The Meaning of Genesis 23:19 Explained

Genesis 23:19

KJV: And 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.

YLT: And after this hath Abraham buried Sarah his wife at the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (which is Hebron), in the land of Canaan;

Darby: And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah, opposite to Mamre: that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan.

ASV: And 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And 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. 

What does Genesis 23:19 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 23:1-20 - Abraham Buys A Burial Place
Death is an ever-constant monitor that this world is not our home. We rise up from before our dead to confess that we are only strangers and sojourners on the earth. Though the whole country, by God's deed and gift, belonged to Abraham, it had not as yet been made over; hence the necessity for this deliberate purchase with all the stately formalities of the leisured East. Abraham's insistence on buying this grave, and the care with which the negotiations were pursued, show that he realized that his descendants would come again into that land and possess it. It was as though he felt that he and Sarah should lie there awaiting the return of their children and children's children. See also Genesis 49:29-30. So the graves of the martyrs and of missionaries who have fallen at the post of duty are the silent outposts that hold those lands for Christ, as the graves of the saints await the Second Advent. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 23

1  The age and death of Sarah
3  The purchase of the field and cave of Machpelah;
19  where Sarah is buried

What do the individual words in Genesis 23:19 mean?

And after this buried Abraham - Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah upon the face of Mamre that [is] Hebron in the land of Canaan
וְאַחֲרֵי־ כֵן֩ קָבַ֨ר אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶת־ שָׂרָ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ אֶל־ מְעָרַ֞ת שְׂדֵ֧ה הַמַּכְפֵּלָ֛ה עַל־ פְּנֵ֥י מַמְרֵ֖א הִ֣וא חֶבְר֑וֹן בְּאֶ֖רֶץ כְּנָֽעַן

כֵן֩  after  this 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֵּן 
Sense: so, therefore, thus.
קָבַ֨ר  buried 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָבַר  
Sense: to bury.
אַבְרָהָ֜ם  Abraham 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַבְרָהָם  
Sense: friend of God and founder of Hebrew nation via God’s elective covenant.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
שָׂרָ֣ה  Sarah 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׂרָה  
Sense: wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac.
אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ  his  wife 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
מְעָרַ֞ת  the  cave 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: מְעָרָה  
Sense: cave, den, hole.
שְׂדֵ֧ה  of  the  field 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שָׂדֶה 
Sense: field, land.
הַמַּכְפֵּלָ֛ה  of  Machpelah 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מַכְפֵּלָה  
Sense: the location of a burial cave for the patriarchs, near Hebron.
עַל־  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
פְּנֵ֥י  the  face 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
מַמְרֵ֖א  of  Mamre 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מַמְרֵא 
Sense: an Amorite who allied himself with Abram.
הִ֣וא  that  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person feminine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
חֶבְר֑וֹן  Hebron 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶבְרֹון 
Sense: a city in south Judah approx 20 south of Jerusalem and approx 20 miles (30 km) north of Beersheba and near where Abraham built an altar.
בְּאֶ֖רֶץ  in  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
כְּנָֽעַן  of  Canaan 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: כְּנַעַן 
Sense: the 4th son of Ham and the progenitor of the Phoenicians and of the various nations who peopled the seacoast of Palestine.