Reference: Mourn
Easton
Frequent references are found in Scripture to, (1.) Mourning for the dead. Abraham mourned for Sarah (Ge 23:2); Jacob for Joseph (Ge 37:34-35); the Egyptians for Jacob (Ge 50:3-10); Israel for Aaron (Nu 20:29), for Moses (De 34:8), and for Samuel (1Sa 25:1); David for Abner (2Sa 3:31,35); Mary and Martha for Lazarus (Joh 11); devout men for Stephen (Ac 8:2), etc.
(2.) For calamities, Job (Job 1:20-21; 2:8); Israel (Ex 33:4); the Ninevites (Jon 3:5); Israel, when defeated by Benjamin (Jg 20:26), etc.
(3.) Penitential mourning, by the Israelites on the day of atonement (Le 23:27; Ac 27:9); under Samuel's ministry (1Sa 7:6); predicted in Zechariah (Zec 12:10-11); in many of the psalms (51, etc.).
Mourning was expressed, (1) by weeping (Ge 35:8, marg.; Lu 7:38, etc.); (2) by loud lamentation (Ru 1:9; 1Sa 6:19; 2Sa 3:31); (3) by the disfigurement of the person, as rending the clothes (Ge 37:29,34; Mt 26:65), wearing sackcloth (Ge 37:34; Ps 35:13), sprinkling dust or ashes on the person (2Sa 13:19; Jer 6:26; Job 2:12), shaving the head and plucking out the hair of the head or beard (Le 10:6; Job 1:20), neglect of the person or the removal of ornaments (Ex 33:4; De 21:12-13; 2Sa 14:2; 19:24; Mt 6:16-17), fasting (2Sa 1:12), covering the upper lip (Le 13:45; Mic 3:7), cutting the flesh (Jer 16:6-7), and sitting in silence (Jg 20:26; 2Sa 12:16; 13:31; Job 1:20).
In the later times we find a class of mourners who could be hired to give by their loud lamentation the external tokens of sorrow (2Ch 35:25; Jer 9:17; Mt 9:23).
The period of mourning for the dead varied. For Jacob it was seventy days (Ge 50:3); for Aaron (Nu 20:29) and Moses (De 34:8) thirty days; and for Saul only seven days (1Sa 31:13). In 2Sa 3:31-35, we have a description of the great mourning for the death of Abner.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Sarah died in Kiriath Arba; that [is] Hebron, in the land of Canaan.
And Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died. And she was buried below Bethel, under the oak. And its name was called Allon-Bacuth.
Then Reuben returned to the pit and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit. And he tore his clothes.
And Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.
And Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.
And Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and daughters tried to console him, but he refused to be consoled. And he said, "No, I shall go down to my son, to Sheol, mourning." And his father wept for him.
Forty days {were required for it}, for thus [are] the days {required for} embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.
Forty days {were required for it}, for thus [are] the days {required for} embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days. When the days of his weeping had passed, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying, read more. 'My father made me swear, saying, "Behold, I [am about] to die. In the tomb that I have hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan--there you must bury me." So then, please let me go up and let me bury my father; then I will return.'" Then Pharaoh said, "Go up and bury your father as he made you swear." So Joseph went up to bury his father. And all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, went up with him, with all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and the household of his father. They left only their little children and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen. And there also went up with him chariots and horsemen. The company [was] very great. When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which [was] beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and sorrowful wailing. And he made a mourning ceremony for his father seven days.
And the people heard this troubling word, and they mourned, and they each did not put their ornaments on themselves.
And the people heard this troubling word, and they mourned, and they each did not put their ornaments on themselves.
Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "You must not let your hair hang loosely, and you must not tear your garments, so that you will not die and he will be angry with all the community. But your brothers, all the house of Israel, may weep [because of] {the burning that Yahweh caused},
"As for the person who is afflicted with a skin disease, his garments must be torn and his {hair} must [be allowed to] hang loosely, and he must cover [his] upper lip, and he must call out, 'Unclean! Unclean!'
"Surely the Day of Atonement [is] on the tenth [day] of the seventh month; it shall be a holy assembly for you, and you shall deny yourselves, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
All the community saw that Aaron died; so all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.
All the community saw that Aaron died; so all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.
then you shall bring her into your household, and she shall shave her head, and she shall trim her nails. And she shall remove the clothing of her captivity from her, and she shall remain in your house, and she shall mourn her father and her mother {a full month}, and after this {you may have sex with her}, and you may marry her, and she may {become your wife}.
And the {Israelites} wept [concerning] Moses thirty days; [finally] the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were completed.
And the {Israelites} wept [concerning] Moses thirty days; [finally] the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were completed.
And all the {Israelites} and all the troops went up and came to Bethel and wept; and they sat there before Yahweh and fasted on that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before Yahweh.
And all the {Israelites} and all the troops went up and came to Bethel and wept; and they sat there before Yahweh and fasted on that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before Yahweh.
May Yahweh {grant that you} find a resting place, each [in] the house of her husband." And she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice and cried.
So they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and poured [it] out before Yahweh. They fasted on that day and said there, "We have sinned against Yahweh!" So Samuel judged the {Israelites} at Mizpah.
Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him. They buried him at his house at Ramah. Then David got up and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
Then they took their bones and buried [them] under the tamarisk in Jabesh, and they fasted [for] seven days.
Then they mourned and wept and fasted over Saul and Jonathan his son until the evening, [as well] as over the people of Yahweh and over the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword.
David said to Joab and to all the people who [were] with him, "Tear your clothing and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner." Now King David [was] following after the bier.
David said to Joab and to all the people who [were] with him, "Tear your clothing and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner." Now King David [was] following after the bier. And they buried Abner at Hebron. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. read more. The king sang a lament for Abner and said, "Should Abner have died the death of a fool? Your hands [were] not tied and your feet [were] not in contact with bronze fetters. You have fallen as one who falls before sons of wickedness." Then {all the people wept over him again}. Then all the people came to give David food. Still on that day, David swore, "{May God punish me} if I taste food or anything before the sun goes down."
Then all the people came to give David food. Still on that day, David swore, "{May God punish me} if I taste food or anything before the sun goes down."
Tamar put ashes on her head, and she tore the long-sleeved robe which [was] on her. She put her hand on her head, and {she went away, crying out as she went}.
And Jeremiah uttered a lament for Josiah, and all the male and female singers have spoken in their laments about Josiah to this day. And they made them a requirement in Israel, and behold, they are written in the laments.
Then Job arose and tore his outer garment and shaved his head; {then} he fell upon the ground and he worshiped.
Then Job arose and tore his outer garment and shaved his head; {then} he fell upon the ground and he worshiped.
Then Job arose and tore his outer garment and shaved his head; {then} he fell upon the ground and he worshiped. Then he said, "Naked I came out from my mother's womb, and naked I will return there. Yahweh gives, and Yahweh takes. Let Yahweh's name be blessed."
{So} he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and he sat in the midst of the ashes.
Thus they lifted up their eyes from afar, but they did not recognize him, so they raised their voice, and they wept, and each man tore his outer garment and threw dust on their heads {toward the sky}.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing [was] sackcloth. I weakened my soul with fasting, and my prayer {returned to me unanswered}.
O daughter of my people, gird yourself [with] sackcloth, and roll about in the ashes in mourning, a mourning ceremony [as for] an only child. Make for yourself wailing of bitterness, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Consider closely, and call for the wailing women, so that they come, and for the skillful women, so that they come.
Both the great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried, and they will not mourn for them, and no one will cut himself with a blade, and no one will shave himself for them. And they will not break bread for [the] mourning ceremony for them, to comfort him because of [the] dead. And they will not give drink to them, [the] cup of desolation, for their fathers, or for their mothers.
And the people of Nineveh believed in God, and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth--from the greatest of them {to the least important}.
Then the seers will be disgraced, and those practicing divination will be put to shame. All of them will cover their lips, for there is no reply from God.
" 'I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication, and they will look to me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn over him, as one wails over an only child, and they will grieve bitterly over him as [one] grieves bitterly over a firstborn. On that day the wailing will be great in Jerusalem, like the wailing for Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
"Whenever you fast, do not be sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unrecognizable in order that they may be seen fasting by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full! But [when] you are fasting, {put olive oil on your head} and wash your face
And [when] Jesus came into the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the disorderly crowd,
Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have just now heard the blasphemy!
and standing behind [him] at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with [her] tears and was wiping [them] with the hair of her head and was kissing his feet and anointing [them] with the perfumed oil.
And devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him.
And [because] considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul strongly recommended,