23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price 4 and weighed 5 out for him 6 the price 7 that Ephron had quoted 8 in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. 9
1 tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”
2 tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.
3 tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.
4 tn Heb “listened to Ephron.”
5 tn Heb “and Abraham weighed out.”
6 tn Heb “to Ephron.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7 tn Heb “silver.”
8 tn Heb “that he had spoken.” The referent (Ephron) has been specified here in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
9 tn Heb “passing for the merchant.” The final clause affirms that the measurement of silver was according to the standards used by the merchants of the time.