6 Bible Verses about Exhumations

So Joseph made all of Israel's other children make this promise: "Because God is certainly going to take care of you, you are to carry my bones up from here."

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearer, because God had said, "If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt." So God led the people the roundabout way of the desert toward the Reed Sea. The Israelis went up from the land of Egypt in military formation. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelis take this solemn oath: "God will certainly take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones up with you from here."

They also buried the bones of Joseph, which the Israelis brought up from Egypt, in the parcel of ground at Shechem that Jacob had purchased from the descendants of Shechem's father Hamor, for 100 pieces of silver. It became part of the inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.

David had Saul's bones and the bones of his son Jonathan removed from the custody of certain men from Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square in Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them that is, back on the day when the Philistines had killed Saul on Mount Gilboa. He brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there along with the bones of those who had been hanged, and they buried Saul's bones and his son Jonathan's bones in the territory of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Saul's father Kish. After they had done everything that the king commanded, God responded to prayers for the land.

As Josiah turned around, he observed the graves located there on the mountain, so he sent for and recovered the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar to defile it, in keeping with the message from the LORD that the godly man had proclaimed when he was declaring these things. He asked, "What is this monument that I'm looking at?" The men who lived in that city answered him, "It's the grave of that godly man who came from Judah and predicted these things that you've done against the altar at Bethel!" Josiah replied, "Leave him alone. No one is to disturb his bones." So they preserved his bones undisturbed, along with the bones of the prophet who had come from Samaria.

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelis and gave them instructions about burying his bones.