Reference: Mourning
American
The Hebrews, at the death of their friends and relations, made striking demonstrations of grief and mourning. They wept, tore their clothes, smote their breasts, threw dust upon their heads, Jos 7:6, and lay upon the ground, went barefooted, pulled their hair and beards, or cut them, Ezr 9:3; Isa 15:2, and made incisions on their breasts, or tore them with their nails, Le 19:28; 21:5; Jer 16:6; 48:37. The time of mourning was commonly seven days, 1Sa 31:11-13; but it was lengthened or shortened according to circumstances, Zec 12:10. That for Moses and Aaron was prolonged to thirty days, Nu 20:29; De 34:8; and that for Jacob to seventy days, Ge 50:3.
During the time of their mourning, the near relations of the deceased continued sitting in their houses, and fasted, 2Sa 12:16, or ate on the ground. The food they took was thought unclean, and even themselves were judged impure. "Their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners: all that eat thereof shall be polluted," Ho 9:4. Their faces were covered, and in all that time they could not apply themselves to any occupation, nor read the book of the law, nor offer their usual prayers. They did not dress themselves, nor make their beds, nor uncover their heads, nor shave themselves, nor cut their nails, nor go into the bath, nor salute any body. Nobody spoke to them unless they spoke first, Job 2:11-13. Their friends commonly went to visit and comfort them, Joh 11:19,39, bringing them food, 2Sa 3:35; Jer 16:7. They also went up to the roof, or upon the platform of their houses, to bewail their misfortune: "They shall gird themselves with sackcloth; on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly," Isa 15:3; Jer 48:38. The mourning dress among the Hebrews was not fixed either by law or custom. We only find in Scripture that they used to tear their garments, a custom still observed; but now they tear a small part merely, and for form's sake, 2Sa 13:19; 2Ch 34:27; Ezr 9:3; Job 2:12; Joe 2:13. Anciently in times of mourning, they clothed themselves in sackcloth, or haircloth, that is, in clothes of coarse brown or black stuff, 2Sa 3:31; 1Ki 21:27; Es 4:1; Ps 35:13; 69:11.
They hired women to weep and wail, and also persons to play on instruments, at the funerals of the rich or distinguished, Jer 9:17. In Mt 9:23, we observe a company of minstrels or players on the flute, at the funeral of a girl of twelve year of age. All that met a funeral procession were accustomed to join them for a time, to accompany them on their way, sometimes relieving the bearers of the bier, and mingling their tears with those of the mourners, Ro 12:15.
The custom of hiring women to weep and wail has come down to modern times. The following account of such a scene at Nablous, the ancient Shechem, is form Dr. Jowett. The governor of the city had died the very morning of Dr. Jowett's arrival. "On coming within sight of the gate, we perceived a numerous company of females, who were singing in a kind of recitative, far from melancholy, and beating time with their hands. If this be mourning, I thought, it is of a strange kind. It had indeed sometimes more the air of angry defiance. But on our reaching the gate, it was suddenly exchanged for most hideous plaints and shrieks, which, with the feeling that we were entering a city at no time celebrated for its hospitality, struck a very dismal impression upon my mind. They accompanied us a few paces; but it soon appeared that the gate was their station, to which having received nothing from us, they returned. We learned, in the course of the evening, that these were only a small detachment of a very numerous body of 'cunning women' with the design, as of old, to make the eyes of all the inhabitants 'run down with tears, and their eyelids gush out with water,' Jer 9:17-18. For this good service, they would, the next morning wait upon the government and principal persons, to receive some trifling fee."
Some of the Jewish forms of mourning are the appropriate and universal language of grief; others, to our modern and occidental taste, savor of extravagance. None of these were enjoined by their religion, which rather restricted than encouraged them, Le 10:6; 19:27; 21:1-11; Nu 6:7; De 14:1. They were the established customs of the times. Sorrow finds some relief in reversing all the usages of ordinary life. Christianity, however, moderates and assuages our grief; shows us a Father's hand holding the rod, and the dark valley itself penetrated by the heavenly light into which it emerges, 1Co 15:53-55; 1Th 4:14-18; Re 7:13-17; 14:13.
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And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those who are embalmed. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar his sons, Your heads shall ye not uncover, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come on all the assembly; but your brethren, the whole house of Israel, shall bewail the burning which Jehovah hath kindled.
ye shall not shave the corners of your head round, neither shalt thou mutilate the corners of thy beard. And cuttings for a dead person shall ye not make in your flesh, nor put any tattoo writing upon you: I am Jehovah.
And Jehovah said to Moses, Speak unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none make himself unclean for a dead person among his peoples, except for his immediate relation, who is near unto him for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother; read more. and for his sister, a virgin, that is near unto him, who hath had no husband, for her may he make himself unclean. He shall not make himself unclean who is a chief among his peoples, to profane himself. They shall not make any baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
They shall not make any baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they present Jehovah's offerings by fire, the bread of their God; therefore shall they be holy. read more. They shall not take as wife a whore, or a dishonoured woman; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy unto his God. And thou shalt hallow him; for the bread of thy God doth he present: he shall be holy unto thee; for I, Jehovah, who hallow you am holy. And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burned with fire. And the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured, and who is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his garments. Neither shall he come near any person dead, nor make himself unclean for his father and for his mother;
He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister when they die; for the consecration of his God is upon his head.
And the whole assembly saw that Aaron was dead, and they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even the whole house of Israel.
Ye are sons of Jehovah your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for a dead person.
And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; and the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of Jehovah until the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and threw dust upon their heads.
And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard of what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burned them there. read more. And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your garments, and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David followed the bier.
And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread or aught else till the sun be down!
And David besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.
And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her vest of many colours which was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went away, crying out as she went.
And when I heard this thing, I rent my mantle and my garment, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down overwhelmed.
And when I heard this thing, I rent my mantle and my garment, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down overwhelmed.
And when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his garments, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter cry,
And three friends of Job heard of all this evil that was come upon him. And they came each one from his place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to condole with him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice and wept. And they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward the heavens.
And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice and wept. And they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward the heavens. And they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights; and none spoke a word to him; for they saw that his anguish was very great.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I chastened my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned into mine own bosom:
He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep; Moab howleth over Nebo, and over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off. In their streets they are girded with sackcloth; on their roofs, and in their broadways, every one howleth, melted into tears.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, and send for the skilful women, that they may come;
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, and send for the skilful women, that they may come; and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids pour forth waters.
Both great and small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried; and none shall lament for them, or cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. Nor shall they break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall they give them the cup of consolations to drink for their father or for their mother.
For every head is bald, and every beard clipped; upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. It is wholly lamentation upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the public places thereof; for I have broken Moab, like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith Jehovah.
They shall pour out no offerings of wine to Jehovah, neither shall their sacrifices be pleasing unto him: they shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be defiled: for their bread shall be for themselves; it shall not come into the house of Jehovah.
and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto Jehovah your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving-kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look on me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for an only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
And when Jesus was come to the house of the ruler, and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a tumult,
and many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, that they might console them concerning their brother.
Jesus says, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of the dead, says to him, Lord, he stinks already, for he is four days there.
For this corruptible must needs put on incorruptibility, and this mortal put on immortality. But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruptibility, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the word written: Death has been swallowed up in victory. read more. Where, O death, is thy sting? where, O death, thy victory?
And one of the elders answered, saying to me, These who are clothed with white robes, who are they, and whence came they? And I said to him, My lord, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they who come out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. read more. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, and he that sits upon the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them. They shall not hunger any more, neither shall they thirst any more, nor shall the sun at all fall on them, nor any burning heat; because the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them, and shall lead them to fountains of waters of life, and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.
And I heard a voice out of the heaven saying, Write, Blessed the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; for their works follow with them.
Fausets
Noisy, violent, and demonstrative in the East as it is among the Irish, Highlanders, and Welsh; beating the breast or the thigh (Eze 21:12), cutting the flesh (Jer 16:6), weeping with a loud cry, wearing dark colored garments, hiring women as professional mourners (Ec 12:5; Mt 9:23; Am 5:16),"skillful in lamentation" (Jer 9:17), singing elegies, having funeral feasts and the cup of consolation (Jer 16:7-8). It was an occasion of studied publicity and ceremonial; so Abraham for Sarah (Ge 23:2), Jacob for Joseph (Ge 37:34-35), Joseph and the Egyptians for Jacob 70 days and a further period of seven (Ge 50:3-10), Israel for Aaron 80 days (Nu 20:29), and for Moses (De 34:8). Jabesh Gileadites for Saul fasted seven days (1Sa 31:13); David for Abner with fasting, rent clothes, and sackcloth, and with an elegy (2Sa 3:39).
Job for his calamities, with rent mantle, shaven head, sitting in ashes; so the three friends with dust upon their heads, etc., seven days and nights (Job 1:20-21; 2:8). In the open streets and upon the housetops (Isa 15:2-3); stripping off ornaments (Ex 33:4); stripping the foot and some other part of the body (Isa 20:2). Penitent mourning was often expressed by fasting, so that the words are interchanged as synonymous (Mt 9:15), and the day of atonement, when they "afflicted their souls," is called "the fast" (Ac 27:9; Le 23:27; Israel, 1Sa 7:6; Nineveh, Jon 3:5; the Jews when hereafter turning to Messiah, Zec 12:10-11). Exclusion from share in the sacrificial peace offerings (Le 7:20), Covering the upper lip and the head, in token of silence: Le 13:45, the leper; 2Sa 15:30, David. The high priest and Nazarites were not to go into mourning for even father or mother or children (Le 21:10-11; Nu 6:7).
So Aaron in the case of Nadab and Abihu (Le 10:2-6); Ezekiel for his wife (Eze 24:16-18); "the bread of men" is that usually brought to mourners by friends in sympathy. The lower priests only for nearest relatives (Le 21:1-4). Antitypically, the gospel work is to take precedence of all ties (Lu 9:59-60): "let me first go and bury my father" means, let me wait at home until he die and, I bury him. The food eaten in mourning was considered impure (De 26:14; Ho 9:4). The Jews still wail weekly, each Friday, at Jerusalem, in a spot below the temple wall, where its two courses of masonry (with blocks 30 ft. long) meet. (See JERUSALEM.) On the open flagged place, which they sweep with care as holy ground, taking off their shoes, they bewail the desolation of their holy places (Ps 102:14; 137:5-6; Isa 63:15-19). Mourning shall cease forever to God's people when Christ shall return (Re 7:17; 21:4; Isa 25:8; 35:10).
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And Sarah died in Kirjath-Arba: that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, and said, For I will go down to my son into Sheol mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those who are embalmed. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days. And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found favour in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, read more. My father made me swear, saying, Behold, I die; in my grave which I have dug myself in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. And now, let me go up, I pray thee, that I may bury my father; and I will come again. And Pharaoh said, Go up and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear. And Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the bondmen of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house; only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and the camp was very great. And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan; and there they lamented with a great and very grievous lamentation; and he made a mourning for his father of seven days.
And when the people heard this evil word, they mourned; and no man put on his ornaments.
But the soul that eateth the flesh of the sacrifice of peace-offering which is for Jehovah, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from his peoples.
And there went out fire from before Jehovah, and devoured them, and they died before Jehovah. And Moses said to Aaron, This is what Jehovah spoke, saying, I will be hallowed in them that come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron was silent. read more. And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. And they went near, and carried them in their vests out of the camp, as Moses had said. And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar his sons, Your heads shall ye not uncover, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come on all the assembly; but your brethren, the whole house of Israel, shall bewail the burning which Jehovah hath kindled.
And as to the leper in whom the sore is, his garments shall be rent, and his head shall be uncovered, and he shall put a covering on his beard, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean!
And Jehovah said to Moses, Speak unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none make himself unclean for a dead person among his peoples, except for his immediate relation, who is near unto him for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother; read more. and for his sister, a virgin, that is near unto him, who hath had no husband, for her may he make himself unclean. He shall not make himself unclean who is a chief among his peoples, to profane himself.
And the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured, and who is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his garments. Neither shall he come near any person dead, nor make himself unclean for his father and for his mother;
Also on the tenth of this seventh month is the day of the atonement: a holy convocation shall it be unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and present an offering by fire to Jehovah.
He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister when they die; for the consecration of his God is upon his head.
And the whole assembly saw that Aaron was dead, and they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even the whole house of Israel.
I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I brought away thereof in uncleanness, nor given thereof for a dead person; I have hearkened to the voice of Jehovah my God; I have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.
And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; and the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.
And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me: Jehovah reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness!
But David went up by the ascent of the Olives, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot; and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
And Job rose up, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshipped; and he said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah!
If I forget thee, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill; If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to my palate: if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
they are also afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caper-berry is without effect; (for man goeth to his age-long home, and the mourners go about the streets;)
He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep; Moab howleth over Nebo, and over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off. In their streets they are girded with sackcloth; on their roofs, and in their broadways, every one howleth, melted into tears.
at that time spoke Jehovah by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy sandal from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
He will swallow up death in victory. And the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken.
And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come to Zion with singing; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Look down from the heavens, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory! Where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy tender mercies? Are they restrained toward me? For thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer, from everlasting, is thy name. read more. Why, O Jehovah, hast thou made us to err from thy ways, hast hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. Thy holy people have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. We have become like those over whom thou never barest rule, those not called by thy name.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, and send for the skilful women, that they may come;
Both great and small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried; and none shall lament for them, or cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. Nor shall they break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall they give them the cup of consolations to drink for their father or for their mother. read more. And thou shalt not go into the house of feasting, to sit with them, to eat and to drink.
Cry and howl, son of man; for it shall be against my people, it shall be against all the princes of Israel: they are given up to the sword along with my people: smite therefore upon the thigh.
Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke; yet thou shalt not mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind thy turban upon thee, and put thy sandals upon thy feet, and cover not the beard, and eat not the bread of men. read more. And I spoke unto the people in the morning; and at even my wife died. And I did in the morning as I was commanded.
They shall pour out no offerings of wine to Jehovah, neither shall their sacrifices be pleasing unto him: they shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be defiled: for their bread shall be for themselves; it shall not come into the house of Jehovah.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the Lord: Wailing shall be in all broadways; and they shall say in all the streets, Alas! alas! And they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.
And the men of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look on me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for an only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
And Jesus said to them, Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn so long as the bridegroom is with them? But days will come when the bridegroom will have been taken away from them, and then they will fast.
And when Jesus was come to the house of the ruler, and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a tumult,
And he said to another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, allow me to go first and bury my father. But Jesus said to him, Suffer the dead to bury their own dead, but do thou go and announce the kingdom of God.
And much time having now been spent, and navigation being already dangerous, because the fast also was already past, Paul counselled them,
because the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them, and shall lead them to fountains of waters of life, and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.
And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall not exist any more, nor grief, nor cry, nor distress shall exist any more, for the former things have passed away.
Morish
It was the habit of the Hebrews, as it still is in the East, to make a great demonstration of their mourning. They would beat their breasts, cover their heads, fast, put dust and ashes on their heads, neglect their hair, wear dull-coloured garments, rend their clothes, wear sackcloth, etc. For Asa and Zedekiah there was 'great burning' of odours at their death, which was most probably copied from the heathen. 2Ch 16:14; Jer 34:5. At a death professional mourners were hired, mostly women. "Call for the mourning women . . . . let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters." Jer 9:17-18; cf. 2Sa 14:2; Am 5:16. Musicians also attended at deaths, who played mournful strains. Mt 9:23. God does not desire those who are bereaved to be without feeling: the Lord wept at the grave of Lazarus, but He would have reality in all things. He had to say to His people, "Rend your heart, and not your garments." Joe 2:13.
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And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said to her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning garments, I pray, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath a long time mourned for the dead;
And they buried him in his own sepulchre, which he had excavated for himself in the city of David, and laid him in a bed filled with spices, a mixture of divers kinds prepared by the perfumer's art; and they made a very great burning for him.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, and send for the skilful women, that they may come; and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids pour forth waters.
thou shalt die in peace, and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings that were before thee, so shall they burn for thee; and they will lament for thee, Ah, lord! for I have spoken the word, saith Jehovah.
and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto Jehovah your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving-kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the Lord: Wailing shall be in all broadways; and they shall say in all the streets, Alas! alas! And they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.
And when Jesus was come to the house of the ruler, and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a tumult,
Smith
Mourning.
One marked feature of Oriental mourning is what may be called its studies publicity and the careful observance of the prescribed ceremonies.
1. Among the particular forms observed the following may be mentioned: (a) Rending the clothes.
etc. (b) Dressing in sackcloth.
etc. (c) Ashes, dust or earth sprinkled on the person.
etc. (d) Black or sad-colored garments.
etc. (e) Removal of ornaments or neglect of person.
De 21:12-13
etc. (f) Shaving the head, plucking out the hair of the head or beard.
etc. (g) Laying bare some part of the body.
etc. (h) Fasting or abstinence in meat and drink.
etc. (i) In the same direction may be mentioned diminution in offerings to God, and prohibition to partake of sacrificial food.
Le 7:20; De 26:14
(k) Covering the "upper lip," i.e. the lower part of the face, and sometimes the head, in token of silence.
(l) Cutting the flesh,
beating the body.
(m) Employment of persons hired for the purpose of mourning.
Ec 12:5; Jer 9:17; Am 5:16; Mt 9:23
(n) Akin to the foregoing usage the custom for friends or passers-by to join in the lamentations of bereaved or afflicted persons.
Ge 50:3; Jg 11:40; Job 2:11; 30:25
etc. (o) The sitting or lying posture in silence indicative of grief.
etc. (p) Mourning feast and cup of consolation.
2. The period of mourning varied. In the case of Jacob it was seventy days,
of Aaron,
and Moses, Deut 34:8 thirty. A further period of seven days in Jacob's case.
Seven days for Saul, which may have been an abridged period in the time of national danger.
With the practices above mentioned, Oriental and other customs, ancient and modern, in great measure agree. Arab men are silent in grief, but the women scream, tear their hair, hands and face, and throw earth or sand on their heads. Both Mohammedans and Christians in Egypt hire wailing-women, and wail at stated times. Burckhardt says the women of Atbara in Nubia shave their heads on the death of their nearest relatives --a custom prevalent also among several of the peasant tribes of upper Egypt. He also mentions wailing-women, and a man in distress besmearing his face with dirt and dust in token of grief. In the "Arabian Nights" are frequent allusions to similar practices. It also mentions ten days and forty days as periods of mourning. Lane, speaking of the modern Egyptians, says, "After death the women of the family raise cries of lamentation called welweleh or wilwal, uttering the most piercing shrieks, and calling upon the name of the deceased, 'Oh, my master! Oh, my resource! Oh, my misfortune! Oh, my glory!" See
The females of the neighborhood come to join with them in this conclamation: generally, also, the family send for two or more neddabehs or public wailing-women. Each brings a tambourine, and beating them they exclaim, 'Alas for him!' The female relatives, domestics and friends, with their hair dishevelled and sometimes with rent clothes, beating their faces, cry in like manner, 'Alas for him!' These make no alteration in dress, but women, in some cases, dye their shirts, head-veils and handkerchiefs of a dark-blue color. They visit the tombs at stated periods." --Mod. Eg. iii. 152,171,195.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Sarah died in Kirjath-Arba: that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,
And Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his garments,
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
Then they rent their clothes, and loaded every man his ass, and they returned to the city.
And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those who are embalmed. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those who are embalmed. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan; and there they lamented with a great and very grievous lamentation; and he made a mourning for his father of seven days.
But the soul that eateth the flesh of the sacrifice of peace-offering which is for Jehovah, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from his peoples.
And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar his sons, Your heads shall ye not uncover, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come on all the assembly; but your brethren, the whole house of Israel, shall bewail the burning which Jehovah hath kindled.
And as to the leper in whom the sore is, his garments shall be rent, and his head shall be uncovered, and he shall put a covering on his beard, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean!
And the whole assembly saw that Aaron was dead, and they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even the whole house of Israel.
then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; and she shall put the clothes of her captivity from off her, and shall abide in thy house, and bewail her father and mother a full month, and afterwards thou mayest go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.
I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I brought away thereof in uncleanness, nor given thereof for a dead person; I have hearkened to the voice of Jehovah my God; I have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.
that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.
Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept; they sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Jehovah, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread or aught else till the sun be down!
And David besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.
And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I thought, Who knows? perhaps Jehovah will be gracious to me, that the child may live.
And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her vest of many colours which was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went away, crying out as she went.
And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said to her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on mourning garments, I pray, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that hath a long time mourned for the dead;
And it came to pass, when David had come to the summit, where he worshipped God, that behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head.
And Job rose up, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshipped;
And three friends of Job heard of all this evil that was come upon him. And they came each one from his place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to condole with him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice and wept. And they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward the heavens.
Did not I weep for him whose days were hard? was not my soul grieved for the needy?
they are also afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caper-berry is without effect; (for man goeth to his age-long home, and the mourners go about the streets;)
at that time spoke Jehovah by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy sandal from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
Take the millstones, and grind meal; remove thy veil, lift up the train, uncover the leg, pass over rivers:
For the breach of the daughter of my people am I crushed; I go mourning; astonishment hath taken hold of me.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, and send for the skilful women, that they may come;
Both great and small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried; and none shall lament for them, or cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. Nor shall they break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall they give them the cup of consolations to drink for their father or for their mother.
Nor shall they break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall they give them the cup of consolations to drink for their father or for their mother. And thou shalt not go into the house of feasting, to sit with them, to eat and to drink. read more. For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt declare unto this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath Jehovah pronounced all this great evil against us? and what is our iniquity? and what is our sin which we have committed against Jehovah our God? then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith Jehovah, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; and you, ye have done still worse than your fathers; and there ye are walking every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, not to hearken unto me: and I will cast you forth out of this land, into a land that ye know not, ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night: because I will shew you no favour. Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be said, As Jehovah liveth, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, As Jehovah liveth, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them. For I will bring them again into their land, which I gave unto their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith Jehovah, and they shall fish them; and afterwards will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them, from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. For mine eyes are upon all their ways; they are not concealed from my face, neither is their iniquity hidden from before mine eyes. But first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they have profaned my land with the carcases of their detestable things, and with their abominations have they filled mine inheritance. Jehovah, my strength and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of distress, unto thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and they shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited falsehood and vanity; and in these things there is no profit. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no-gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is Jehovah.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah: They shall not lament for him, Ah, my brother! or, Ah, sister! They shall not lament for him, Ah, lord! or Ah, his glory!
Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after I knew myself, I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, for I bear the reproach of my youth.
that there came men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men, having their beards shaven and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves; with oblations and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of Jehovah.
Cry and howl, son of man; for it shall be against my people, it shall be against all the princes of Israel: they are given up to the sword along with my people: smite therefore upon the thigh.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the Lord: Wailing shall be in all broadways; and they shall say in all the streets, Alas! alas! And they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.
And when Jesus was come to the house of the ruler, and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a tumult,
Watsons
MOURNING. See BURIAL and See DEAD.