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.
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And Isaac and Ishmael his sons bury him at the cave of Machpelah, at the field of Ephron, son of Zoar the Hittite, which is before Mamre --
and Isaac expireth, and dieth, and is gathered unto his people, aged and satisfied with days; and bury him do Esau and Jacob his sons.
and all the men of valour arise, and go all the night, and take the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-Shan, and come in to Jabesh, and burn them there,
And David saith unto Joab, and unto all the people who are with him, 'Rend your garments, and gird on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner;' and king David is going after the bier.
and bury the bones of Saul and of Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin, in Zelah, in the burying-place of Kish his father, and do all that the king commanded, and God is entreated for the land afterwards.
If a man doth beget a hundred, and live many years, and is great, because they are the days of his years, and his soul is not satisfied from the goodness, and also he hath not had a grave, I have said, 'Better than he is the untimely birth.'
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Consider ye, and call for mourning women, And they come, And to the wise women send, and they come,
Nor do they deal out to them for mourning, To comfort him concerning the dead, Nor cause them to drink a cup of consolations For his father and for his mother. A house of banqueting thou dost not enter, To sit with them, to eat and to drink,
Therefore, thus said Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: They do not lament for him, Ah, my brother, and Ah, sister, They do not lament for him, Ah, lord, and Ah, his honour. The burial of an ass -- he is buried, Dragged and cast out thence to the gates of Jerusalem.
Gird the horses, and go up, ye horsemen, And station yourselves with helmets, Polish the javelins, put on the coats of mail.
The word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet:
Cease to groan, for the dead thou dost make no mourning, thy bonnet bind on thee, and thy shoes thou dost put on thy feet, and thou dost not cover over the upper lip, and bread of men thou dost not eat.' And I speak unto the people in the morning, and my wife dieth in the evening, and I do in the morning as I have been commanded.
Therefore, thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, the Lord, In all broad places is lamentation, And in all out-places they say, 'Alas, alas,' And called the husbandman to mourning, And to lamentation the skilful of wailing.
And lifted him up hath his loved one, even his burner, To bring forth the bones from the house, And he said to him who is in the sides of the house, 'Is there yet with thee?' And he said, 'None,' then he said, 'Hush! Save to make mention of the name of Jehovah.'
And Jesus having come to the house of the ruler, and having seen the minstrels and the multitude making tumult,
And having taken the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen,
and he cometh to the house of the chief of the synagogue, and seeth a tumult, much weeping and wailing;
and having come near, he touched the bier, and those bearing it stood still, and he said, 'Young man, to thee I say, Arise;'
and many of the Jews had come unto Martha and Mary, that they might comfort them concerning their brother;
the Jews, therefore, who were with her in the house, and were comforting her, having seen Mary that she rose up quickly and went forth, followed her, saying -- 'She doth go away to the tomb, that she may weep there.'
and he who died came forth, being bound feet and hands with grave-clothes, and his visage with a napkin was bound about; Jesus saith to them, 'Loose him, and suffer to go.'
and having risen, the younger men wound him up, and having carried forth, they buried him.
and she fell down presently at his feet, and expired, and the young men having come in, found her dead, and having carried forth, they buried her by her husband;
And Peter having risen, went with them, whom having come, they brought into the upper chamber, and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing coats and garments, as many as Dorcas was making while she was with them.
And Peter having risen, went with them, whom having come, they brought into the upper chamber, and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing coats and garments, as many as Dorcas was making 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.
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and he giveth to me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the extremity of his field; for full money doth he give it to me, in your midst, for a possession of a burying-place.'
And Isaac and Ishmael his sons bury him at the cave of Machpelah, at the field of Ephron, son of Zoar the Hittite, which is before Mamre --
these are sons of Ishmael, and these their names, by their villages, and by their towers; twelve princes according to their peoples. And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, a hundred and thirty and seven years; and he expireth, and dieth, and is gathered unto his people; read more. and they tabernacle from Havilah unto Shur, which is before Egypt, in thy going towards Asshur; in the presence of all his brethren hath he fallen. And these are births of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham hath begotten Isaac; and Isaac is a son of forty years in his taking Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramaean, from Padan-Aram, sister of Laban the Aramaean, to him for a wife.
And the youths grew, and Esau is a man acquainted with hunting, a man of the field; and Jacob is a plain man, inhabiting tents;
And Jacob boileth pottage, and Esau cometh in from the field, and he is weary;
And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, dieth, and she is buried at the lower part of Bethel, under the oak, and he calleth its name 'Oak of weeping.'
And the days of Israel are near to die, and he calleth for his son, for Joseph, and saith to him, 'If, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and thou hast done with me kindness and truth; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt, and I have lain with my fathers, and thou hast borne me out of Egypt, and buried me in their burying-place.' And he saith, 'I -- I do according to thy word;' read more. and he saith, 'Swear to me;' and he sweareth to him, and Israel boweth himself on the head of the bed.
and I -- I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I have taken out of the hand of the Amorite by my sword and by 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 commandeth his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father, and the physicians embalm Israel;
and his sons bear him away to the land of Canaan, and bury him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a burying-place, from Ephron the Hittite, on the front of Mamre.
And the sons of Israel come in, -- all the company -- to the wilderness of Zin, in the first month, and the people abide in Kadesh, and Miriam dieth there, and is buried there.
and Moses strippeth Aaron of his garments, and clotheth with them Eleazar his son, and Aaron dieth there on the top of the mount; and Moses cometh down -- Eleazar also -- from the mount, and all the company see that Aaron hath expired, and they bewail Aaron thirty days -- all the house of Israel.
And Moses, servant of the Lord, dieth there, in the land of Moab, according to the command of Jehovah; and He burieth him in a valley in the land of Moab, over-against Beth-Peor, and no man hath known his burying place unto this day.
And the sons of Israel bewail Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; and the days of weeping and mourning for Moses are completed.
and they raise up over him a great heap of stones unto this day, and Jehovah turneth back from the heat of His anger, therefore hath one called the name of that place 'Valley of Achor' till this day.
and the king of Ai he hath hanged on the tree till even-time, and at the going in of the sun hath Joshua commanded, and they take down his carcase from the tree, and cast it unto the opening of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones till this day.
and they bury him in the border of his inheritance, in Timnath-Serah, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the hill of Gaash.
And the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in the portion of the field which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor father of Shechem, with a hundred kesitah; and they are to the sons of Joseph for an inheritance.
And Samuel dieth, and all Israel are gathered, and mourn for him, and bury him in his house, in Ramah; and David riseth and goeth down unto the wilderness of Paran.
And they hear regarding it -- the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead -- that which the Philistines have done to Saul, and all the men of valour arise, and go all the night, and take the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-Shan, and come in to Jabesh, and burn them there, read more. and they take their bones, and bury them under the tamarisk in Jabesh, and fast seven days.
and they take Absalom and cast him in the forest unto the great pit, and set up over him a very great heap of stones, and all Israel have fled -- each to his tent. And Absalom hath taken, and setteth up for himself in his life, the standing-pillar that is in the king's valley, for he said, 'I have no son to cause my name to be remembered;' and he calleth the standing-pillar by his own name, and it is called 'The monument of Absalom' unto this day.
And David lieth down with his fathers, and is buried in the city of David,
And Benaiah son of Jehoiada goeth up and falleth upon him, and putteth him to death, and he is buried in his own house in the wilderness,
and Solomon lieth with his fathers, and is buried in the city of David his father, and reign doth Rehoboam his son in his stead.
and Abijam lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David, and reign doth Asa his son in his stead.
And Jehu lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in Samaria, and reign doth Jehoahaz his son in his stead.
And Jehoahaz lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in Samaria, and reign doth Joash his son in his stead.
And Jehoash lieth with his fathers, and is buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and reign doth Jeroboam his son in his stead.
And Hezekiah lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the uppermost of the graves of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem have done honour to him at his death, and reign doth Manasseh his son in his stead.
With kings and counsellors of earth, These building wastes for themselves. Or with princes -- they have gold, They are filling their houses with silver.
And lifted him up hath his loved one, even his burner, To bring forth the bones from the house, And he said to him who is in the sides of the house, 'Is there yet with thee?' And he said, 'None,' then he said, 'Hush! Save to make mention of the name of Jehovah.'
And evening having come, there came a rich man, from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was discipled to Jesus, he having gone near to Pilate, asked for himself the body of Jesus; then Pilate commanded the body to be given back. read more. And having taken the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen, and laid it in his new tomb, that he hewed in the rock, and having rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, he went away;
and laid it in his new tomb, that he hewed in the rock, and having rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, he went away;
And he, having brought fine linen, and having taken him down, wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre that had been hewn out of a rock, and he rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre,
He cometh, therefore, to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the place that Jacob gave to Joseph his son;
Jesus, therefore, again groaning in himself, cometh to the tomb, and it was a cave, and a stone was lying upon it,
and there was in the place where he was crucified a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one was yet laid; there, therefore, because of the preparation of the Jews, because the tomb was nigh, 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).
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by the sweat of thy face thou dost eat bread till thy return unto the ground, for out of it hast thou been taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust thou turnest back.'
by the sweat of thy face thou dost eat bread till thy return unto the ground, for out of it hast thou been taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust thou turnest back.'
Hear us, my lord; a prince of God art thou in our midst; in the choice of our burying-places bury thy dead: none of us his burying-place doth withhold from thee, from burying thy dead.'
Hear us, my lord; a prince of God art thou in our midst; in the choice of our burying-places bury thy dead: none of us his burying-place doth withhold from thee, from burying thy dead.'
And he commandeth them, and saith unto them, 'I am being gathered unto my people; bury me by my fathers, at the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite;
And he commandeth them, and saith unto them, 'I am being gathered unto my people; bury me by my fathers, at the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite; in the cave which is in the field of Machpelah, which is on the front of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place;
in the cave which is in the field of Machpelah, which is on the front of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place; (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 of the cave which is in it, is from Sons of Heth.'
the purchase of the field and of the cave which is in it, is from Sons of Heth.'
And a cutting for the soul ye do not put in your flesh; and a writing, a cross-mark, ye do not put on you; I am Jehovah.
And a cutting for the soul ye do not put in your flesh; and a writing, a cross-mark, ye do not put on you; I am Jehovah.
He who is coming against the dead body of any man -- is unclean seven days;
He who is coming against the dead body of any man -- is unclean seven days; he doth cleanse himself for it on the third day, and on the seventh day he is clean; and if he cleanse not himself on the third day, then on the seventh day he is not clean.
he doth cleanse himself for it on the third day, and on the seventh day he is clean; and if he cleanse not himself on the third day, then on the seventh day he is not clean. Any one who is coming against the dead, against the body of man who dieth, and cleanseth not himself -- the tabernacle of Jehovah he hath defiled, and that person hath been cut off from Israel, for water of separation is not sprinkled upon him; he is unclean; his uncleanness is still upon him.
Any one who is coming against the dead, against the body of man who dieth, and cleanseth not himself -- the tabernacle of Jehovah he hath defiled, and that person hath been cut off from Israel, for water of separation is not sprinkled upon him; he is unclean; his uncleanness is still upon him. This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: every one who is coming in unto the tent, and all that is in the tent, is unclean seven days;
This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: every one who is coming in unto the tent, and all that is in the tent, is unclean seven days;
his corpse doth not remain on the tree, for thou dost certainly bury him in that day -- for a thing lightly esteemed of God is the hanged one -- and thou dost not defile thy ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee -- an inheritance.
his corpse doth not remain on the tree, for thou dost certainly bury him in that day -- for a thing lightly esteemed of God is the hanged one -- and thou dost not defile thy ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee -- an inheritance.
I have not eaten in mine affliction of it, nor have I put away of it for uncleanness, nor have I given of it for the dead; I have hearkened to the voice of Jehovah my God; I have done according to all that Thou hast commanded me;
I have not eaten in mine affliction of it, nor have I put away of it for uncleanness, nor have I given of it for the dead; I have hearkened to the voice of Jehovah my God; I have done according to all that Thou hast commanded me;
And the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in the portion of the field which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor father of Shechem, with a hundred kesitah; and they are to the sons of Joseph for an inheritance.
And the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in the portion of the field which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor father of Shechem, with a hundred kesitah; and they are to the sons of Joseph for an inheritance.
Where thou diest I die, and there I am buried; thus doth Jehovah to me, and thus doth He add -- for death itself doth part between me and thee.'
Where thou diest I die, and there I am buried; thus doth Jehovah to me, and thus doth He add -- for death itself doth part between me and thee.'
And they hear regarding it -- the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead -- that which the Philistines have done to Saul,
And they hear regarding it -- the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead -- that which the Philistines have done to Saul, and all the men of valour arise, and go all the night, and take the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-Shan, and come in to Jabesh, and burn them there,
and all the men of valour arise, and go all the night, and take the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-Shan, and come in to Jabesh, and burn them there, and they take their bones, and bury them under the tamarisk in Jabesh, and fast seven days.
and they take their bones, and bury them under the tamarisk in Jabesh, and fast seven days.
and it cometh to pass, in David's being with Edom, in the going up of Joab head of the host to bury the slain, that he smiteth every male in Edom --
and it cometh to pass, in David's being with Edom, in the going up of Joab head of the host to bury the slain, that he smiteth every male in Edom --
and turnest back and dost eat bread and drink water in the place of which He said unto thee, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink water -- thy carcase cometh not in unto the burying-place of thy fathers.'
and turnest back and dost eat bread and drink water in the place of which He said unto thee, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink water -- thy carcase cometh not in unto the burying-place of thy fathers.' And it cometh to pass, after his eating bread, and after his drinking, that he saddleth for him the ass, for the prophet whom he had brought back,
And it cometh to pass, after his eating bread, and after his drinking, that he saddleth for him the ass, for the prophet whom he had brought back, and he goeth, and a lion findeth him in the way, and putteth him to death, and his carcase is cast in the way, and the ass is standing near it, and the lion is standing near the carcase.
and he goeth, and a lion findeth him in the way, and putteth him to death, and his carcase is cast in the way, and the ass is standing near it, and the lion is standing near the carcase. And lo, men are passing by, and see the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing near the carcase, and they come and speak of it in the city in which the old prophet is dwelling.
And lo, men are passing by, and see the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing near the carcase, and they come and speak of it in the city in which the old prophet is dwelling. And the prophet who brought him back out of the way heareth and saith, 'It is the man of God who provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth him to the lion, and it destroyeth him, and putteth him to death, according to the word of Jehovah that he spake to him.'
And the prophet who brought him back out of the way heareth and saith, 'It is the man of God who provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth him to the lion, and it destroyeth him, and putteth him to death, according to the word of Jehovah that he spake to him.' And he speaketh unto his sons saying, 'Saddle for me the ass,' and they saddle it.
And he speaketh unto his sons saying, 'Saddle for me the ass,' and they saddle it. And he goeth and findeth his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion are standing near the carcase -- the lion hath not eaten the carcase nor destroyed the ass.
And he goeth and findeth his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion are standing near the carcase -- the lion hath not eaten the carcase nor destroyed the ass. And the prophet taketh up the carcase of the man of God, and placeth it on the ass, and bringeth it back, and the old prophet cometh in unto the city to mourn and to bury him,
And the prophet taketh up the carcase of the man of God, and placeth it on the ass, and bringeth it back, and the old prophet cometh in unto the city to mourn and to bury him, and he placeth his carcase in his own grave, and they mourn for him, 'Oh, my brother!'
and he placeth his carcase in his own grave, and they mourn for him, 'Oh, my brother!' And it cometh to pass, after his burying him, that he speaketh unto his sons, saying, 'At my death -- ye have buried me in the burying-place in which the man of God is buried; near his bones place my bones;
And it cometh to pass, after his burying him, that he speaketh unto his sons, saying, 'At my death -- ye have buried me in the burying-place in which the man of God is buried; near his bones place my bones;
and Jezebel do the dogs eat in the portion of Jezreel, and there is none burying;' and he openeth the door and fleeth.
and Jezebel do the dogs eat in the portion of Jezreel, and there is none burying;' and he openeth the door and fleeth.
And he bringeth out the shrine from the house of Jehovah to the outside of Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burneth it at the brook Kidron, and beateth it small to dust, and casteth its dust on the grave of the sons of the people.
And he bringeth out the shrine from the house of Jehovah to the outside of Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burneth it at the brook Kidron, and beateth it small to dust, and casteth its dust on the grave of the sons of the people.
And Josiah turneth, and seeth the graves that are there in the mount, and sendeth and taketh the bones out of the graves, and burneth them on the altar, and defileth it, according to the word of Jehovah that the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.
And Josiah turneth, and seeth the graves that are there in the mount, and sendeth and taketh the bones out of the graves, and burneth them on the altar, and defileth it, according to the word of Jehovah that the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. And he saith, 'What is this sign that I see?' and the men of the city say unto him, 'The grave of the man of God who hath come from Judah, and proclaimeth these things that thou hast done concerning the altar of Beth-El.'
And he saith, 'What is this sign that I see?' and the men of the city say unto him, 'The grave of the man of God who hath come from Judah, and proclaimeth these things that thou hast done concerning the altar of Beth-El.'
and they bury him in one of his graves, that he had prepared for himself in the city of David, and they cause him to lie on a bed that one hath filled with spices, and divers kinds of mixtures, with perfumed work; and they burn for him a burning -- very great.
and they bury him in one of his graves, that he had prepared for himself in the city of David, and they cause him to lie on a bed that one hath filled with spices, and divers kinds of mixtures, with perfumed work; and they burn for him a burning -- very great.
and they bury him in one of his graves, that he had prepared for himself in the city of David, and they cause him to lie on a bed that one hath filled with spices, and divers kinds of mixtures, with perfumed work; and they burn for him a burning -- very great.
and they bury him in one of his graves, that he had prepared for himself in the city of David, and they cause him to lie on a bed that one hath filled with spices, and divers kinds of mixtures, with perfumed work; and they burn for him a burning -- very great.
and Uzziah lieth with his fathers, and they bury him with his fathers, in the field of the burying-place that the kings have, for they said, 'He is a leper;' and reign doth Jotham his son in his stead.
and Uzziah lieth with his fathers, and they bury him with his fathers, in the field of the burying-place that the kings have, for they said, 'He is a leper;' and reign doth Jotham his son in his stead.
And Manasseh lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in his own house, and reign doth Amon his son in his stead.
And Manasseh lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in his own house, and reign doth Amon his son in his stead.
And they break down before him the altars of the Baalim, and the images that are on high above them he hath cut down, and the shrines, and the graven images, and the molten images, he hath broken and beaten small, and streweth on the surface of the graves of those sacrificing to them,
And they break down before him the altars of the Baalim, and the images that are on high above them he hath cut down, and the shrines, and the graven images, and the molten images, he hath broken and beaten small, and streweth on the surface of the graves of those sacrificing to them,
Thou art not united with them in burial, For thy land thou hast destroyed, Thy people thou hast slain, Not named to the age is the seed of evil doers.
Thou art not united with them in burial, For thy land thou hast destroyed, Thy people thou hast slain, Not named to the age is the seed of evil doers.
What -- to thee here? And who -- to thee here? That thou hast hewn out to thee here -- a sepulchre? Hewing on high his sepulchre, Graving in a rock a dwelling for himself.
What -- to thee here? And who -- to thee here? That thou hast hewn out to thee here -- a sepulchre? Hewing on high his sepulchre, Graving in a rock a dwelling for himself.
And it appointeth with the wicked his grave, And with the rich are his high places, Because he hath done no violence, Nor is deceit in his mouth.
And it appointeth with the wicked his grave, And with the rich are his high places, Because he hath done no violence, Nor is deceit in his mouth.
Lift up round about thine eyes and see, All of them have been gathered, they have come to thee, Thy sons from afar do come, And thy daughters on the side are supported.
Lift up round about thine eyes and see, All of them have been gathered, they have come to thee, Thy sons from afar do come, And thy daughters on the side are supported.
Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And it is not said any more, 'The Tophet,' And 'Valley of the son of Hinnom,' But 'Valley of the slaughter,' And they have buried in Tophet -- without place.
Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And it is not said any more, 'The Tophet,' And 'Valley of the son of Hinnom,' But 'Valley of the slaughter,' And they have buried in Tophet -- without place.
At that time, an affirmation of Jehovah, They bring the bones of the kings of Judah, And the bones of its princes, And the bones of the priests, And the bones of the prophets, And the bones of inhabitants of Jerusalem, Out of their graves,
At that time, an affirmation of Jehovah, They bring the bones of the kings of Judah, And the bones of its princes, And the bones of the priests, And the bones of the prophets, And the bones of inhabitants of Jerusalem, Out of their graves, And have spread them to sun, and to moon, And to all the host of the heavens, that they have loved, And that they have served, And that they have walked after, And that they have sought, And to which they have bowed themselves, They are not gathered, nor buried, They are for dung on the face of the ground.
And have spread them to sun, and to moon, And to all the host of the heavens, that they have loved, And that they have served, And that they have walked after, And that they have sought, And to which they have bowed themselves, They are not gathered, nor buried, They are for dung on the face of the ground.
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Consider ye, and call for mourning women, And they come, And to the wise women send, and they come,
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Consider ye, and call for mourning women, And they come, And to the wise women send, and they come,
And died have great and small in this land, They are not buried, and none lament for them, Nor doth any cut himself, nor become bald for them.
And died have great and small in this land, They are not buried, and none lament for them, Nor doth any cut himself, nor become bald for them. Nor do they deal out to them for mourning, To comfort him concerning the dead, Nor cause them to drink a cup of consolations For his father and for his mother.
Nor do they deal out to them for mourning, To comfort him concerning the dead, Nor cause them to drink a cup of consolations For his father and for his mother. A house of banqueting thou dost not enter, To sit with them, to eat and to drink,
A house of banqueting thou dost not enter, To sit with them, to eat and to drink,
and hast said unto them: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Thus do I break this people and this city, as one breaketh the potter's vessel, that is not able to be repaired again, and in Tophet they bury -- without place to bury;
and hast said unto them: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Thus do I break this people and this city, as one breaketh the potter's vessel, that is not able to be repaired again, and in Tophet they bury -- without place to bury;
Therefore, thus said Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: They do not lament for him, Ah, my brother, and Ah, sister, They do not lament for him, Ah, lord, and Ah, his honour.
Therefore, thus said Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: They do not lament for him, Ah, my brother, and Ah, sister, They do not lament for him, Ah, lord, and Ah, his honour. The burial of an ass -- he is buried, Dragged and cast out thence to the gates of Jerusalem.
The burial of an ass -- he is buried, Dragged and cast out thence to the gates of Jerusalem.
And they bring out Urijah from Egypt, and bring him in unto the king Jehoiakim, and he smiteth him with a sword, and casteth his corpse unto the graves of the sons of the people.'
And they bring out Urijah from Egypt, and bring him in unto the king Jehoiakim, and he smiteth him with a sword, and casteth his corpse unto the graves of the sons of the people.'
Cease to groan, for the dead thou dost make no mourning, thy bonnet bind on thee, and thy shoes thou dost put on thy feet, and thou dost not cover over the upper lip, and bread of men thou dost not eat.'
Cease to groan, for the dead thou dost make no mourning, thy bonnet bind on thee, and thy shoes thou dost put on thy feet, and thou dost not cover over the upper lip, and bread of men thou dost not eat.'
And if there are left ten persons in one house, It hath come to pass -- that they have died.
And if there are left ten persons in one house, It hath come to pass -- that they have died. And lifted him up hath his loved one, even his burner, To bring forth the bones from the house, And he said to him who is in the sides of the house, 'Is there yet with thee?' And he said, 'None,' then he said, 'Hush! Save to make mention of the name of Jehovah.'
And lifted him up hath his loved one, even his burner, To bring forth the bones from the house, And he said to him who is in the sides of the house, 'Is there yet with thee?' And he said, 'None,' then he said, 'Hush! Save to make mention of the name of Jehovah.'
And Jesus having come to the house of the ruler, and having seen the minstrels and the multitude making tumult,
And Jesus having come to the house of the ruler, and having seen the minstrels and the multitude making tumult,
'Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye are like to whitewashed sepulchres, which outwardly indeed do appear beautiful, and within are full of bones of dead men, and of all uncleanness;
'Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye are like to whitewashed sepulchres, which outwardly indeed do appear beautiful, and within are full of bones of dead men, and of all uncleanness;
'Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the tombs of the righteous,
'Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the tombs of the righteous,
and lo, there came a great earthquake, for a messenger of the Lord, having come down out of heaven, having come, did roll away the stone from the door, and was sitting upon it,
and lo, there came a great earthquake, for a messenger of the Lord, having come down out of heaven, having come, did roll away the stone from the door, and was sitting upon it,
and always, night and day, in the mountains, and in the tombs he was, crying and cutting himself with stones.
and always, night and day, in the mountains, and in the tombs he was, crying and cutting himself with stones.
what she could she did, she anticipated to anoint my body for the embalming.
what she could she did, she anticipated to anoint my body for the embalming.
and they said among themselves, 'Who shall roll away for us the stone out of the door of the sepulchre?'
and they said among themselves, 'Who shall roll away for us the stone out of the door of the sepulchre?'
and as he came nigh to the gate of the city, then, lo, one dead was being carried forth, an only son of his mother, and she a widow, and a great multitude of the city was with her.
and as he came nigh to the gate of the city, then, lo, one dead was being carried forth, an only son of his mother, and she a widow, and a great multitude of the city was with her.
and having taken it down, he wrapped it in fine linen, and placed it in a tomb hewn out, where no one was yet laid.
and having taken it down, he wrapped it in fine linen, and placed it in a tomb hewn out, where no one was yet laid.
and he who died came forth, being bound feet and hands with grave-clothes, and his visage with a napkin was bound about; Jesus saith to them, 'Loose him, and suffer to go.'
and he who died came forth, being bound feet and hands with grave-clothes, and his visage with a napkin was bound about; Jesus saith to them, 'Loose him, and suffer to go.'
The Jews, therefore, that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, since it was the preparation, (for that sabbath day was a great one,) asked of Pilate that their legs may be broken, and they taken away.
The Jews, therefore, that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, since it was the preparation, (for that sabbath day was a great one,) asked of Pilate that their legs may be broken, and they taken away. The soldiers, therefore, came, and of the first indeed they did break the legs, and of the other who was crucified with him,
The soldiers, therefore, came, and of the first indeed they did break the legs, and of the other who was crucified with him, and having come to Jesus, when they saw him already having been dead, they did not break his legs;
and having come to Jesus, when they saw him already having been dead, they did not break his legs; but one of the soldiers with a spear did pierce his side, and immediately there came forth blood and water;
but one of the soldiers with a spear did pierce his side, and immediately there came forth blood and water; and he who hath seen hath testified, and his testimony is true, and that one hath known that true things he speaketh, that ye also may believe.
and he who hath seen hath testified, and his testimony is true, and that one hath known that true things he speaketh, that ye also may believe. For these things came to pass, that the Writing may be fulfilled, 'A bone of him shall not be broken;'
For these things came to pass, that the Writing may be fulfilled, 'A bone of him shall not be broken;' and again another Writing saith, 'They shall look to him whom they did pierce.'
and again another Writing saith, 'They shall look to him whom they did pierce.' And after these things did Joseph of Arimathea -- being a disciple of Jesus, but concealed, through the fear of the Jews -- ask of Pilate, that he may take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave leave; he came, therefore, and took away the body of Jesus,
And after these things did Joseph of Arimathea -- being a disciple of Jesus, but concealed, through the fear of the Jews -- ask of Pilate, that he may take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave leave; he came, therefore, and took away the body of Jesus, and Nicodemus also came -- who came unto Jesus by night at the first -- bearing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, as it were, a hundred pounds.
and Nicodemus also came -- who came unto Jesus by night at the first -- bearing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, as it were, a hundred pounds. They took, therefore, the body of Jesus, and bound it with linen clothes with the spices, according as it was the custom of the Jews to prepare for burial;
They took, therefore, the body of Jesus, and bound it with linen clothes with the spices, according as it was the custom of the Jews to prepare for burial;
They took, therefore, the body of Jesus, and bound it with linen clothes with the spices, according as it was the custom of the Jews to prepare for burial;
They took, therefore, the body of Jesus, and bound it with linen clothes with the spices, according as it was the custom of the Jews to prepare for burial; and there was in the place where he was crucified a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one was yet laid;
and there was in the place where he was crucified a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one was yet laid; there, therefore, because of the preparation of the Jews, because the tomb was nigh, they laid Jesus.
there, therefore, because of the preparation of the Jews, because the tomb was nigh, they laid Jesus.
and Mary was standing near the tomb, weeping without; as she was weeping, then, she stooped down to the tomb, and beholdeth two messengers in white, sitting,
and Mary was standing near the tomb, weeping without; as she was weeping, then, she stooped down to the tomb, and beholdeth two messengers in white, sitting,
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.
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his corpse doth not remain on the tree, for thou dost certainly bury him in that day -- for a thing lightly esteemed of God is the hanged one -- and thou dost not defile thy ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee -- an inheritance.
and it cometh to pass, in David's being with Edom, in the going up of Joab head of the host to bury the slain, that he smiteth every male in Edom --
Of painful deaths they die, They are not lamented, nor are they buried, For dung on the face of the ground they are, And by sword and by famine are consumed, And their carcase hath been for food To the fowl of the heavens, And to the beast of the earth.
and they shall behold -- they of the peoples, and tribes, and tongues, and nations -- their dead bodies three days and a half, and their dead bodies they shall not suffer to be put into tombs, and those dwelling upon the land shall rejoice over them, and shall make merry, and gifts they shall send to one another, because these -- the two prophets -- did torment those dwelling upon the land.' read more. And after the three days and a half, a spirit of life from God did enter into them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon those beholding them, and they heard a great voice out of the heaven saying to them, 'Come up hither;' and they went up to the heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them;
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:
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and they bury him in one of his graves, that he had prepared for himself in the city of David, and they cause him to lie on a bed that one hath filled with spices, and divers kinds of mixtures, with perfumed work; and they burn for him a burning -- very great.
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Consider ye, and call for mourning women, And they come, And to the wise women send, and they come,
Therefore, thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, the Lord, In all broad places is lamentation, And in all out-places they say, 'Alas, alas,' And called the husbandman to mourning, And to lamentation the skilful of wailing.
And howled have songstresses of a palace in that day, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Many are the carcases, into any place throw -- hush!
Nor do they put new wine into old skins, and if not -- the skins burst, and the wine doth run out, and the skins are destroyed, but they put new wine into new skins, and both are preserved together.'