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Genesis 23:17

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 23:17 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the border thereof round about, were made sure” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the border thereof round about, were made sure
Genesis 23:17 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 23

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
14And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,
15My lord, hearken unto me. A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that betwixt me and thee? Bury therefore thy dead.
16And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron. And Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the audience of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current [money] with the merchant.
17So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the border thereof round about, were made sure
18unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.
19And 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.
20And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying-place by the children of Heth.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And the field of Ephron, which [was] in Machpelah, etc.] This clearly shows that Machpelah is the proper name of a place or tract of ground, and not an appellative, or to be rendered the double cave, since a field could never be said to be in a cave: and yet some have been so stupid, as Vatablus observes, as to render the words, “the field of Ephron, which was in the double cave,” whereas, on the contrary, the cave was in that field; and so the Vulgate version, to better sense, though not agreeably to the Hebrew text, “the field of Ephron, in which was the double cave:” which [was] before Mamre; or over against it, the place where Abraham dwelt, which was in Hebron, (<011318>Genesis 13:18…”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification