Genesis 23:9

Summary

Abraham requests that Ephron give him the cave of Machpelah, located at the edge of Ephron's field, in exchange for its full price in silver, so that he may hold it as a burial possession among the people present.

Key words

• yiten ("may he give", H5414) — qal jussive, expressing a polite request/wish rather than a command: "let him give."
• me'arat ("cave of", H4631) — feminine singular construct, linking directly to ha-Makhpelah ("the Machpelah") as the specific place-name being requested.
• khesef male' ("silver full", H3701 + H4392) — noun plus adjective, literally "full silver," describing payment at complete value, with no discount.
• yitenennah ("let him give it", H5414) — same root as yiten but with feminine object suffix -nah ("her/it"), referring back to me'arat (feminine), and repeating the request to reinforce the terms of the transaction.
• achuzat qaver ("possession of a burial-site", H0272 + H6913) — construct chain stating the purpose of the acquisition: land held as a achuzah ("possession/holding") specifically for burial.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built on two occurrences of the verb natan ("to give", H5414): first as a jussive yiten ("may he give," word 2) introducing the general request, and later as an imperfect with pronominal suffix yitenennah ("let him give it," word 20) that restates the request while attaching the condition of payment. Between these two verbal anchors, the text inserts descriptive clauses identifying the object: me'arat ha-Makhpelah ("the cave of Machpelah") is qualified by two relative clauses introduced by asher ("which," H0834A) — one stating ownership (asher lo, "which is his") and one stating location (asher biqtzeh sadehu, "which is at the end of his field"). The payment condition bekhesef male' ("for full silver") is placed emphatically before the second verb, foregrounding the price term before repeating the verb of giving. The purpose clause la'achuzat qaver ("for a possession of a burial-site") closes the sentence, using the construct noun achuzah to specify that the land is sought as a permanent legal holding, not merely temporary use.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the two Hebrew verbs of "giving" (natan) with δότω and δότε, shifting from singular ("let him give," addressed to Ephron) to plural imperative ("give," addressed to the group), where the Hebrew consistently uses singular forms referring to Ephron. The Vulgate uses tradat ("let him hand over") for the second verb, introducing a nuance of formal transfer not explicit in the Hebrew yitenennah. Some modern translations (BSB, SBLIBRE) render yiten/yitenennah as "sell" rather than "give," reflecting the commercial context established by bekhesef male' ("for full silver"), though the Hebrew verb itself denotes "giving," not a distinct verb for "selling."