Reference: Burial
American
The Hebrews were at all times very careful in the burial of their dead, Ge 25:9; 35:29. To be deprived of burial was thought one of the greatest marks of dishonor, or cause of unhappiness, Ec 6:3; Jer 22:18-19; it being denied to none, not even to enemies. Good men made it a part of their piety to inter the dead. Indeed, how shocking must the sight of unburied corpses have been to the Jews, when their land was thought to be polluted if the dead were in any manner exposed to view, 2Sa 21:14; and when the very touch of a dead body, or of any thing that had touched a dead body, was esteemed a defilement, and required a ceremonial ablution, Nu 19.11-22.
Only two cases of burning the bodies of the dead occur in Scripture: the mangled remains of Saul and his sons, 1Sa 31:12, and the victims of some plague, Am 6:10. It was customary for the nearest relatives to close the eyes of the dying and give them the parting kiss, and then to commence the wailing for the dead, Jer 46:4; 50:1; in this wailing, which continued at intervals until after the burial, they were joined by other relatives and friends, Joh 11:19, whose loud and shrill lamentations are referred to in Mr 5:38. It is also a custom still prevailing in the East to hire wailing women, Jer 9:17; Am 5:16, who praised the deceased, Ac 9:39, and by doleful cries and frantic gestures, aided at times by melancholy tones of music, Mt 9:23, strove to express the deepest grief, Eze 24:17-18.
Immediately after death the body was washed, and laid out in a convenient room, Ac 9:39; it was wrapped in many folds of linen, with spices, and the head bound about with a napkin, Mt 27:59; Joh 11:44. Unless the body was to be embalmed, the burial took place very soon, both on account of the heat of the climate and the ceremonial uncleanness incurred. Rarely did twenty-four hours elapse between death and burial, Ac 5:6,10. The body being shrouded, was placed upon a bier-a board resting on a simple handbarrow, borne by men-to be conveyed to the tomb, 2Sa 3:31; Lu 7:14. Sometimes a more costly bier or bed was used, 2Ch 16:14: and the bodies of kings and some others may have been laid in coffins of wood, or stone sarcophagi. The relatives attended the bier to the tomb, which was usually without the city. A banquet sometimes followed the funeral, Jer 16:7-8; and during subsequent days the bereaved friends were wont to go to the grave from time to time, to weep and to adorn the place with fresh flowers, Joh 11:31, a custom observed even at this day. See EMBALMING, SEPULCHRE.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is east of Mamre,
And Isaac's spirit departed; he died and was gathered to his people, being an old man, satisfied and satiated with days; his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
All the valiant men arose and went all night, and they took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan and came to Jabesh and cremated them there.
And David said to Joab and to all the people with him, Rend your clothes, gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And King David followed the bier.
And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son they buried in the country of Benjamin in Zelah in the tomb of Kish, [Saul's] father, and they did all that the king commanded. And after that, God heard and answered when His people prayed for the land.
If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years so that the days of his years are many, but his life is not filled with good, and also he is given no burial [honors nor is laid to rest in the sepulcher of his fathers], I say that [he who had] an untimely birth [resulting in death] is better off than he,
Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come.
Neither shall men prepare food for the mourners to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother. And you [Jeremiah] shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.
Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: [Relatives] shall not lament for him, saying, Ah, my brother! or, Ah, sister, [how great our loss! Subjects] shall not lament for him saying, Ah, lord! or Ah, his majesty! or Ah, [how great was] his glory! [No] he shall be buried with the burial of a donkey -- "dragged out and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
Harness the horses, and mount, you horsemen! Stand forth with your helmets! Polish the spears, put on the coats of mail!
The word that the Lord spoke concerning and against Babylon and concerning and against the land of the Chaldeans through Jeremiah the prophet:
Sigh and groan, but not aloud [be silent]; make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban upon your head and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your beard or eat the bread of mourners [furnished by others]. So I spoke to the people in the morning and in the evening my wife died, and I did the next morning as I was commanded.
Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord: There shall be wailing in all the broad ways, and in all the streets they shall say, Alas! Alas! And they shall call the farmers to mourning and such as are skilled in lamentation to wailing.
And then a man's uncle or kinsman, he who is to make a burning to cremate and dispose [of his pestilence-infected body], comes in to bring the bones out of the house, and he shall say to another still alive in the farthest parts of the house, Is there anyone else with you? and he shall say, No. Then shall the newcomer say, Hush! Hold your [cursing] tongue! We dare not so mention the name of the Lord [lest we invoke more punishment].
And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making an uproar and din,
And Joseph took the body and rolled it up in a clean linen cloth used for swathing dead bodies
When they arrived at the house of the ruler of the synagogue, He looked [carefully and with understanding] at [the] tumult and the people weeping and wailing loudly.
And He went forward and touched the funeral bier, and the pallbearers stood still. And He said, Young man, I say to you, arise [ from death]!
And a considerable number of the Jews had gone out to see Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.
When the Jews who were sitting with her in the house and consoling her saw how hastily Mary had arisen and gone out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to pour out her grief there.
And out walked the man who had been dead, his hands and feet wrapped in burial cloths (linen strips), and with a [burial] napkin bound around his face. Jesus said to them, Free him of the burial wrappings and let him go.
And the young men arose and wrapped up [the body] and carried it out and buried it.
And instantly she fell down at his feet and died; and the young men entering found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
So Peter [immediately] rose and accompanied them. And when he had arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood around him, crying and displaying undershirts (tunics) and [other] garments such as Dorcas was accustomed to make while she was with them.
So Peter [immediately] rose and accompanied them. And when he had arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood around him, crying and displaying undershirts (tunics) and [other] garments such as Dorcas was accustomed to make while she was with them.
Easton
(3.) The first burial we have an account of is that of Sarah (Ge 23). The first commercial transaction recorded is that of the purchase of a burial-place, for which Abraham weighed to Ephron "four hundred shekels of silver current money with the merchants." Thus the patriarch became the owner of a part of the land of Canaan, the only part he ever possessed. When he himself died, "his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah," beside Sarah his wife (Ge 25:9).
(4.) Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, was buried under Allon-bachuth, "the oak of weeping" (Ge 35:8), near to Bethel. Rachel died, and was buried near Ephrath; "and Jacob set a pillar upon her grave" (Ge 25:16-20). Isaac was buried at Hebron, where he had died (Ge 25:27,29). Jacob, when charging his sons to bury him in the cave of Machpelah, said, "There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah" (Ge 49:31). In compliance with the oath which he made him swear unto him (Ge 47:29-31), Joseph, assisted by his brethren, buried Jacob in the cave of Machpelah (Ge 50:2,13). At the Exodus, Moses "took the bones of Joseph with him," and they were buried in the "parcel of ground" which Jacob had bought of the sons of Hamor (Jos 24:32), which became Joseph's inheritance (Ge 48:22; 1Ch 5:1; Joh 4:5). Two burials are mentioned as having taken place in the wilderness. That of Miriam (Nu 20:1), and that of Moses, "in the land of Moab" (De 34:5-6,8). There is no account of the actual burial of Aaron, which probably, however, took place on the summit of Mount Hor (Nu 20:28-29).
(5.) Joshua was buried "in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah" (Jos 24:30).
(6.) In Job we find a reference to burying-places, which were probably the Pyramids (Job 3:14-15). The Hebrew word for "waste places" here resembles in sound the Egyptian word for "pyramids."
(7.) Samuel, like Moses, was honoured with a national burial (1Sa 25:1). Joab (1Ki 2:34) "was buried in his own house in the wilderness."
(8.) In connection with the burial of Saul and his three sons we meet for the first time with the practice of burning the dead (1Sa 31:11-13). The same practice is again referred to by Amos (Am 6:10).
(9.) Absalom was buried "in the wood" where he was slain (2Sa 18:17-18). The raising of the heap of stones over his grave was intended to mark abhorrence of the person buried (comp. Jos 7:26; 8:29). There was no fixed royal burying-place for the Hebrew kings. We find several royal burials taking place, however, "in the city of David" (1Ki 2:10; 11:43; 15:8; 2Ki 14:19-20; 15:38; 1Ki 14:31; 22:50; 2Ch 21:19-20; 24:25, etc.). Hezekiah was buried in the mount of the sepulchres of the sons of David; "and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honour at his death" (2Ch 32:33).
(10.) Little is said regarding the burial of the kings of Israel. Some of them were buried in Samaria, the capital of their kingdom (2Ki 10:35; 13:9; 14:16).
(11.) Our Lord was buried in a new tomb, hewn out of the rock, which Joseph of Arimathea had prepared for himself (Mt 27:57-60; Mr 15:46; Joh 19:41-42).
(12.) The grave of Lazarus was "a cave, and a stone lay on it" (Joh 11:38). Graves were frequently either natural caverns or artificial excavations formed in the sides of rocks (Ge 23:9; Mt 27:60); and coffins were seldom used, unless when the body was brought from a distance.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns -- "it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me here in your presence as a burial place to which I may hold fast among you.
And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is east of Mamre,
These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments (sheepfolds) -- "twelve princes according to their tribes. [Foretold in Gen. 17:20.] And Ishmael lived 137 years; then his spirit left him, and he died and was gathered to his kindred. read more. And [Ishmael's sons] dwelt from Havilah to Shur, which is before Egypt in the direction of Assyria. [Ishmael] dwelt close [to the lands] of all his brethren. And this is the history of the descendants of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Padan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean.
When the boys grew up, Esau was a cunning and skilled hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob was a plain and quiet man, dwelling in tents.
Jacob was boiling pottage (lentil stew) one day, when Esau came from the field and was faint [with hunger].
But Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried below Bethel under an oak; and the name of it was called Allon-bacuth [oak of weeping].
When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and [promise to] deal loyally and faithfully with me. Do not bury me, I beg of you, in Egypt, But let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place. And [Joseph] said, I will do as you have directed. read more. Then Jacob said, Swear to me [that you will do it]. And he swore to him. And Israel bowed himself upon the head of the bed.
Moreover, I have given to you [Joseph] one portion [Shechem, one mountain slope] more than any of your brethren, which I took [reclaiming it] out of the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.
And Joseph ordered his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel.
For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre, which Abraham bought, along with the field, for a possession as a burying place from Ephron the Hittite.
And the Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month. And the people dwelt in Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there.
And Moses stripped Aaron of his [priestly] garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there on the mountain top; and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. When all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept and mourned for him thirty days, all the house of Israel.
So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, And He buried him in the valley of the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor, but no man knows where his tomb is to this day.
And the Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor or Troubling to this day.
And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening; and at sunset, Joshua commanded and they took the body down from the tree and cast it at the entrance of the city gate and raised a great heap of stones over it that is there to this day.
They buried him at the edge of his inheritance in Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
And the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem in the portion of ground Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of money; and it became the inheritance of the Josephites.
Now Samuel died, and all the Israelites assembled and mourned for him, and buried him at his house in Ramah. David arose and went to the Wilderness of Paran.
When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, All the valiant men arose and went all night, and they took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan and came to Jabesh and cremated them there. read more. And they took their bones and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
They took Absalom and cast him into a great pit in the forest and raised a very great heap of stones upon him. And all Israel fled, everyone to his own home. Now Absalom in his lifetime had reared up for himself a pillar which is in the King's Valley, for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance. He called the pillar after his own name, and to this day it is called Absalom's Monument.
So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.
So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed Joab, and he was buried at his own house in the wilderness.
And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
Abijam slept with his fathers and they buried him in the City of David. Asa his son reigned in his stead.
Jehu slept with his fathers. They buried him in Samaria. Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.
Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Jehoash his son reigned in his stead.
Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with Israel's kings. Jeroboam [II] reigned in his stead.
And Hezekiah slept with his fathers and was buried in the ascent of the tombs of the descendants of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.
With kings and counselors of the earth, who built up [now] desolate ruins for themselves, Or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.
And then a man's uncle or kinsman, he who is to make a burning to cremate and dispose [of his pestilence-infected body], comes in to bring the bones out of the house, and he shall say to another still alive in the farthest parts of the house, Is there anyone else with you? and he shall say, No. Then shall the newcomer say, Hush! Hold your [cursing] tongue! We dare not so mention the name of the Lord [lest we invoke more punishment].
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. read more. And Joseph took the body and rolled it up in a clean linen cloth used for swathing dead bodies And laid it in his own fresh ( undefiled) tomb, which he had hewn in the rock; and he rolled a big boulder over the door of the tomb and went away.
And laid it in his own fresh ( undefiled) tomb, which he had hewn in the rock; and he rolled a big boulder over the door of the tomb and went away.
And Joseph bought a [fine] linen cloth [ for swathing dead bodies], and, taking Him down from the cross, he rolled Him up in the [fine] linen cloth and placed Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of a rock. Then he rolled a [very large] stone against the door of the tomb.
And in doing so, He arrived at a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the tract of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Now Jesus, again sighing repeatedly and deeply disquieted, approached the tomb. It was a cave (a hole in the rock), and a boulder lay against [the entrance to close] it.
Now there was a garden in the place where He was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever [yet] been laid. So there, because of the Jewish day of Preparation [and] since the tomb was near by, they laid Jesus.
Fausets
The Jews entombed, if possible, or else inferred, their dead; the rabbis alleging as a reason" Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Ge 3:19). Even enemies received burial (1Ki 11:15). The law ordained the same treatment of the malefactor (De 21:23). Nothing but extreme profanity on the part of the deceased during life was deemed a warrant for disturbing their remains (2Ki 23:16-17; Jer 8:1-2). A cave was the usual tomb, as Palestine abounds in caves. The funeral rites were much less elaborate than those of the Egyptians. Jacob and Joseph dying in Egypt were embalmed; the Egyptians, through lack of a better hope, endeavoring to avert or delay corruption. Kings and prophets alone were buried within the walls of towns. A strong family feeling led the Israelites to desire burial in the same tomb as their forefathers.
So Jacob (Ge 49:29-32). The burial place of Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob, in the field of Machpelah (Genesis 23), bought by Abraham from Ephron the Hittite, and the field bought by Jacob from Shechem's father, Hamor, where Joseph's bones were buried (Jos 24:32), were the only fixed possessions the patriarchs had in Canaan, and the sole purchases they made there. They felt their bodies belonged to the Lord. To be excluded from the family burying place, as Uzziah and Manasseh were, was deemed an indignity. 2Ch 26:23; 33:20; compare 1Ki 13:22-31, which shows it was a mark of great respect to one not of one's family to desire burial with him (compare Ru 1:17). The greatest indignity was to be denied burial (2Ki 9:10; Isa 14:20; Jer 22:18-19; 2Sa 21:12-14).
David's magnanimity appears in his care to restore his enemy Saul's remains to the paternal tomb. To give a place in one's own sepulchre was a special honor; as the children of Heth offered Abraham, and as Jehoiada was buried among the kings (Ge 23:6; 2Ch 24:16). So Joseph of Arimathea could not have done a greater honor to our crucified Lord's body than giving it a place in his own new tomb, fulfilling the prophecy Isa 53:9 (Joh 19:31-42). A common tomb for all the kindred, with galleries, is not uncommon in the East. Burning was only practiced in peculiar circumstances, as in the case of Saul's and his sons' mutilated headless bodies, where regular burial was impossible and there was a possibility of the Philistines coming and mutilating them still more. However, the bones were not burned but buried (1Sa 31:11-13). Also in a plague, to prevent contagion (Am 6:9-10).
Costly spices were wrapped up in the linen swathes round the corpse, and also were burnt at the funeral (2Ch 16:14); so Nicodemus honored Jesus with 100 pounds weight of "myrrh and aloes." The rapidity of decomposition in the hot East, and the legal uncleanness of association with a dead body, caused immediate interment; as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5; Nu 19:11-14). Hired mourners with shrill pipes increased the sound of wailings for the dead (Mt 9:23; Jer 9:17; 2Ch 35:25). The body without any coffin was carried to burial on a bier (Lu 7:12). A napkin was bound round the head, and linen bandages wound round the body (Joh 11:44; 19:40). The whole of the preparations are included in the Greek word entafiasmos which Jesus uses (Mr 14:8).
After burial the funeral feast followed (Jer 16:6-8). Eze 24:17, "Eat not the bread of men," i.e. the bread or viands, as well as "the cup of consolation," which men usually bring mourners in token of sympathy. The law (Le 19:28) forbade cuttings in the flesh for the dead, usual among the pagan. Families often reduced their means by lavish expenditure in gifts at funerals, to which there may be reference in De 26:14. By the law also nothing ought to be carried into a mourning house (as being unclean) of that which was sanctified, as for instance tithes. Samuel was buried in his own house at Ramah; and the sepulchers of Judah's kings were in the city of David (2Ch 16:14).
Fine ranges of tombs, said to be of the kings, judges, and prophets, still remain near Jerusalem; but these, many think, are the tomb of Helena, the widow of the king of Adiabene, who settled at Jerusalem and relieved poor Jews in the famine foretold by Agabus under Claudius Caesar. The "graves of the children of the people" were and are in the valley of Kedron or Jehoshaphat (2Ki 23:6); and on the graves of them that had sacrificed to the idols and groves Josiah strawed the dust of their idols (2Ch 34:4): "the graves of the common people" outside the city (Jer 26:23). Tophet, the valley E. of the city, was once the haunt of Moloch worship, but was doomed to defilement by burials there (Jer 7:32; 19:11).
The potters' field, with its holes dug out for clay, afforded graves ready made "to bury strangers in." Tombs were often cut out of the living rock. One of the kings' tombs near Jerusalem has a large circular stone set on its edge. A deep recess is cut in the solid rock at the left of the door, into which the stone might be rolled aside, when the tomb was opened; when closed, the stone would be rolled back to its proper place. The disk is large enough, not only to cover the entrance, but also to fit into another recess at the right of the door, and thus completely shut it in. There is an incline to its proper place, so that to roll it back is much harder than to roll it into it. The women going to Jesus' tomb might well say," Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?" (Mr 16:3.)
Mary stooped to look in, because the door was low; the angel sat on the stone rolled aside into its recess, as the women drew near (Mt 28:2; Joh 20:11; compare Isa 22:16; Lu 23:53). Demoniacs and outcasts would haunt such tombs for shelter, when open (Isa 60:4; Mr 5:5). Sepulchers used to be whitened, after the rains, before the Passover, each year, to guard against any defiling himself by touching them. This explains Jesus' comparison of hypocrites to "whited sepulchers" (Mt 23:27). To repair the prophets' tombs was regarded as an act of great piety (Mt 23:29).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you shall return.
In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you shall return.
Listen to us, my lord; you are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in any tomb or grave of ours that you choose; none of us will withhold from you his tomb or hinder you from burying your dead.
Listen to us, my lord; you are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in any tomb or grave of ours that you choose; none of us will withhold from you his tomb or hinder you from burying your dead.
He charged them and said to them, I am to be gathered to my [departed] people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
He charged them and said to them, I am to be gathered to my [departed] people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, In the cave in the field at Machpelah, east of Mamre in the land of Canaan, that Abraham bought, along with the field of Ephron the Hittite, to possess as a cemetery.
In the cave in the field at Machpelah, east of Mamre in the land of Canaan, that Abraham bought, along with the field of Ephron the Hittite, to possess as a cemetery. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. The purchase of the field and the cave that is in it was from the sons of Heth.
You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead nor print or tattoo any marks upon you; I am the Lord.
You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead nor print or tattoo any marks upon you; I am the Lord.
He who touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean for seven days.
He who touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean for seven days. He shall purify himself with the water for impurity [made with the ashes of the burned heifer] on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean. But if he does not purify himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
He shall purify himself with the water for impurity [made with the ashes of the burned heifer] on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean. But if he does not purify himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. Whoever touches the corpse of any who has died and does not purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Because the water for impurity was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still upon him.
Whoever touches the corpse of any who has died and does not purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Because the water for impurity was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still upon him. This is the law when a man dies in a tent: all who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean for seven days.
This is the law when a man dies in a tent: all who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean for seven days.
His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day, for a hanged man is accursed by God. Thus you shall not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance.
His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day, for a hanged man is accursed by God. Thus you shall not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance.
I have not eaten of the tithe in my mourning [making the tithe unclean], nor have I handled any of it when I was unclean, nor given any of it to the dead. I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me.
I have not eaten of the tithe in my mourning [making the tithe unclean], nor have I handled any of it when I was unclean, nor given any of it to the dead. I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me.
And the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem in the portion of ground Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of money; and it became the inheritance of the Josephites.
And the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem in the portion of ground Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of money; and it became the inheritance of the Josephites.
Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts me from you.
Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts me from you.
When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, All the valiant men arose and went all night, and they took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan and came to Jabesh and cremated them there.
All the valiant men arose and went all night, and they took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan and came to Jabesh and cremated them there. And they took their bones and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
And they took their bones and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of Israel's army went up to bury the slain, he slew every male in Edom.
For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of Israel's army went up to bury the slain, he slew every male in Edom.
But have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which the Lord said to you, Eat no bread and drink no water -- "your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.
But have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which the Lord said to you, Eat no bread and drink no water -- "your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers. And after the prophet of the house had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the man he had brought back.
And after the prophet of the house had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the man he had brought back. And when he had gone, a lion met him by the road and slew him, and his corpse was cast in the way, and the donkey stood by it; the lion also stood by the corpse.
And when he had gone, a lion met him by the road and slew him, and his corpse was cast in the way, and the donkey stood by it; the lion also stood by the corpse. And behold, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown in the road, and the lion standing by the corpse, and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
And behold, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown in the road, and the lion standing by the corpse, and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. When the prophet who brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and slain him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.
When the prophet who brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and slain him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him. And he said to his sons, Saddle the donkey for me. And they saddled it.
And he said to his sons, Saddle the donkey for me. And they saddled it. And he went and found the corpse thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion stood by the body; the lion had not eaten the corpse or torn the donkey.
And he went and found the corpse thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion stood by the body; the lion had not eaten the corpse or torn the donkey. The prophet took up the corpse of the man of God and laid it upon the donkey and brought it back, and the old prophet came into the city to mourn and to bury him.
The prophet took up the corpse of the man of God and laid it upon the donkey and brought it back, and the old prophet came into the city to mourn and to bury him. And he laid the body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
And he laid the body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! After he had buried him, he said to his sons, When I am dead, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
After he had buried him, he said to his sons, When I am dead, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and none shall bury her. And he opened the door and fled.
And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and none shall bury her. And he opened the door and fled.
And Josiah brought the Asherah from the house of the Lord to outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron and burned it there, and beat it to dust and cast its dust upon the graves of the common people [who had sacrificed to it].
And Josiah brought the Asherah from the house of the Lord to outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron and burned it there, and beat it to dust and cast its dust upon the graves of the common people [who had sacrificed to it].
And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs across on the mount, and he sent and brought the bones out of the tombs and burned them upon the altar and defiled it, in fulfillment of the word of the Lord which the man of God prophesied, who predicted these things [about this altar, naming Josiah before he was born].
And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs across on the mount, and he sent and brought the bones out of the tombs and burned them upon the altar and defiled it, in fulfillment of the word of the Lord which the man of God prophesied, who predicted these things [about this altar, naming Josiah before he was born]. Josiah said, What is that monument I see? The men of the city told him, It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and foretold these things that you have just done against the altar of Bethel.
Josiah said, What is that monument I see? The men of the city told him, It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and foretold these things that you have just done against the altar of Bethel.
And they buried him in his own tomb which he had hewn out for himself in the City of David, and they laid him on a bier which was filled with sweet odors and various kinds [of spices] prepared by the perfumers' art; and they made a very great burning [of spices] in his honor.
And they buried him in his own tomb which he had hewn out for himself in the City of David, and they laid him on a bier which was filled with sweet odors and various kinds [of spices] prepared by the perfumers' art; and they made a very great burning [of spices] in his honor.
And they buried him in his own tomb which he had hewn out for himself in the City of David, and they laid him on a bier which was filled with sweet odors and various kinds [of spices] prepared by the perfumers' art; and they made a very great burning [of spices] in his honor.
And they buried him in his own tomb which he had hewn out for himself in the City of David, and they laid him on a bier which was filled with sweet odors and various kinds [of spices] prepared by the perfumers' art; and they made a very great burning [of spices] in his honor.
So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the burial field of the kings [outside the royal tombs], for they said, He is a leper. Jotham his son reigned in his stead.
So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the burial field of the kings [outside the royal tombs], for they said, He is a leper. Jotham his son reigned in his stead.
So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house [garden]. And Amon his son reigned in his stead.
So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house [garden]. And Amon his son reigned in his stead.
They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; the sun-images that were high above them he hewed down; the Asherim and the graven images and the molten images he broke in pieces and made dust of them and strewed it upon the graves of those who sacrificed to them.
They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; the sun-images that were high above them he hewed down; the Asherim and the graven images and the molten images he broke in pieces and made dust of them and strewed it upon the graves of those who sacrificed to them.
You shall not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land and have slain your people. May the descendants of evildoers nevermore be named!
You shall not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land and have slain your people. May the descendants of evildoers nevermore be named!
What business have you here? And whom have you entombed here, that you have the right to hew out for yourself a tomb here? He hews out a sepulcher for himself on the height! He carves out a dwelling for himself in the rock!
What business have you here? And whom have you entombed here, that you have the right to hew out for yourself a tomb here? He hews out a sepulcher for himself on the height! He carves out a dwelling for himself in the rock!
And they assigned Him a grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.
And they assigned Him a grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.
Lift up your eyes round about you and see! They all gather themselves together, they come to you. Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried and nursed in the arms.
Lift up your eyes round about you and see! They all gather themselves together, they come to you. Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried and nursed in the arms.
Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when it shall no more be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-hinnom [son of Hinnom], but the Valley of Slaughter, for [in bloody warfare] they will bury in Topheth till there is no more room and no place else to bury.
Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when it shall no more be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-hinnom [son of Hinnom], but the Valley of Slaughter, for [in bloody warfare] they will bury in Topheth till there is no more room and no place else to bury.
At that time, says the Lord, [the Babylonian army will break open the sepulchers, and] they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves.
At that time, says the Lord, [the Babylonian army will break open the sepulchers, and] they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves. And they will [carelessly] scatter [the corpses] before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which [the dead] have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked and which they have sought, inquired of, and required and which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered, or be buried; they shall be like dung upon the face of the earth.
And they will [carelessly] scatter [the corpses] before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which [the dead] have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked and which they have sought, inquired of, and required and which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered, or be buried; they shall be like dung upon the face of the earth.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come.
Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them or cut themselves or make themselves bald for them.
Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them or cut themselves or make themselves bald for them. Neither shall men prepare food for the mourners to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.
Neither shall men prepare food for the mourners to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother. And you [Jeremiah] shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.
And you [Jeremiah] shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.
And say to them, Thus said the Lord of hosts: Even so will I break this people and this city as one breaks a potter's vessel, so that it cannot be mended. Men will bury in Topheth because there will be no other place for burial and until there is no more room to bury.
And say to them, Thus said the Lord of hosts: Even so will I break this people and this city as one breaks a potter's vessel, so that it cannot be mended. Men will bury in Topheth because there will be no other place for burial and until there is no more room to bury.
Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: [Relatives] shall not lament for him, saying, Ah, my brother! or, Ah, sister, [how great our loss! Subjects] shall not lament for him saying, Ah, lord! or Ah, his majesty! or Ah, [how great was] his glory!
Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: [Relatives] shall not lament for him, saying, Ah, my brother! or, Ah, sister, [how great our loss! Subjects] shall not lament for him saying, Ah, lord! or Ah, his majesty! or Ah, [how great was] his glory! [No] he shall be buried with the burial of a donkey -- "dragged out and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
[No] he shall be buried with the burial of a donkey -- "dragged out and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
And they fetched Uriah from Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who slew him [God's spokesman] with the sword and cast his dead body among the graves of the common people.
And they fetched Uriah from Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who slew him [God's spokesman] with the sword and cast his dead body among the graves of the common people.
Sigh and groan, but not aloud [be silent]; make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban upon your head and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your beard or eat the bread of mourners [furnished by others].
Sigh and groan, but not aloud [be silent]; make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban upon your head and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your beard or eat the bread of mourners [furnished by others].
And it shall come to pass that if there remain ten men in one house, they shall die [by the pestilence that comes with war].
And it shall come to pass that if there remain ten men in one house, they shall die [by the pestilence that comes with war]. And then a man's uncle or kinsman, he who is to make a burning to cremate and dispose [of his pestilence-infected body], comes in to bring the bones out of the house, and he shall say to another still alive in the farthest parts of the house, Is there anyone else with you? and he shall say, No. Then shall the newcomer say, Hush! Hold your [cursing] tongue! We dare not so mention the name of the Lord [lest we invoke more punishment].
And then a man's uncle or kinsman, he who is to make a burning to cremate and dispose [of his pestilence-infected body], comes in to bring the bones out of the house, and he shall say to another still alive in the farthest parts of the house, Is there anyone else with you? and he shall say, No. Then shall the newcomer say, Hush! Hold your [cursing] tongue! We dare not so mention the name of the Lord [lest we invoke more punishment].
And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making an uproar and din,
And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making an uproar and din,
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you are like tombs that have been whitewashed, which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men's bones and everything impure.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you are like tombs that have been whitewashed, which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men's bones and everything impure.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled the boulder back and sat upon it.
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled the boulder back and sat upon it.
Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always shrieking and screaming and beating and bruising and cutting himself with stones.
Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always shrieking and screaming and beating and bruising and cutting himself with stones.
She has done what she could; she came beforehand to anoint My body for the burial.
She has done what she could; she came beforehand to anoint My body for the burial.
And they said to one another, Who will roll back the stone for us out of [the groove across the floor at] the door of the tomb?
And they said to one another, Who will roll back the stone for us out of [the groove across the floor at] the door of the tomb?
[Just] as He drew near the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out -- "the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large gathering from the town was accompanying her.
[Just] as He drew near the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out -- "the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large gathering from the town was accompanying her.
Then he took it down and rolled it up in a linen cloth for swathing dead bodies and laid Him in a rock-hewn tomb, where no one had ever yet been laid.
Then he took it down and rolled it up in a linen cloth for swathing dead bodies and laid Him in a rock-hewn tomb, where no one had ever yet been laid.
And out walked the man who had been dead, his hands and feet wrapped in burial cloths (linen strips), and with a [burial] napkin bound around his face. Jesus said to them, Free him of the burial wrappings and let him go.
And out walked the man who had been dead, his hands and feet wrapped in burial cloths (linen strips), and with a [burial] napkin bound around his face. Jesus said to them, Free him of the burial wrappings and let him go.
Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from hanging on the cross on the Sabbath -- "for that Sabbath was a very solemn and important one -- "the Jews requested Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away.
Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from hanging on the cross on the Sabbath -- "for that Sabbath was a very solemn and important one -- "the Jews requested Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first one, and of the other who had been crucified with Him.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first one, and of the other who had been crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
But when they came to Jesus and they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came (flowed) out.
But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came (flowed) out. And he who saw it (the eyewitness) gives this evidence, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he tells the truth, that you may believe also.
And he who saw it (the eyewitness) gives this evidence, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he tells the truth, that you may believe also. For these things took place, that the Scripture might be fulfilled (verified, carried out), Not one of His bones shall be broken;
For these things took place, that the Scripture might be fulfilled (verified, carried out), Not one of His bones shall be broken; And again another Scripture says, They shall look on Him Whom they have pierced.
And again another Scripture says, They shall look on Him Whom they have pierced. And after this, Joseph of Arimathea -- "a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews -- "asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate granted him permission. So he came and took away His body.
And after this, Joseph of Arimathea -- "a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews -- "asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate granted him permission. So he came and took away His body. And Nicodemus also, who first had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, [weighing] about a hundred pounds.
And Nicodemus also, who first had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, [weighing] about a hundred pounds. So they took Jesus' body and bound it in linen cloths with the spices (aromatics), as is the Jews' customary way to prepare for burial.
So they took Jesus' body and bound it in linen cloths with the spices (aromatics), as is the Jews' customary way to prepare for burial.
So they took Jesus' body and bound it in linen cloths with the spices (aromatics), as is the Jews' customary way to prepare for burial.
So they took Jesus' body and bound it in linen cloths with the spices (aromatics), as is the Jews' customary way to prepare for burial. Now there was a garden in the place where He was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever [yet] been laid.
Now there was a garden in the place where He was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever [yet] been laid. So there, because of the Jewish day of Preparation [and] since the tomb was near by, they laid Jesus.
So there, because of the Jewish day of Preparation [and] since the tomb was near by, they laid Jesus.
But Mary remained standing outside the tomb sobbing. As she wept, she stooped down [and looked] into the tomb.
But Mary remained standing outside the tomb sobbing. As she wept, she stooped down [and looked] into the tomb.
Hastings
Morish
This was the universal custom among the Israelites for the disposal of their dead, and provision was made in the law for the burial of criminals. De 21:23. Those slain in battle were also interred. 1Ki 11:15. This was needful in so warm a country in order to avoid a pestilence, and the dead were always promptly buried, as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira. These were probably bound round with the clothes they were wearing and at once laid in the grave. In other cases linen cloths were wrapped round the body and round the head, as in the case of Lazarus, and as loving hands tended the body of the Lord. Spices were enclosed among the cloths: Nicodemus furnished 100 pound weight of 'myrrh and aloes' at the burial of the Lord, besides what the devout women had brought.
It does not appear that there was any 'service' or prayers offered at the burial of the dead. At the death of Lazarus 'Jews' were present, mourning with the family four days after the death; and in the case of the daughter of Jairus there was a 'tumult' with weeping and great wailing; these were probably hired mourners (as is the custom to this day), for 'musicians' were also present.
Among the judgements pronounced on the people of Jerusalem one was that they should not be buried: their bodies should be eaten by the fowls and the wild beasts. Jer 16:4. In the case of God's two future witnesses in Jerusalem the wicked will rejoice over their dead bodies and will not allow them to be buried; only to have their joy turned into terror when they see them stand upon their feet alive again, and behold them ascend to heaven. Re 11:9-12.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day, for a hanged man is accursed by God. Thus you shall not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance.
For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of Israel's army went up to bury the slain, he slew every male in Edom.
They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like dung upon the face of the ground. They shall perish and be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall be food for the fowls of the air and for the beasts of the earth.
For three and a half days men from the races and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and will not allow them to be put in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will gloat and exult over them and rejoice exceedingly, taking their ease and sending presents [in congratulation] to one another, because these two prophets had been such a vexation and trouble and torment to all the dwellers on the earth. read more. But after three and a half days, by God's gift the breath of life again entered into them, and they rose up on their feet, and great dread and terror fell on those who watched them. Then [the two witnesses] heard a strong voice from heaven calling to them, Come up here! And before the very eyes of their enemies they ascended into heaven in a cloud.
Watsons
BURIAL, the interment of a deceased person; an office held so sacred, that they who neglected it have in all nations been held in abhorrence. As soon as the last breath had fled, the nearest relation, or the dearest friend, gave the lifeless body the parting kiss, the last farewell and sign of affection to the departed relative. This was a custom of immemorial antiquity; for the patriarch Jacob had no sooner yielded up his spirit, than his beloved Joseph, claiming for once the right of the first-born, "fell upon his face and kissed him." It is probable he first closed his eyes, as God had promised he should do: "Joseph shall put his hands upon thine eyes." The parting kiss being given, the company rent their clothes, which was a custom of great antiquity, and the highest expression of grief in the primitive ages. This ceremony was never omitted by the Hebrews when any mournful, event happened, and was performed in the following manner: they took a knife, and holding the blade downward, gave the upper garment a cut in the right side, and rent it a hand's breadth. For very near relations, all the garments are rent on the right side. After closing the eyes, the next care was to bind up the face, which it was no more lawful to behold. The next care of surviving friends was to wash the body, probably, that the ointments and perfumes with which it was to be wrapped up, might enter more easily into the pores, when opened by warm water. This ablution, which was always esteemed an act of great charity and devotion, was performed by women. Thus the body of Dorcas was washed, and laid in an upper room, till the arrival of the Apostle Peter, in the hope that his prayers might restore her to life. After the body was washed, it was shrouded, and swathed with a linen cloth, although in most places, they only put on a pair of drawers and a white tunic; and the head was bound about with a napkin. Such were the napkin and grave clothes in which the Saviour was buried.
2. The body was sometimes embalmed, which was performed by the Egyptians after the following method: the brain was removed with a bent iron, and the vacuity filled up with medicaments; the bowels were also drawn out, and the trunk being stuffed with myrrh, cassia, and other spices, except frankincense, which were proper to exsiccate the humours, it was pickled in nitre, in which it lay for seventy days. After this period, it was wrapped in bandages of fine linen and gums, to make it adhere; and was then delivered to the relations of the deceased entire; all its features, and the very hairs of the eyelids, being preserved. In this manner were the kings of Judah embalmed for many ages. But when the funeral obsequies were not long delayed, they used another kind of embalming. They wrapped up the body with sweet spices and odours, without extracting the brain, or removing the bowels. This is the way in which it was proposed to embalm the lifeless body of our Saviour; which was prevented by his resurrection. The meaner sort of people seem to have been interred in their grave clothes, without a coffin. In this manner was the sacred body of our Lord committed to the tomb. The body was sometimes placed upon a bier, which bore some resemblance to a coffin or bed, in order to be carried out to burial. Upon one of these was carried forth the widow's son of Nain, whom our compassionate Lord raised to life, and restored to his mother. We are informed in the history of the kings of Judah, that, Asa being dead, they laid him in the bed, or bier, which was filled with sweet odours. Josephus, the Jewish historian, describing the funeral of Herod the Great, says, His bed was adorned with precious stones; his body rested under a purple covering; he had a diadem and a crown of gold upon his head, a sceptre in his hand; and all his house followed the bed. The bier used by the Turks at Aleppo is a kind of coffin, much in the form of ours, only the lid rises with a ledge in the middle.
3. The Israelites committed the dead to their native dust; and from the Egyptians, probably, borrowed the practice of burning many spices at their funerals. "They buried Asa in his own sepulchres, which he made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours, and divers kinds of spices, prepared by the apothecaries' art; and they made a very great burning for him," 2Ch 16:14. Thus the Old Testament historian entirely justifies the account which the Evangelist gives, of the quantity of spices with which the sacred body of Christ was swathed. The Jews object to the quantity used on that occasion, as unnecessarily profuse, and even incredible; but it appears from their own writings, that spices were used at such times in great abundance. In the Talmud it is said, that no less than eighty pounds of spices were consumed at the funeral of rabbi Gamaliel the elder. And at the funeral of Herod, if we may believe the account of their most celebrated historian, the procession was followed by five hundred of his domestics carrying spices. Why then should it be reckoned incredible, that Nicodemus brought of myrrh and aloes about a hundred pounds' weight, to embalm the body of Jesus?
4. The funeral procession was attended by professional mourners, eminently skilled in the art of lamentation, whom the friends and relations of the deceased hired, to assist them in expressing their sorrow. They began the ceremony with the stridulous voices of old women, who strove, by their doleful modulations, to extort grief from those that were present. The children in the streets through which they passed, often suspended their sports, to imitate the sounds, and joined with equal sincerity in the lamentations. "But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, and saying, We have mourned you and ye have not lamented," Mt 9:17. Music was afterward introduced to aid the voices of the mourners: the trumpet was used at the funerals of the great, and the small pipe or flute for those of meaner condition. Hired mourners were in use among the Greeks as early as the Trojan war, and probably in ages long before; for in Homer, a choir of mourners were planted around the couch on which the body of Hector was laid out, who sung his funeral dirge with many sighs and tears:
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And they buried him in his own tomb which he had hewn out for himself in the City of David, and they laid him on a bier which was filled with sweet odors and various kinds [of spices] prepared by the perfumers' art; and they made a very great burning [of spices] in his honor.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come.
Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord: There shall be wailing in all the broad ways, and in all the streets they shall say, Alas! Alas! And they shall call the farmers to mourning and such as are skilled in lamentation to wailing.
And the songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day, says the Lord God. The dead bodies shall be many; in every place they shall be cast forth in silence.
Neither is new wine put in old wineskins; for if it is, the skins burst and are torn in pieces, and the wine is spilled and the skins are ruined. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.