Genesis 25:9

Summary

Genesis 25:9 reports that Isaac and Ishmael, sons of Abraham, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, located in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, near Mamre. The verse is a single narrative sentence identifying both the actors and the precise location of the burial.

Key words

• va-yikberu ("and they buried", H6912) — qal verb with narrative vav, third person plural, establishing the main narrated action.
• 'oto ("him", H0853 + H9033) — the direct object marker carrying a pronominal suffix, marking Abraham (named in the wider context) as the one buried.
• banav ("his sons", H1121A) — masculine plural noun in construct form with a possessive suffix, identifying Isaac and Ishmael as "sons of" the deceased.
• me'arat ("cave of", H4631) — feminine singular noun in construct state, linking to "Machpelah" as its named referent.
• sedeh ("field of", H7704G) — masculine singular construct noun, linking to "Ephron" as the field's owner.

What the text says

The sentence opens with the verb va-yikberu ("and they buried"), a qal form with narrative vav that continues the story sequence. Its subject is delayed until after the object: 'oto ("him") appears first, then the subjects Yitzchak ("Isaac", H3327) and Yishma'el ("Ishmael", H3458G) follow, joined by ve ("and", H9002) and qualified by banav ("his sons"), a construct noun bearing a possessive suffix referring back to the buried person. This word order (verb–object–subject) is typical of Hebrew narrative syntax and places emphasis on the action and its object before naming who performed it.

The location is given through a chain of construct phrases: me'arat ha-Makhpelah ("the cave of Machpelah") sits within sedeh 'Efron ben-Tzochar ha-Chiti ("the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite"). Each construct noun (me'arat, sedeh, ben) links a general term to its specific referent, building a nested geographic description. The clause closes with the relative particle 'asher ("which", H0834A) introducing a locative note: 'al-penei Mamre ("on the face of Mamre"), literally "upon the face of" — an idiom indicating proximity or facing position relative to Mamre.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew names the burial site with two nested constructs, "the cave of Machpelah" and "the field of Ephron," while the LXX renders "cave of Machpelah" descriptively as to spēlaion to diploun ("the double cave"), reflecting an interpretive translation of "Machpelah" rather than transliterating the place name. The Vulgate similarly gives spelunca duplici ("double cave"), following the same interpretive approach as the LXX rather than the Hebrew proper noun. The Hebrew phrase 'al-penei Mamre ("on the face of Mamre") appears in the LXX as apenanti Mambrē ("opposite Mamre") and in the Vulgate as e regione Mambre ("in the region of/opposite Mamre"), both conveying spatial facing rather than a literal "face" idiom.