Genesis 23:2

2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

Genesis 23:2 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
English Standard Version (ESV)
2 And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
New Living Translation (NLT)
2 she died at Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron) in the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned and wept for her.
The Message Bible (MSG)
2 Sarah died in Kiriath Arba, present-day Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Abraham mourned for Sarah and wept.
American Standard Version (ASV)
2 And Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
2 She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to cry about her death.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
2 Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
2 She died at Kiriath Arba. Kiriath Arba is also called Hebron. It's in the land of Canaan. Sarah's death filled Abraham with sorrow. He went to the place where her body was lying. There he sobbed over her.

Genesis 23:2 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 23:2

And Sarah died in Kirjatharba
Which was so called, either, as Jarchi says, from the four Anakims or giants that dwelt here, ( Joshua 15:13 ) ; or else, as the same writer observes, from the four couple buried here, Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah; but then it must be so called by anticipation; rather, as Aben Ezra thinks, it had its name from Arba, a great man among the Anakims, and the father of Anak, ( Joshua 14:15 ) ; though some take it to be a Tetrapolls, a city consisting of four parts; but be it as it will, here Abraham and Sarah were at the time of her death; when they removed from Beersheba hither is not said: the same [is] Hebron, in the land of Canaan;
so it was afterwards called: here Abraham and Sarah had lived many years ago, see ( Genesis 13:18 ) ; and hither they returned, and here they ended their days and were buried: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her;
Aben Ezra observes, that, when Sarah died, Abraham was in another place, and therefore is said to come to mourn for her; and the Targum of Jonathan is,

``and Abraham came from the mount of worship (Moriah), and found that she was dead, and he sat down to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.''
Others F21 report, that, upon hearing of the offering up of Isaac, she swooned away and died. But the meaning is, that he came from his own tent to Sarah's, see ( Genesis 24:67 ) , where her corpse was, to indulge his passion of grief and sorrow for her; which, in a moderate way, was lawful, and what natural affection and conjugal relation obliged him to. The Hebrews F23 observe, that, in the word for "weep", one of the letters is lesser than usual, and which they think denotes, that his weeping for her was not excessive, but little; but both phrases put together seem to denote that his sorrow was very great; and the one perhaps may refer to his private, and the other to his public mourning for her, according to the custom of those times.
FOOTNOTES:

F21 Pirke Eliezer, c. 32. Jarchi in loc.
F23 Baal Hatturim in loc.

Genesis 23:2 In-Context

1 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old.
2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said,
4 “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”
5 The Hittites replied to Abraham,

Cross References 3

  • 1. Joshua 14:15; Joshua 15:13; Joshua 20:7; Joshua 21:11
  • 2. ver 19; S Genesis 13:18
  • 3. Genesis 24:67
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