What Does Genesis 23:14 Mean?

And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,

Genesis 23:14 · SDV

Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.

Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.

This verse in the King James

King James wording

King James Version

And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

THE KEY

A reply has begun, but its meaning is still hidden in the words that follow.

THE MEANING

You can receive a response before you know what it means. Here, Abraham is answered, while Ephron’s terms are still unrevealed.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

A reply does not mean the matter is settled: Ephron has answered, but his offer is still to come.

THE ROOT

עָנָה

ʿanah

GROWS FROM

ענה

to answer or respond

English can make “answered, saying” sound like a routine formula, but the Hebrew marks a response before introducing its words. The root makes this an exchange: Abraham’s voice receives Ephron’s reply, while the content remains to be heard.

ALSO GROWS

ʿanah: to answer, respond

עָנָה

This verb names the act Ephron performs toward Abraham.

maʿaneh: an answer or response

מַעֲנֶה

The related noun shows the same root can name both the act of replying and the response itself.

לֵאמֹר

leʾmor

GROWS FROM

אמר

to say, utter, or speak

The verse separates answering from saying: first the response begins, then its words are introduced. That small pause holds the outcome open until Ephron’s terms are spoken.

ALSO GROWS

ʾamar: to say or speak

אָמַר

This is the verb root behind the verse’s “saying.”

ʾimrah: an utterance or saying

אִמְרָה

This related noun presents speech as something formed into words that can be heard.

THE PATTERN

A reply begins in relationship: one voice answers another before its content is disclosed.

And Abraham answered and said, Look now, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, I who am dust and ashes.

Genesis 18:27 · SDVAbraham’s answer becomes an utterance directed to another, just as Ephron’s reply begins before its full content appears.

And Moses answered and said, But behold, they will not lean their weight on me, nor hear and respond to my voice, for they will say, The LORD has not been seen by you.

Exodus 4:1 · SDVMoses’s response opens a spoken concern, showing how an answer gives voice to what follows.

Jesus answered and said to him, What do you want me to do for you? The blind man said to him, My teacher, that I might look up again.

Mark 10:51 · SDVThe answer opens an exchange whose meaning unfolds through the words spoken next.

THE THREAD

My lord, hear me. The land is four hundred weights of silver. What is it between me and you? So bury your dead.

Genesis 23:15 · SDV

Verse 14 names the answering but withholds its content; verse 15 opens Ephron’s reply with his price and terms. The pause between them marks the hinge between Abraham’s request and the bargain.

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