Difference between revisions of "Burial"

<p> <b> [[Burial]] </b> —In contrast to the Greek and the later Roman custom of cremation, the rites of burial were observed amongst the [[Jews]] with great reverence, and an account of their ordinary practice will help to illustrate several passages in the NT. Immediately after death the body was washed (&nbsp;Acts 9:37), and wrapped in linen cloths in the folds of which spices and ointments were laid (&nbsp;John 19:39-40). The face was bound about with a napkin, and the hands and feet with grave-bands (&nbsp;John 11:44; &nbsp;John 20:7). Meanwhile the house had been given over to the hired mourners (&nbsp;Matthew 9:23 ||; cf. &nbsp;2 Chronicles 35:25, &nbsp;Jeremiah 9:17), who lamented for the dead in some such strains as are preserved in &nbsp;Jeremiah 22:18, and skilfully improvised verses in praise of his virtues. The actual interment took place as quickly as possible, mainly on sanitary grounds; very frequently, indeed, on the same day as the death (&nbsp;Acts 5:6; &nbsp;Acts 5:10; &nbsp;Acts 8:2), though it might be delayed for special reasons (&nbsp;Acts 9:37 f.). In its passage to the grave the body was generally laid on a bier, or open bed of wicker work (&nbsp;Luke 7:14; cf. &nbsp;2 Samuel 3:31, &nbsp;2 Kings 13:21)—hence at Jesus’ command the widow of Nain’s son was able to sit up at once (&nbsp;Luke 7:15). The bier was, as a rule, borne to the tomb by the immediate friends of the deceased, though we have also traces of a company of public ‘buriers’ (&nbsp;Acts 5:6; &nbsp;Acts 5:10; cf. &nbsp;Ezekiel 39:12-16). In front of the bier came the women, and in [[Judaea]] the hired mourners, and immediately after it the relatives and friends, and ‘much people of the city.’ [[Attendance]] at funerals was, indeed, regarded as a pious act, and was consequently not always wholly disinterested. Among modern Orientals it is called ‘attending the merit,’ an act that will secure a reward from God (G. M. Mackie, <i> Bible [[Manners]] and Customs </i> , p. 127). </p> <p> The place of burial in NT times was always outside the city (&nbsp;Luke 7:12, &nbsp;John 11:30, &nbsp;Matthew 27:52-53), and frequently consisted of a natural cave, or an opening made in imitation of one. These rock-sepulchres were often of considerable size, and sometimes permitted of the interment of as many as thirteen bodies. Eight, however, was the usual number, three on each side of the entrance and two opposite. The doorway to the tomb was an aperture about 2 ft. broad and 4 ft. high, and was closed either by a door, or by a great stone—the <i> golel </i> —that was rolled against it (&nbsp;Matthew 27:66, &nbsp;Mark 15:46, &nbsp;John 11:38-39). It is sometimes thought that it was in some such rock-tomb that the demoniac of [[Gadara]] had taken up his abode; but more probably it was in one of the tombs ‘built above ground,’ which were ‘much more common in [[Galilee]] than has been supposed’ (Wilson, <i> Recovery of [[Jerusalem]] </i> , p. 369, <i> ap. </i> Swete, <i> St. Mark </i> , p. 88). </p> <p> As a rule, sepulchres were whitened once a year, after the rains and before the Passover, that passers-by might be warned of their presence, and thus escape defilement (&nbsp;Matthew 23:27; cf. &nbsp;Numbers 19:16). And though it was not customary to erect anything in the nature of our gravestones, in NT times it was regarded as a religious duty to restore or rebuild the tombs of the prophets (&nbsp;Matthew 23:29). In addition to family sepulchres of which we hear in the earliest [[Hebrew]] records (&nbsp;Genesis 23:20, &nbsp;Judges 8:32, &nbsp;2 Samuel 2:32), and such private tombs as the tomb of [[Joseph]] of [[Arimathaea]] (&nbsp;Matthew 27:60), special provision was made for the interment of strangers (&nbsp;Matthew 27:7-8; cf. &nbsp;Jeremiah 26:23, &nbsp;2 [[Maccabees]] 9:4). See art. Tomb. </p> <p> It will have been observed how many of the foregoing particulars are illustrated in the [[Gospel]] narrative of the burial of Jesus; but it may be well to summarize briefly what then took place. No sooner had it been placed beyond doubt that Jesus was really dead, than Joseph of Arimathaea obtained permission to take possession of His body (&nbsp;Matthew 27:57 ff.; cf. the merciful provision of the [[Jewish]] law, &nbsp;Deuteronomy 21:23). [[Haste]] was required, as the Jews’ [[Preparation]] was close at hand, and the body, after being, perhaps, bathed (so <i> Gospel of Peter </i> , 6), was at once wrapped ‘in a clean linen cloth’ (&nbsp;Matthew 27:59), the ‘roll of myrrh and aloes,’ of which [[Nicodemus]] had brought about a hundred pound weight (&nbsp;John 19:39), being apparently crumbled between the folds of the linen (ὀθόνια). It was then borne to the ‘new tomb wherein was never man yet laid,’ and reverently laid on the rocky ledge prepared for the purpose, while the whole was secured by a ‘great stone’ placed across the entrance, which was afterwards at the desire of the Jews sealed and guarded (&nbsp;Matthew 27:62 ff.; cf. <i> Gospel of Peter </i> , 8). There the body remained undisturbed over the Jewish Sabbath; but when on the morning of the first day of the week the women visited the tomb, bringing with them an additional supply of ‘spices and ointments’ to complete the anointing which want of time had previously prevented, it was only to find the tomb empty, and to receive the first assurance of their Lord’s resurrection (&nbsp;Luke 24:1 ff.). In connexion with this visit, Edersheim has drawn attention to the interesting fact that the Law expressly allowed the opening of the grave on the third day to look after the dead ( <i> Bible Educator </i> , iv. p. 332). In entire harmony, too, with what has already been said of the general structure of Jewish tombs, is the account which St. John has preserved for us of his own and St. Peter’s visit to the tomb of Jesus (&nbsp;John 20:1 ff.). He himself, when he reached the doorway, was at first content with stooping down (παρακύψας) and looking in, and thus got only a general view (βλέπει) of the linen cloths lying in their place. But St. Peter on his arrival entered into the tomb, and beheld—the word used (θεωρεῖ) points to a careful searching gaze, the eye passing from point to point—not only the linen cloths, but the napkin that was about Christ’s head ‘rolled up in a place by itself.’ These particulars have sometimes been used as evidence of the care and order with which the [[Risen]] Lord folded up and deposited in two separate places His grave-clothes before He left the tomb. But it has recently been shown with great cogency that what probably is meant is that the grave-clothes were found undisturbed on the very spot where Jesus had lain, the linen cloths on the lower ledge which had upheld the body, the napkin ‘by itself on the slightly raised part of the ledge which formed a kind of pillow for the head. The empty grave-clothes, out of which the Risen Lord had passed, became thus a sign not only that no violence had been offered to His body by human hands, but also a parable of the true meaning of His Resurrection: ‘all that was of Jesus of [[Nazareth]] has suffered its change and is gone. We—grave-clothes, and spices, and napkin—belong to the earth and remain’ (H. Latham, <i> The Risen [[Master]] </i> , p. 11: see the whole interesting discussion in chapters i.–iii.). </p> <p> Apart from these more special considerations, it is sufficient to notice that the very particularity of the description of the burial of Jesus is in itself of importance as emphasizing His true humanity and the reality of His death. From nothing in our lot, even the sad accompaniments of the grave, did He shrink. On the other hand, the empty grave on the morning of the third day has always been regarded as one of the most convincing proofs that ‘the Lord is risen indeed.’ Had it not been so, then His body must have been stolen either by friends or by foes. But if by the latter, why in the days that followed did they not produce it, and so silence the disciples’ claims? If by the former, then we have no escape from the conclusion that the Church of Christ was founded ‘not so much upon delusion as upon fraud—upon fraud springing from motives perfectly inexplicable, and leading to results totally different from any that could have been either intended or looked for’ (W. Milligan, <i> The Resurrect ion of our Lord </i> 4 [Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred] , p. 73). </p> <p> Literature.—See artt. ‘Burial’ and ‘Tombs’ in Kitto’s <i> Cycl </i> ., Smith’s <i> D </i> B [Note: Dictionary of the Bible.] , Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible <i> , Encyc. Bibl </i> .; ‘Beerdigung’ in Hamburger’s <i> RE </i> ; ‘Begrabnis bei den Hebräern’ <i> PR </i> E [Note: RE Real-Encyklopädie fur protest. Theologic und Kirche.] 3 [Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred] ; Edersheim, <i> Sketches of Jewish Social Life </i> , p. 161 ff.; Thomson, <i> Land and Book </i> ; Bender, ‘Beliefs, Rites, and Customs of the Jews connected with Death, Burial, and Mourning,’ in <i> JQ </i> R [Note: QR Jewish Quarterly Review.] , 1894 and 1895. </p> <p> [[George]] milligan. </p>

<p> Burial was a matter of great importance in the Old Testament. The story of Abraham's negotiation to purchase a cave for Sarah's burial is told in detail (&nbsp;Genesis 23 ). Graves were sometimes marked with pillars (&nbsp;Genesis 35:20; &nbsp;2 Kings 23:17 ), and places where famous Old Testament figures were buried were known for generations to come (&nbsp;Acts 2:29 ) and were even adorned by them (&nbsp;Matthew 23:29 ). The Old Testament writers routinely describe the burials of the major characters in the narrative (for a number of the judges little is recorded about them <i> except </i> where they were buried — cf. &nbsp;Judges 10:1-2,3-5; &nbsp;12:8-10,11-12,13-15 ); indeed, that the site of Moses' grave is unknown is so unusual as to require special comment (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 34:6 ). On the other hand, not receiving a proper burial was a matter of great shame (&nbsp;Isaiah 14:18-20; &nbsp;Jeremiah 16:4 ). </p> <p> The strong emphasis in the Old Testament on burial serves to bind the dead with their ancestors, and, hence, the Jews together as a people. Typical burial expressions include "he was gathered to his people" (&nbsp;Genesis 35:29; &nbsp;49:33 ) and "he rested with his fathers" (&nbsp;1 Kings 2:10; &nbsp;11:43 ). Indeed, families were buried together (&nbsp;Genesis 49:29-33 ), even if it meant traveling a great distance to do so (&nbsp;Genesis 50:12-13 ). That burial resulted in the corruption of the body was understood (&nbsp;Genesis 3:19; &nbsp;Job 17:13-16; &nbsp;Psalm 16:10; &nbsp;Acts 13:36 ), but it was precisely against that common recognition of the fate of the dead that the hope of resurrection was born (&nbsp;Isaiah 26:19; &nbsp;Daniel 12:2 ). </p> <p> The Jewish practice of burying the dead is carried forward into the New Testament period. John the Baptist's disciples buried his body (&nbsp;Matthew 14:12 ), and Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus (&nbsp;Matthew 27:57-60; &nbsp;Mark 15:42-46; &nbsp;Luke 23:50-53; &nbsp;John 19:38-42; [accompanied by Nicodemus] ). With the money paid to [[Judas]] the chief priests purchased a field to use as a burial place for foreigners (&nbsp;Matthew 27:5-7 ). The earliest Christians, being Jews, continued the practice, burying Ananias and Sapphira (&nbsp;Acts 5:6-10 ) and [[Stephen]] (&nbsp;Acts 8:2 ). </p> <p> Jesus' burial is especially important, of course, because it is followed by his resurrection. In addition to all four Gospel writers recording the tomb being found empty (&nbsp;Matthew 28:1-7; &nbsp;Mark 16:1-7; &nbsp;Luke 24:1-12; &nbsp;John 20:1-12 ), Matthew notes the care to which the chief priests and the [[Pharisees]] went to make Jesus' tomb secure (27:6-66) and the subsequent rumor they spread when their efforts failed (28:11-15). Paul, in his recitation of the resurrection tradition that he had passed on to the Corinthians, notes that Christ "was buried" (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 15:4 ). The early Christians, therefore, came to understand Jesus' burial as a necessary (but temporary!) prelude to his resurrection. </p> <p> Paul presses the connection between burial and resurrection one step further by applying it to baptism. In both Romans (6:4) and Colossians (2:12) he presents baptism as a symbol of being buried with Christ. Through faith [[Christians]] are then raised with Christ to live a new life. Thus, burial comes to be connected not just with the hope of a future resurrection secured by the resurrection of Jesus (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 15:20-23; &nbsp;1 Thessalonians 4:14 ), but also with the reality of new life in Christ in the present. </p> <p> The Bible contains other metaphorical uses of burial terminology. The corruption of the body in the grave provides a natural link to corrupt speech (&nbsp;Psalm 5:9; &nbsp;Romans 3:13 ) and to people who are corrupt within (&nbsp;Matthew 23:27 ). Similarly, Jesus uses Isaiah's mention of the worm that does not die in its assault on a corpse as a picture of hell (&nbsp;Mark 9:48 ). Jesus also speaks of burying the dead as a spiritual antithesis to following him (&nbsp;Matthew 8:21-22; &nbsp;Luke 9:59-60 ). </p> <p> Joseph L. Trafton </p> <p> <i> See also </i> [[Baptism Baptize]] </p> <p> <i> Bibliography </i> . R. Hachili, <i> [[Anchor]] Bible Dictionary, </i> 1:785-94; S. Safrai, <i> The Jewish People in the First Century, </i> 2:773-87. </p>

<p> ''''' ber´i ''''' - ''''' al ''''' ( קבוּרה , <i> ''''' ḳebhūrāh ''''' </i> ; compare New Testament τὸ ἐνταφιάσαι , <i> ''''' tó entaphiásai ''''' </i> ): </p> <p> I. Immediate Burial [[Considered]] [[Urgent]] </p> <p> 1. Reasons for This </p> <p> 2. The Burial of Jesus </p> <p> 3. The Usual Time </p> <p> 4. Duties of Next of [[Kin]] </p> <p> II. Preparations for Burial </p> <p> 1. Often Informal and [[Hasty]] </p> <p> 2. Usually with More [[Ceremony]] </p> <p> 3. Contrasts between Jewish Customs and Other Peoples' </p> <p> (1) Cremation </p> <p> (2) Embalming </p> <p> III. On the Way to the Grave </p> <p> 1. Coffins [[Unknown]] </p> <p> 2. Professional Mourners </p> <p> IV. At the Grave </p> <p> 1. Graves Dug in the Earth </p> <p> 2. Family Tombs. Later Customs </p> <p> 3. [[Sealed]] Stones </p> <p> 4. [[Stated]] Times of Mourning </p> <p> 5. Excessive Mourning </p> <p> 6. Dirge-Songs </p> <p> V. Failure to [[Receive]] Burial [[Counted]] A C alamity or [[Judgment]] </p> <p> VI. Places of Burial: How [[Marked]] </p> <p> Literature </p> <p> It is well to recall at the outset that there are points of likeness and of marked contrast between oriental and occidental burial customs in general, as well as between the burial customs of ancient [[Israel]] and those of other ancient peoples. These will be brought out, or suggested later in this article. </p> I. Immediate Burial Considered Urgent <p> 1. Reasons for This </p> <p> The burial of the dead in the East in general was and is often effected in such a way as to suggest to the westerner indecent haste. Dr. Post says that burial among the people of Syria today seldom takes place later than ten hours after death, often earlier; but, he adds, "the rapidity of decomposition, the excessive violence of grief, the reluctance of Orientals to allow the dead to remain long in the houses of the living, explain what seems to us the indecency of haste." This still requires the survivors, as in the case of Abraham on the death of Sarah, to bury their dead out of their sight (&nbsp;Genesis 23:1-4 ); and it in part explains the quickness with which the bodies of [[Nadab]] and [[Abihu]] were Carried out of the camp (&nbsp;Leviticus 10:4 ), and those of Ananias and Sapphira were hastened off to burial (&nbsp;Acts 5:1-11 ). Then, of course, the defilement to which contact with a dead body gave occasion, and the judgment that might come upon a house for harboring the body of one dying under a [[Divine]] judgment, further explain such urgency and haste. </p> <p> 2. The Burial of Jesus </p> <p> It was in strict accordance with such customs and the provision of the [[Mosaic]] law (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 21:23; compare &nbsp;Galatians 3:13 ), as well as in compliance with the impulses of true humanity, that Joseph of Arimathea went to [[Pilate]] and begged the body of Jesus for burial on the very day of the crucifixion (&nbsp;Matthew 27:39 ). </p> <p> 3. The Usual Time </p> <p> The dead are often in their graves, according to present custom, within two or three hours after death. Among oriental Jews burial takes place, if possible, within twenty-four hours after death, and frequently on the day of death. Likewise Mohammedans bury their dead on the day of death, if death takes place in the morning; but if in the afternoon or at night, not until the following day. </p> <p> 4. Duties of Next of Kin </p> <p> As soon as the breath is gone the oldest son, or failing him, the nearest of kin present, closes the eyes of the dead (compare &nbsp;Genesis 46:4 , "and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes"). The mouth, too, is closed and the jaws are bound up (compare &nbsp;John 11:44 , "and his face was bound about with a napkin"). The death is announced, as it was of old, by a tumult of lamentation preceded by a shrill cry, and the weeping and wailing of professional mourners (compare &nbsp;Mark 5:38 ). See Mourning . </p> II. Preparations for Burial <p> 1. Often Informal and Hasty </p> <p> These are often informal and hasty. Under the tyranny of such customs as those noted, it is often impossible to make them elaborate. [[Canon]] Tristram says: "As interments take place at latest on the evening of the day of death, and frequently at night, there can be no elaborate preparations. The corpse, dressed in such clothes as were worn in life, is stretched on a bier with a cloth thrown over it, until carried forth for burial" ( <i> Eastern Customs </i> , 94). In &nbsp;Acts 5:6 we read of Ananias, "The young men ... wrapped him round, and they carried him out and buried him." "What they did," as Dr. Nicol says, "was likely this: they unfastened his girdle, and then taking the loose under-garment and the wide cloak which was worn above it, used them as a winding-sheet to cover the corpse from head to foot." In other words, there was little ceremony and much haste. </p> <p> 2. Usually with More Ceremony </p> <p> Usually, however, there was more ceremony and more time taken. Missionaries and natives of Syria tell us that it is still customary to wash the body (compare &nbsp;Acts 9:37 ), anoint it with aromatic ointments (compare &nbsp;John 12:7; &nbsp;John 19:39; &nbsp;Mark 16:1; &nbsp;Luke 24:1 ), swathe hands and feet in grave-bands, usually of linen ( <i> &nbsp;John 11:44 </i> ), and cover the face or bind it about with a napkin or handkerchief ( <i> &nbsp;John 11:44 </i> ). It is still common to place in the wrappings of the body aromatic spices and other preparations to retard decomposition. Thus the friends at [[Bethany]] prepared the body of Lazarus, and he came forth wrapped in grave-bands and with a napkin bound about his face. And, we are further told that after the burial of Jesus, Nicodemus brought "a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds," and that they "took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury," and that Mary [[Magdalene]] and two other women brought spices for the same purpose (&nbsp;John 19:39 , &nbsp;John 19:40; &nbsp;Mark 16:1; &nbsp;Luke 24:1 ). That this was a very old custom is witnessed by such passages as &nbsp;2 Chronicles 16:14 , where it is said that Asa, the king, was laid "in the bed which was filled with sweet odors and divers kinds of spices prepared by the perfumers' art" (compare &nbsp;John 12:3 , &nbsp;John 12:7; [[Sirach]] 38:16). From &nbsp;Acts 5:6; &nbsp;Acts 8:2 it appears that there was in later times a confraternity of young men whose business it was to attend to these proprieties and preparations on behalf of the dead; but it was probably only in exceptional cases that they were called upon to act. [[Certainly]] such ministries ordinarily devolved, as they do now, upon loving relatives and friends, and mostly women, among the Jews as well as among the Greeks. The practice among the Greeks, both by similarity and contrast, affords an interesting illustration. The following instance is aptly cited in <i> DB </i> (art. "Burial"): [[Electra]] believing [[Orestes]] to be dead and his ashes placed in the sepulchral urn (Soph. <i> Electra </i> 1136-52), addresses him Thus: "Woe is me! These loving hands have not washed or decked thy corpse, nor taken, as was meet, their sad burden from the flaming pyre. At the hands of strangers, hapless one, thou hast had those rites, and so art come to us, a little dust in a narrow urn." </p> <p> 3. Contrasts Between Jewish Customs and Other Peoples' </p> <p> This brings us to note two marked contrasts between customs in Israel and among other peoples. </p> (1) Cremation <p> With the Greeks it was customary to cremate the dead (see [[Cremation]] ); but there was nothing in Jewish practice exactly corresponding to this. Tacitus ( <i> Hist </i> . v.5) expressly says, in noting the contrast with Roman custom, that it was a matter of piety with the Jews "to bury rather than to burn dead bodies." The burning of the bodies of Saul and his sons by the men of [[Jabesh-Gilead]] (&nbsp;1 Samuel 31:11-13 ) seems to have been rather a case of emergency, than of conformity to any such custom, as the charred bones were buried by the same men under the tamarisk at Jabesh, and later, by David's order, removed and laid to rest in the sepulcher of [[Kish]] (&nbsp;2 Samuel 21:12-14 ). According to the Mosaic law burning was reserved, either for the living who had been found guilty of unnatural sins (&nbsp;Leviticus 20:4; &nbsp;Leviticus 21:9 ), or for those who died under a curse, as in the case of [[Achan]] and his family, who after they had been stoned to death were, with all their belongings, burned with fire (&nbsp;Joshua 7:25 ). </p> (2) Embalming <p> As the burning practiced by the Greeks found no place in Jewish law and custom, so embalming, as practiced by the Egyptians, was unknown in Israel, the cases of Jacob and Joseph being clearly special, and in conformity to Egyptian custom under justifying circumstances. When Jacob died it was Joseph, the Egyptian official, who "commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father" (&nbsp;Genesis 50:2 ), and it was conventionally the fit thing that when Joseph himself died his body was embalmed and "put in a coffin (sarcophagus) in Egypt" (&nbsp;Genesis 50:26 ). </p> III. On the Way to the Grave <p> When the preparations were made and the time came, the corpse was carried to the grave on a bier, or litter (מטה , <i> ''''' miṭṭāh ''''' </i> ). </p> <p> 1. Coffins Unknown </p> <p> Coffins were unknown in ancient Israel, as they are among the Jews of the East to this day. The only one mentioned in the Bible is the sarcophagus in which the embalmed body of Joseph was preserved, unless Asa's bed (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 16:14 ) be another, as some think. Moslems, like eastern Jews, never use coffins. The bier sometimes has a pole at each corner by means of which it is carried on the shoulders to the tomb. See [[Bier]] . </p> <p> 2. Professional Mourners </p> <p> The procession of mourners is made up largely, of course, of relatives and friends of the deceased, but is led by professional mourning women, who make the air resound with their shrieks and lamentations (compare &nbsp;Ecclesiastes 12:5; &nbsp;Jeremiah 9:17; &nbsp;Amos 5:16 ). See Mourning . &nbsp;Amos 5:16 alludes to this custom in describing the mourning that shall be over the desolations of Israel: "Wailing shall be in all the broad ways; and they shall say in all the streets, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skillful in lamentation to wailing." Jer (&nbsp; Jeremiah 9:17 , &nbsp;Jeremiah 9:18 ) breaks out: "Call for the mourning 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 gush out with waters." Dr. Fred. Bliss tells of a mourning delegation at the <i> ''''' mahal ''''' </i> , or mourning house, of a great man. "No matter how gaily they may be chatting they approach, when they reach the house they rush forward, handkerchiefs to face, sobbing, weeping, with utmost demonstrations of grief, going through them time after time as occasion requires." [[Amelia]] B. Edwards gives a vivid account of her first experience with such mourning: "It rose like the far-off wavering sound of many owls. It shrilled, swelled, wavered, dropped, and then died away, like the moaning of the wind at sea. We never heard anything so wild and plaintive." Among some Jews of today, it is said, the funeral procession moves swiftly, because there are supposed to be innumerable evil spirits ( <i> ''''' shēdhı̄m ''''' </i> ) hovering about, desirous to attack the soul, which is thought to be in the body until interment takes place and the corpse is actually covered (see <i> DB </i> , article "Burial"). </p> IV. At the Grave <p> When the grave, or place of entombment, is reached ceremonies more or less characteristic and peculiar to the Orient take place. </p> <p> 1. Graves Dug in the Earth </p> <p> When the body is let down into the ground, the bier, of course, is set aside, and at first a heap of stones only is piled over the shallow grave - to preserve the dead from the dreaded depredations of hyenas, jackals or thieves. Beyond question graves among ancient Jews were often simply dug in the earth, as they are with us, and as they are with Jews at Jerusalem and elsewhere in the East today. </p> <p> 2. Family Tombs. Later Customs </p> <p> But originally, it would seem to have been customary for each family to have a family tomb: either a natural cave, prepared with stone shelves to receive the bodies, or else hewn out of rock in the hillside, each tomb, or sepulcher, having many niches or <i> loculi </i> , in each one of which a body could be placed (see &nbsp;Genesis 25:10; &nbsp;Genesis 49:31; &nbsp;Genesis 50:13; &nbsp;Genesis 35:19; &nbsp;Joshua 24:32 ). As Dr. Nicol says, "All among the Israelites who possessed any land, or who could afford it, had their family tombs, hewn out of the rock, each sepulchre containing many niches. Many generations of a family could Thus be placed in the ancestral tomb." Countless numbers of such tombs are to be found all over Palestine, but Machpelah, of course, is the chief example (Gen 23). Compare the cases of Joshua buried in his inheritance at Timnath-serah (&nbsp;Joshua 24:30 ), Samuel in his house at [[Ramah]] (&nbsp;1 Samuel 25:1 ), Joab in his house in the wilderness (&nbsp;1 Kings 2:34 ), Manasseh in the garden of his house (&nbsp;2 Kings 21:18 ), Josiah in the same tomb, it would seem, as his fath er and grandfather (&nbsp;2 Kings 23:30 ), and Asa, singled out for special mention (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 16:14 ). According to custom, too, the Jew was not to sell his burying-place, if it was possible for him to hold it. Today in the Orient it is quite different - burying-places of Moslem, Jewish and Christian peoples, while distinct from each other, are community rather than family burying-places. </p> <p> 3. Sealed Stones </p> <p> When the tomb was a cave, or was dug out from some rock, the entrance was often closed with a large circular stone set up on its edge or rim and rolled in its groove to the front of the mouth of the tomb, so as to close it securely. This stone was then often further secured by a strap, or by sealing. In such case it could easily be seen or known if the tomb had been disturbed. Pilate, it will be recalled, directed that the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, in which the body of Jesus was laid, should be carefully sealed and made as secure as the officials could make it. "So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them" (&nbsp;Matthew 27:66 ). </p> <p> 4. Stated Times of Mourning </p> <p> In Syria, as elsewhere in the East, it is customary to have stated times after the burial for mourning at the tomb - for example on the third, seventh, and fortieth days, and again on the anniversary of the burial. The relatives or friends then go to the tomb without ornaments, often with hair disheveled; sometimes with head covered and faces blackened with soot, or ashes, or earth, in their oldest and poorest clothing, which is sometimes violently rent, and, sitting or moving in a circle around or near to the tomb, they break out in spells into weird, dirge-like singing or wailing. </p> <p> 5. Excessive Mourning </p> <p> The violence of grief at times leads to lacerations of the body and the shedding of blood. Morier ( <i> Second [[Journey]] through [[Persia]] </i> ), describing a celebration which takes place annually to commemorate the death of the grandson of Mohammed, says: "I have seen the most violent of them, as they vociferated <i> ''''' Ya Hosein̄ ''''' </i> walk the streets with their bodies streaming with blood by the voluntary cuts they had given themselves". Such cutting of the flesh in mourning for the dead was specifically forbidden by the Mosaic law (&nbsp;Leviticus 19:28; &nbsp;Leviticus 21:5; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 14:1 ). But excessive mourning for the dead is often alluded to in [[Scripture]] (see &nbsp;2 Samuel 1:11 , &nbsp;2 Samuel 1:12; &nbsp;Psalm 6:6; &nbsp;Psalm 119:136; &nbsp;Lamentations 1:16; &nbsp;Lamentations 3:48; &nbsp;Jeremiah 9:1 ). </p> <p> 6. Dirge-Songs </p> <p> The custom of dirge-songs seems to be alluded to (&nbsp;Matthew 9:23; &nbsp;Mark 5:38 ) in the narrative of the healing of the ruler's daughter: "Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute-players, and the crowd making a tumult." A characteristic oriental funeral procession and burial are vividly pictured in the narrative of the burial of Jacob (&nbsp;Genesis 50:6-13 ). </p> V. Failure to Receive Burial Counted a [[Calamity]] or a Judgment <p> Any lack of proper burial is still regarded in the East, as it was in ancient times, as a great indignity or a judgment from God. It is esteemed the greatest calamity that can befall a person. It gives men still untold distress to think they shall not receive suitable burial, according to the customs of their respective race, or family, or religion - a fact or sentiment that is often alluded or appealed to by way of illustration in the Scriptures. For a corpse to remain unburied and become food for beasts of prey was the climax of indignity or judgment (&nbsp;2 Samuel 21:10 , &nbsp;2 Samuel 21:11; &nbsp;1 Kings 13:22; &nbsp;1 Kings 14:11; &nbsp;1 Kings 16:4; &nbsp;1 Kings 21:24; &nbsp;2 Kings 9:37; &nbsp;Jeremiah 7:33; &nbsp;Jeremiah 8:1; &nbsp;Ezekiel 29:5; &nbsp;Psalm 79:3; &nbsp;Revelation 11:9 ), and uncovered blood cried for vengeance (&nbsp;Ezekiel 24:6 f; &nbsp; Ezekiel 39:11-16 ), the idea being the same as among other oriental peoples, that the unburied dead would not only inflict trouble upon his family, but bring defilement also and a curse upon the whole land. It was, therefore, an obligation resting upon all to bury even the dead found by the way (Tobit 1:18; 2:8). Even malefactors were to be allowed burial (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 21:22 , &nbsp;Deuteronomy 21:23 ), and the exceptional denial of it to the sons of [[Rizpah]] gave occasion for the touching story of her self-denying care of the dead found in &nbsp;2 Samuel 21:10 , &nbsp;2 Samuel 21:11 . </p> VI. Places of Burial: How Marked <p> [[Ordinary]] graves were marked by the heaping of crude stones, but hewn stones and sometimes costly pillars were set up as memorials of the dead (&nbsp;Ezekiel 39:15; &nbsp;2 Kings 23:17 the Revised Version (British and American), "What monument is that which I see?" the reference being to a sepulchral pillar). Jacob set up a pillar over Rachel's grave (&nbsp; [[Genesis]] 35:20 ), and her tomb is marked by a monument to this day. Absalom's grave in the wood of [[Ephraim]] had a heap of stones raised over it (&nbsp;2 Samuel 18:17 ), but in this case, as in the case of Achan, it was not for honor but for dishonor. In New Testament times the place of burial was uniformly outside the cities and villages (see &nbsp;Luke 7:12; &nbsp;John 11:30 ). There was public provision made for the burial of strangers (&nbsp;Matthew 27:7 ), as in the closing days of the monarchy there was a public burying-ground at Jerusalem (&nbsp;Jeremiah 26:23 ), probably where it is to this day between the city wall and the [[Kidron]] Valley. [[Thousands]] of Jewish graves on the sloping sides of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, where the Jews have come from all lands to be buried, bear witness today to the belief that associates the coming of [[Messiah]] with a blessed resurrection. Many Jews hold that Messiah, when He comes, will descend upon the Mount of Olives, and will pass through these resting-places of the dead as He enters the Holy City in glory. </p> Literature <p> <i> HDB </i> , article "Burial"; Keil, <i> Biblical Arch. </i> , II, 199 f; Nowack, <i> Heb Arch. </i> , I, 187ff; "Buria l" and "Tombs" in Kitto, <i> Cycl </i> .; Thomson, <i> LB </i> (see "Funerals" in Index); Tristram, <i> Eastern Customs in Bible Lands </i> ; Mackie, <i> Bible Manners and Customs </i> . </p>