Sarah's Burial
The Hittites replied to Abraham, Genesis 23:5 · Berean Standard Bible
The Hittites respond to Abraham's request. This is where the negotiation begins to shift in his favor.
The Hittites are about to offer Abraham far more than he asked for. This wasn't guaranteed—Abraham was taking a social risk by asking as a foreigner. But his reputation, his wealth, and his obvious standing in the community put him in a stronger position than a typical immigrant would have.
The Hittite community is now responding.
God's favor on Abraham is becoming visible through the respect he receives from those around him. Even as a foreigner, he's honored.
The Hittites formally respond to Abraham's petition, preparing to grant his request with marked respect and deference.
The narrative pause here—'the Hittites replied'—creates rhetorical space for the community's collective voice to emerge. In ancient gate-assembly protocol, such moments represented formal deliberation wherein community elders certified agreements. The Hittite response demonstrates how Abraham's reputation as a man of divine blessing (evident in his military victory over Chedorlaomer in Genesis 14) had preceded him, creating social capital that transcended his technical outsider status.
The Hittite community, speaking through their assembled representatives at the city gate.
This exchange illustrates the principle that faith-based covenant-keeping generates respect and influence even within pagan societies—a pattern that will recur throughout Israel's history, from Joseph's elevation in Egypt to Daniel's favor in Babylon.
3Then Abraham got up from beside his dead wife and said to the Hittites,
4“I am a foreigner and an outsider among you. Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.”
5The Hittites replied to Abraham,
6“Listen to us, sir. You are God’s chosen one among us. Bury your dead in the finest of our tombs. None of us will withhold his tomb for burying your dead.”
7Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites.
Read all of Genesis 23 — Abraham buries his wife and insists on paying full price for the land. It's his first piece of the promise — a grave in Canaan.
This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.
NIV, NLT, NKJV, KJV and the Berean — plus the Catholic NLT-CE and Douay-Rheims, with the full deuterocanon in the reading order.
Tap any of the 31,102 for what it means, and any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, without leaving the chapter.
Start recording at church and put your phone away. You get the transcript, the key moments, and every verse referenced.
Say what's sitting on your heart and hear it back as a real prayer, in a warm voice. Keep the ones that land.
The whole Bible in a year — five chapters a day, five days a week, weekends off. Built to be finished.
A verse each morning with its meaning, how it lands today, something to sit with, and a prayer to close it.
Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.
Download on the App StoreFree on iPhone & iPad