“Give.” In this case, “give” is idiomatic for “sell,” and that was well understood.

“for a tomb.” The Hebrew word translated “tomb” is the same word as the word “tomb” in Genesis 23:6. The Hebrew word can mean “burying place,” but since Abraham did not have a family tomb he would have wanted one, so the request, “give me property for a tomb” is logical. There is no indication that Sarah died suddenly, and even if she had there is every reason to believe that Abraham had thought about a tomb where she and he, and even their child Isaac, could be buried. In Genesis 15:15, God had told Abraham that he would die in his old age, but at 137 he was old, and Sarah was old at 127. It was the custom to bury families together whenever possible, and it is very likely that Abraham considered that fact when he bought the cave that would be his tomb. The fact that he knew exactly what cave he wanted to buy and where it was located is an indication that he had even looked around for a suitable tomb location. As we now know, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah were all buried in that tomb, which is located in Hebron. Abraham asked for the “cave of Machpelah.” The word “Machpelah” means something like “double cave” or “split cave,” so it had the potential to be a large multi-room tomb. So this either was a tomb or it had the potential to be a tomb that could hold multiple people (cp. Gen. 23:9).

It is noteworthy that Abraham prepared for his death. Many people are frightened of death and so they refuse to think about it, which then leaves their family in chaos and a mess when they die. Abraham knew he would die, but he knew the Messiah was coming and he would be resurrected to a wonderful life (John 8:56; Heb. 11:10).

“bury my dead from before me.” Sarah’s dead body needed to be buried. Abraham was asking for a place where she could be properly buried. “Bury my dead from before me” was simply a way of saying that Sarah’s body needed to be buried; it could not be just left out in the open.