.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
השדה, every time the burial in this cave is mentioned in the Torah the fact that Avraham had purchased the cave and the field is mentioned also.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
I.e., near that place, or perhaps because it was not a city, 181 See above,:14, for the origin of the name “the well of Lahai-roi,” and there it expressly says that it was by a fountain of water in the wilderness. It was thus not a city.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַשָּׂדֶ֛ה | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| קָנָ֥ה | kanah | he had acquired | H7069 → | 84 times |
| אַבְרָהָ֖ם | ʾavraham | Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| מֵאֵ֣ת | meet | from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| בְּנֵי־ | benei- | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חֵ֑ת | chet | Heth | H2845 → | 14 times |
| שָׁ֛מָּה | shamah | there <towards> | H8033 → | 834 times |
| קֻבַּ֥ר | kubar | he was buried | H6912 → | 133 times |
| אַבְרָהָ֖ם | ʾavraham | Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| וְשָׂרָ֥ה | vesarah | and Sarah | H8283 → | 38 times |
| אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃ | ʾishto | wife his | H802 → | 781 times |
הַשָּׂדֶ֛הthe field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
קָנָ֥הhe had acquired
kanahH7069 →84 times
אַבְרָהָ֖םAbraham
ʾavrahamH85 →175 times
מֵאֵ֣תfrom with
meetH854 →929 times
בְּנֵי־[the] sons of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
חֵ֑תHeth
chetH2845 →14 times
שָׁ֛מָּהthere <towards>
shamahH8033 →834 times
קֻבַּ֥רhe was buried
kubarH6912 →133 times
אַבְרָהָ֖םAbraham
ʾavrahamH85 →175 times
וְשָׂרָ֥הand Sarah
vesarahH8283 →38 times
אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃wife his
ʾishtoH802 →781 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 49:31There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah.
it leads to
- Genesis 35:29
Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
- Genesis 25:9
His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.
- Genesis 23:3
Then Abraham got up from beside his dead wife and said to the Hittites,
- Genesis 35:29
Through
Genesis 23:16Abraham 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 standard of the merchants.
it leads to
- Zechariah 11:12
Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.
- Jeremiah 32:9
So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out seventeen shekels of silver.
- Matthew 7:12
In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:6
and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.
- Job 28:15
It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
- Zechariah 11:12
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsSarahAbraham's wife — barren, then bearing Isaac by promise “past age” through faith; Paul's allegory of the covenant of promise (Gal 4…
- PersonPatriarchsAbrahamCalled out of Ur, the father of all who believe, justified by faith, and the friend of God through whose seed all nations are bles…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, On the Care of the Dead 3.5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.