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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Genesis 23:4 "I am a foreigner and an outsider among you. Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead."</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/genesis/23-4.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/20/01_Gen_23_04.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Genesis 23:4 - The Death and Burial of Sarah" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="I am a foreigner and an outsider among you. 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Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.&#8221<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/genesis/23.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />“Here I am, a stranger and a foreigner among you. Please sell me a piece of land so I can give my wife a proper burial.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/genesis/23.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />“I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/genesis/23.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />“I am a foreigner and an outsider among you. Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/genesis/23.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />I <i>am</i> 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.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/genesis/23.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />“I <i>am</i> a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/genesis/23.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />“I am a stranger and a foreign resident among you; give me a burial site among you so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/genesis/23.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />&#8220I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.&#8221<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/genesis/23.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />“I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/genesis/23.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />“I am a sojourner and a foreign resident among you; give me a possession for a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/genesis/23.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />“I am a stranger and a sojourner (resident alien) among you; give (sell) me property for a burial place among you so that I may bury my dead [in the proper manner].”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/genesis/23.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />“I am an alien residing among you. Give me burial property among you so that I can bury my dead.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/genesis/23.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />I am a foreign resident among you. Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.&#8221 <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/genesis/23.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />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.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/genesis/23.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />"I live as a foreigner in your land, and I don't own any property where I can bury my wife. Please let me buy a piece of land." <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/genesis/23.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />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.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/genesis/23.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />"I'm a stranger with no permanent home. Let me have some of your property for a tomb so that I can bury my dead wife."<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/genesis/23.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />"I am a foreigner living here among you; sell me some land, so that I can bury my wife." <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/genesis/23.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />"I am an alien and an outsider among you. Give me a cemetery among you where I can bury my dead away from my presence."<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/genesis/23.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />“I am a foreigner and an outsider among you. Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/genesis/23.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />"I am a temporary settler among you. Grant me ownership of a burial site among you so that I may bury my dead." <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/genesis/23.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />"I am a stranger and a foreigner living with you. Give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may remove my dead for burial."<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/genesis/23.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />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.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/genesis/23.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />“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.” <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/genesis/23.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />“A sojourner and a settler I [am] with you; give to me a possession of a burying-place with you, and I bury my dead from before me.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/genesis/23.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> A sojourner and a settler I am with you; give to me a possession of a burying-place with you, and I bury my dead from before me.'<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/genesis/23.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />I am a sojourner and stranger with you: give me the possession of a grave with you, and I will bury my dead from my face.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/genesis/23.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />I am a stranger and sojourner among you: give me the right of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/genesis/23.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />“I am a newcomer and a sojourner among you. Give me the right of a sepulcher among you, so that I may bury my dead.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/genesis/23.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />“Although I am a resident alien among you, sell me from your holdings a burial place, that I may bury my deceased wife.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/genesis/23.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />“I am a stranger and an alien residing among you; give me property among you for a burying place, so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/genesis/23.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />I am a stranger and a sojourner with you; give me the possession of a burial ground with you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/genesis/23.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />“I am a settler and a pilgrim with you; give to me the inheritance of a tomb with you and I shall bury my dead before me.”<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/genesis/23.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />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.'<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/genesis/23.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />I am a sojourner and a stranger among you, give me therefore possession of a burying-place among you, and I will bury my dead away from me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/genesis/23-4.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7ehevn8iSgc?start=5047" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/genesis/23.htm">The Death and Burial of Sarah</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">3</span>Then Abraham got up from beside his dead wife and said to the Hittites, <span class="reftext">4</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/595.htm" title="595: ’ā·nō·ḵî (Pro-1cs) -- I. Sometimes; a primitive pro. I.">“I am</a> <a href="/hebrew/1616.htm" title="1616: gêr- (N-ms) -- A sojourner. Or geyr; from guwr; properly, a guest; by implication, a foreigner.">a foreigner</a> <a href="/hebrew/8453.htm" title="8453: wə·ṯō·wō·šāḇ (Conj-w:: N-ms) -- A sojourner. ">and an outsider</a> <a href="/hebrew/5973.htm" title="5973: ‘im·mā·ḵem (Prep:: 2mp) -- From amam; adverb or preposition, with, in varied applications; specifically, equally with; often with prepositional prefix.">among you.</a> <a href="/hebrew/5414.htm" title="5414: tə·nū (V-Qal-Imp-mp) -- To give, put, set. A primitive root; to give, used with greatest latitude of application.">Give</a> <a href="/hebrew/lî (Prep:: 1cs) -- ">me</a> <a href="/hebrew/6913.htm" title="6913: qe·ḇer (N-ms) -- A grave, sepulcher. Or qibrah; from qabar; a sepulchre.">a burial</a> <a href="/hebrew/272.htm" title="272: ’ă·ḥuz·zaṯ- (N-fsc) -- A possession. Feminine passive participle from 'achaz; something seized, i.e. A possession.">site</a> <a href="/hebrew/5973.htm" title="5973: ‘im·mā·ḵem (Prep:: 2mp) -- From amam; adverb or preposition, with, in varied applications; specifically, equally with; often with prepositional prefix.">among you</a> <a href="/hebrew/6912.htm" title="6912: wə·’eq·bə·rāh (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConjImperf.Cohort-1cs) -- To bury. A primitive root; to intern.">so that I can bury</a> <a href="/hebrew/4191.htm" title="4191: mê·ṯî (V-Qal-Prtcpl-msc:: 1cs) -- To die. A primitive root: to die; causatively, to kill.">my dead.”</a> <a href="/hebrew/6440.htm" title="6440: mil·lə·p̄ā·nāy (Prep-m, Prep-l:: N-mpc:: 1cs) -- Face, faces. Plural of an unused noun; the face; used in a great variety of applications; also as a preposition."></a> </span><span class="reftext">5</span>The Hittites replied to Abraham,…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/hebrews/11-9.htm">Hebrews 11:9-10</a></span><br />By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. / For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/hebrews/11-13.htm">Hebrews 11:13</a></span><br />All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_peter/2-11.htm">1 Peter 2:11</a></span><br />Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/acts/7-5.htm">Acts 7:5</a></span><br />He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised to give possession of the land to Abraham and his descendants, even though he did not yet have a child.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/leviticus/25-23.htm">Leviticus 25:23</a></span><br />The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_chronicles/29-15.htm">1 Chronicles 29:15</a></span><br />For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/39-12.htm">Psalm 39:12</a></span><br />Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/119-19.htm">Psalm 119:19</a></span><br />I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_corinthians/5-6.htm">2 Corinthians 5:6</a></span><br />Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_corinthians/5-1.htm">2 Corinthians 5:1</a></span><br />For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/philippians/3-20.htm">Philippians 3:20</a></span><br />But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ephesians/2-19.htm">Ephesians 2:19</a></span><br />Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/exodus/2-22.htm">Exodus 2:22</a></span><br />And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_peter/1-17.htm">1 Peter 1:17</a></span><br />Since you call on a Father who judges each one’s work impartially, conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/17-16.htm">John 17:16</a></span><br />They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">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.</p><p class="hdg">stranger.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/genesis/17-8.htm">Genesis 17:8</a></b></br> 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.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/genesis/47-9.htm">Genesis 47:9</a></b></br> And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage <i>are</i> 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.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/leviticus/25-23.htm">Leviticus 25:23</a></b></br> The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land <i>is</i> mine; for ye <i>are</i> strangers and sojourners with me.</p><p class="hdg">buryingplace.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/genesis/3-19.htm">Genesis 3:19</a></b></br> 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 <i>art</i>, and unto dust shalt thou return.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/genesis/49-30.htm">Genesis 49:30</a></b></br> In the cave that <i>is</i> in the field of Machpelah, which <i>is</i> before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/genesis/50-13.htm">Genesis 50:13</a></b></br> 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.</p><p class="hdg">bury.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/genesis/23-19.htm">Genesis 23:19</a></b></br> And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same <i>is</i> Hebron in the land of Canaan.</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/genesis/21-23.htm">Alien</a> <a href="/revelation/11-9.htm">Burial</a> <a href="/john/19-40.htm">Bury</a> <a href="/john/12-7.htm">Burying</a> <a href="/judges/16-31.htm">Buryingplace</a> <a href="/2_kings/21-26.htm">Burying-Place</a> <a href="/genesis/21-34.htm">Country</a> <a href="/genesis/23-3.htm">Dead</a> <a href="/genesis/21-34.htm">Foreigner</a> <a href="/genesis/22-17.htm">Possession</a> <a href="/genesis/15-14.htm">Property</a> <a href="/genesis/18-4.htm">Rest</a> <a href="/revelation/13-17.htm">Sell</a> <a href="/revelation/11-9.htm">Sepulchre</a> <a href="/numbers/35-15.htm">Settler</a> <a href="/genesis/21-12.htm">Sight</a> <a href="/genesis/12-6.htm">Site</a> <a href="/genesis/15-13.htm">Sojourner</a> <a href="/genesis/21-34.htm">Strange</a> <a href="/genesis/17-27.htm">Stranger</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/genesis/28-4.htm">Alien</a> <a href="/genesis/23-9.htm">Burial</a> <a href="/genesis/23-6.htm">Bury</a> <a href="/genesis/23-6.htm">Burying</a> <a href="/genesis/23-9.htm">Buryingplace</a> <a href="/genesis/23-9.htm">Burying-Place</a> <a href="/genesis/24-4.htm">Country</a> <a href="/genesis/23-6.htm">Dead</a> <a href="/genesis/32-4.htm">Foreigner</a> <a href="/genesis/23-9.htm">Possession</a> <a href="/genesis/23-9.htm">Property</a> <a href="/genesis/23-6.htm">Rest</a> <a href="/genesis/25-31.htm">Sell</a> <a href="/genesis/23-6.htm">Sepulchre</a> <a href="/exodus/12-45.htm">Settler</a> <a href="/genesis/23-8.htm">Sight</a> <a href="/genesis/23-9.htm">Site</a> <a href="/exodus/2-22.htm">Sojourner</a> <a href="/genesis/31-15.htm">Strange</a> <a href="/genesis/28-4.htm">Stranger</a><div class="vheading2">Genesis 23</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/genesis/23-1.htm">The age and death of Sarah.</a></span><br><span class="reftext">3. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/genesis/23-3.htm">The purchase of the field and cave of Machpelah;</a></span><br><span class="reftext">19. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/genesis/23-19.htm">where Sarah is buried.</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script><br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading"><a href="/study/genesis/23.htm">Berean Study Bible</a></div><b>I am a foreigner and a stranger among you</b><br />This phrase begins with Abraham's humble acknowledgment of his status among the Hittites. The Hebrew word for "foreigner" is "גֵּר" (ger), which implies someone living temporarily in a land not their own. This reflects Abraham's life of faith, as he lived in the land promised to him by God but had not yet taken possession of it. The term "stranger" or "תּוֹשָׁב" (toshav) further emphasizes his transient status, highlighting the biblical theme of believers as sojourners on earth, looking forward to a heavenly homeland (<a href="/hebrews/11-13.htm">Hebrews 11:13-16</a>).<p><b>Sell me a burial site here</b><br />Abraham's request to "sell me a burial site" is significant in the context of ancient Near Eastern customs. The Hebrew word for "sell" is "מָכַר" (makar), indicating a formal transaction. This request marks a pivotal moment where Abraham seeks to establish a permanent family legacy in the Promised Land, despite his current status as a foreigner. The act of purchasing a burial site signifies faith in God's promises, as it is a tangible claim to the land God vowed to give his descendants.<p><b>so that I can bury my dead</b><br />The phrase "so that I can bury my dead" reveals Abraham's deep respect for Sarah and the importance of proper burial practices in ancient cultures. The Hebrew verb "קָבַר" (qabar) means to bury, and it underscores the significance of honoring the deceased. This act of burial is not just a personal or familial duty but a spiritual one, reflecting the belief in the sanctity of life and the hope of resurrection. Abraham's desire to bury Sarah in the land of Canaan is a testament to his unwavering faith in God's covenant.<p><b>here</b><br />The word "here" is a simple yet profound declaration of Abraham's faith. It indicates his intention to root his family in the land God promised, despite not yet possessing it. This choice of location for Sarah's burial is a prophetic act, foreshadowing the eventual inheritance of the land by his descendants. It serves as a reminder to believers of the importance of trusting in God's promises, even when they are not immediately visible or fulfilled.<div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/genesis/23.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(4) <span class= "bld">A possession of a buryingplace.</span>--While strangers might pasture their cattle upon the open downs, yet the consent of the natives seems to have been necessary before Abraham could occupy any spot permanently (<a href="/genesis/15-13.htm" title="And he said to Abram, Know of a surety that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;">Genesis 15:13</a>; <a href="/genesis/20-15.htm" title="And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before you: dwell where it pleases you.">Genesis 20:15</a>). He now wanted even more, and for the actual appropriation of any portion of the soil a public compact and purchase was required, which must be ratified not merely by the seller but by the consent of all the tribe, convened in full assembly at the gate of the city. Thus, in spite of his power and wealth, Abraham, as regards his legal position towards the inhabitants, was but a stranger and sojourner (<a href="/hebrews/11-9.htm" title="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 11:9</a>), and could secure a resting- place for his dead only by their consent.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/genesis/23.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 4.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">I am a stranger and a sojourner with you</span>. <span class="accented">Ger</span>, one living out of his own country, and <span class="accented">Thoshabh</span>, one dwelling in a land in which he is not naturalized; <span class="accented">advena et peregrinus</span> (Vulgate); <span class="greek">πάροικος καὶ παρ</span> <span class="greek">ἐπίδημος</span> (LXX.). This confession of the heir of Canaan was a proof that he sought, as his real inheritance, a better country, even an heavenly (<a href="/hebrews/11-13.htm">Hebrews 11:13</a>). <span class="cmt_word">Give me a possession of a burying-place with you.</span> The first mention of a grave in Scripture, the word in Hebrew signifying a hole in the earth, or a mound, according as the root is taken to mean to dig (Furst) or to heap up (Gesenius). Abraham's desire for a grave m which to deposit Sarah's lifeless remains was dictated by that Divinely planted and, among civilized nations, universally prevailing reverence for the body which prompts men to decently dispose of their dead by rites of honorable sepulture. The burning of corpses was a practice common to the nations of antiquity; but Tacitus notes it as characteristic of the Jews that they preferred interment to cremation ('Hist.,' 5:5). The wish to make Sarah's burying-place his own possession has been traced to the instinctive desire that most nations have evinced to lie in ground belonging to themselves (Rosenmüller), to an intention on the part of the patriarch to give a sign of his right and title to the land of Canaan by purchasing a grave in its soil - cf. <a href="/isaiah/22-16.htm">Isaiah 22:16</a> (Bush), or simply to anxiety that his dead might not lie unburied (Calvin); but it was more probably due to his strong faith that the land would yet belong to his descendants, which naturally led him to crave a resting-place in the soil with which the hopes of both himself and people were identified (Ainsworth, Bush, Kalisch). <span class="cmt_word">That I may bury my dead out of my sight</span> - decay not suffering the lifeless corpse to remain a fit spectacle for grief or love to gaze on. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/genesis/23-4.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">“I</span><br /><span class="heb">אָנֹכִ֖י</span> <span class="translit">(’ā·nō·ḵî)</span><br /><span class="parse">Pronoun - first person common singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_595.htm">Strong's 595: </a> </span><span class="str2">I</span><br /><br /><span class="word">am a stranger</span><br /><span class="heb">גֵּר־</span> <span class="translit">(gêr-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1616.htm">Strong's 1616: </a> </span><span class="str2">A guest, a foreigner</span><br /><br /><span class="word">and an outsider</span><br /><span class="heb">וְתוֹשָׁ֥ב</span> <span class="translit">(wə·ṯō·wō·šāḇ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_8453.htm">Strong's 8453: </a> </span><span class="str2">Resident alien</span><br /><br /><span class="word">among you.</span><br /><span class="heb">עִמָּכֶ֑ם</span> <span class="translit">(‘im·mā·ḵem)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition | second person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5973.htm">Strong's 5973: </a> </span><span class="str2">With, equally with</span><br /><br /><span class="word">Give</span><br /><span class="heb">תְּנ֨וּ</span> <span class="translit">(tə·nū)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5414.htm">Strong's 5414: </a> </span><span class="str2">To give, put, set</span><br /><br /><span class="word">me</span><br /><span class="heb">לִ֤י</span> <span class="translit">(lî)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition | first person common singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/.htm">Strong's Hebrew</a> </span><span class="str2"></span><br /><br /><span class="word">a burial</span><br /><span class="heb">קֶ֙בֶר֙</span> <span class="translit">(qe·ḇer)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6913.htm">Strong's 6913: </a> </span><span class="str2">A grave, sepulcher</span><br /><br /><span class="word">site</span><br /><span class="heb">אֲחֻזַּת־</span> <span class="translit">(’ă·ḥuz·zaṯ-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_272.htm">Strong's 272: </a> </span><span class="str2">Something seized, a possession</span><br /><br /><span class="word">among you</span><br /><span class="heb">עִמָּכֶ֔ם</span> <span class="translit">(‘im·mā·ḵem)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition | second person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5973.htm">Strong's 5973: </a> </span><span class="str2">With, equally with</span><br /><br /><span class="word">so that I can bury</span><br /><span class="heb">וְאֶקְבְּרָ֥ה</span> <span class="translit">(wə·’eq·bə·rāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6912.htm">Strong's 6912: </a> </span><span class="str2">To inter</span><br /><br /><span class="word">my dead.”</span><br /><span class="heb">מֵתִ֖י</span> <span class="translit">(mê·ṯî)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular construct | first person common singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_4191.htm">Strong's 4191: </a> </span><span class="str2">To die, to kill</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/genesis/23-4.htm">Genesis 23:4 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/genesis/23-4.htm">Genesis 23:4 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/genesis/23-4.htm">Genesis 23:4 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/genesis/23-4.htm">Genesis 23:4 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/genesis/23-4.htm">Genesis 23:4 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/genesis/23-4.htm">Genesis 23:4 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/genesis/23-4.htm">Genesis 23:4 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/genesis/23-4.htm">Genesis 23:4 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/genesis/23-4.htm">Genesis 23:4 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/genesis/23-4.htm">Genesis 23:4 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/genesis/23-4.htm">OT Law: Genesis 23:4 I am a stranger and a foreigner (Gen. Ge Gn)</a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/genesis/23-3.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Genesis 23:3"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Genesis 23:3" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/genesis/23-5.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Genesis 23:5"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Genesis 23:5" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>