Thematic Bible: For the dead


Thematic Bible



When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they mourned there with a great lamentation (expressions of mourning for the deceased) and [extreme demonstrations of] sorrow [according to Egyptian custom]; and Joseph observed a seven-day mourning for his father. Verse ConceptsFuneralsBereavement, Experience OfLamentingSevenWeeksSeven DaysBeyond JordanMourning The Death Of Others

Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry [of heartache and sorrow] in Egypt, for there was no house where there was not someone dead. Verse ConceptsSuffering, Emotional Aspects OfDeath Is UniversalPeople Getting Up

Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they were too exhausted to weep [any longer]. Verse ConceptsWeepingTearsOthers Mourning

Therefore thus says the Lord in regard to Jehoiakim the [second] son of Josiah, king of Judah,

“The relatives will not lament (mourn over with expressions of grief) for him:
‘Alas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister,’ [how great our loss]!
The subjects will not lament for him:
‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, majesty [how great was his glory]!’
Verse ConceptsNot Mourning

Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they were no more.


that eighty men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria with their beards shaved off and their clothes torn and their bodies cut, carrying in their hands grain offerings and incense to present at the [site of the] house of the Lord [in Jerusalem]. Verse ConceptsTearing Of ClothesBeardsKnivesShavingThe Number EightyGashing BodiesThose Who Tore ClothesEightiesThe Temple At Shiloh


The Lord said to Moses, Speak to the priests [exclusive of the high priest], the sons of Aaron, and say to them that none of them shall defile himself for the dead among his people [by touching a corpse or assisting in preparing it for burial], Except for his near [blood] kin, for his mother, father, son, daughter, brother, And for his sister, a virgin, who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may be defiled. read more.
He shall not even defile himself, being a [bereaved] husband [his wife not being his blood kin] or being a chief man among his people, and so profane himself. The priests [like the other Israelite men] shall not shave the crown of their heads or clip off the corners of their beard or make any cuttings in their flesh.

Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them or cut themselves or make themselves bald for them. Neither shall men prepare food for the mourners to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.

All the people came to urge David to eat food while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets.” Verse ConceptsPersuasionPromises, HumanTasteSunsetsVowing To Fast

They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted [as a sign of mourning and respect] for seven days. Verse ConceptsFasting, Nature OfSevenWeeksCemeterySeven DaysTamariskFasting In Mourning

They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and Jonathan his son, and for the Lord’s people and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword [in battle]. Verse ConceptsFasting, Nature OfEveningLossWeepingAction Until EveningFasting In MourningMourning The Death Of Others

Then Moses said to Aaron and to his [younger] sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not uncover your heads nor let your hair hang loose nor tear your clothes [as expressions of mourning], so that you will not die [also] and so that He will not express His wrath and anger toward all the congregation. But your relatives, the whole house of Israel, may mourn the burning which the Lord has brought about. Verse ConceptsClothingClothing, Tearing OfHairsCovering HeadsBare HeadsDeath Due To God's PresenceBurning PeopleNot Tearing ClothesDo Not MournGod Will Be AngryMourning The Death Of Others

‘But he who is the high priest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and who has been consecrated to wear the [sacred] garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes [in mourning], Verse ConceptsHigh Priest, In OtRankConsecrationBare HeadsAnointing PriestsPriests GarmentsNot Tearing ClothesAccompaniments Of MourningRivers

David therefore appealed to God for the child [to be healed]; and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. Verse ConceptsGesturesParents Prayer For Their ChildrenFasting, Examples OfLove, And The WorldSonsParents Duty To ChildrenParental LoveAll Night PrayersFastingFasting And Prayer

So Joab sent word to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there and told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning clothes, and do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has for many days been in mourning for the dead. Verse ConceptsAnointing With OilBereavement, Expression OfMourningOintmentUnhappinessAnointing OneselfPretendingDistinctive Clothing