Taken from the january 2000 issue of American Funeral Director
It is a fascinating observation that the Old Testament presents death as a terminal event of desolate finality; whereas, the New Testament presents death not as an end, but as a hopeful beginning, anew life as it were, into eternity.
Starting with the Psalms and continuing with the lives of the prophets, the Bible unfolds a story of hope and comfort, and a promise of eternal life.
It is a long way from the bleak image of Sheol in the Book of Proverbs to St. Paul's exultant cry in 1 Corinthians 15:55: O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The tracing of this journey of how the Hebrew (and ultimately Christian) notion of death and burial changed, is interesting to say the least. Here one sees a steady, yet, at times, almost invisible emphasis on personal hope. The journey reflects an ever-increasing awareness that through ethical care of the dead each individual counts.
The Psalmist tells us thatthe years of our life are threescore and ten, meaning that a person may expect a lifetime of 70 years (Psalms 90: 10). But, in all likelihood, few people in ancient times lived so long. War, famine, and disease put them at risk. Medicine was primitive; people died of injuries and infections that today are considered minor and that we are able to treat effectively with antiseptics and antibiotics. Anything such as a cut or wound, a broken or mangled limb, or even bronchitis would most likely prove fatal. And, not understanding anything about germ theory or how disease spread, people in ancient times could not guard against communicable disease
A set of funeral and burial rituals evolved among the ancient Israelites in accordance with the circumstances of the times. None was more important than to bury the dead as quickly as possible. The hot Middle Eastern climate made a speedy burial essential; more pressing, however, was the age-old fear, pervasive throughout the Mesopotamian region, of lying unburied after death. It was believed that after death the soul continued to feel what was done to the body.
Death in ancient times was marked by the family with great solemnity and ceremony. It set in motion a carefully prescribed set of activities, which began with the formal preparation of the body for burial. Archaeological evidence has revealed that the Israelites did not exclusively develop their own funeral practices but instead, adopted the customs of Mesopotamia. May the earth not receive your corpse is a curse frequently cited in Mesopotamian texts. Its echo can be found in Deuteronomy 28:26, where the litany of curses for those who disobey the Lord's rule includes:And your dead body shall be food for all the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth; and there shall be no one to frighten them away.
So the Israelites' funeral and burial practices were very traditional. First, the body was washed and rubbed with oil or sprinkled with perfume. This practice was a type of primitive odor control so the body would not become offensive. It was then wrapped in special grave clothes made of long strips of linen. The hands and feet were also bound with grave clothes and the face covered with a napkin (John 44:19-40). Fragrant spices were packed between the cloth and the body to take away the smell of death.
According to the Jewish TalmudOne of the commandments in the category of acts of charity is escorting the dead to burial. Taking part in a funeral is considered an act of respect both to the departed and to the bereaved family. In principle, anyone who sees a funeral procession must participate in it at least for a short time. Burial was of the utmost importance to the ancient Israelites. Partly because of God's declaration,For dust you are and to dust you will return (Gen 3:19), the people of Israel almost always buried their dead. Because the land of Canaan had so many caves, these places were very frequently used as places of burial. The Israelites had a profound respect for the dead and for the place of burial. It was a matter of decency, honor, and love for the person. This was all done without regard to the fact that the real person had gone and that only his formerresidence remained.
Decent burial is a recurring theme in the Bible and cremation was unheard of, probably due to the association between fire and God's judgment (e.g., Sodom and Gomorrah, Gen 19:24-28) and the final dissolution ofthis present evil world is to be with fierce fire (2 Peter 3:7-10,12). Disobedience and wickedness often lead to the lack of decent earth burial as a punishment. For example, dogs were allowed to eat Jezebel (2 Kings 9:10) and Jehoiakim was given the burial of a donkey (Jer 22:18-19). The urgent need to provide the dead with a proper grave is the focus of the poignant story of Rizpah, one of King Saul's concubines, told in 2 Samuel 21.
Rizpah's Story
When famine struck the Israelites after Saul died, it was blamed on Saul's breach of a treaty with the Gibeonites, entered into years before by Joshua (Joshua 9:3-27). Seeking to ease the famine and placate the Gibeonites, Saul's successor, King David, agreed to let the Gibeonites execute two of Saul's sons, together with five of his grandsons. The two sons were Rizpah's children.
The seven were hanged and the bodies were left unburied as a way of expiating the blood-guilt of Israel. Rizpah kept faithful watch at the execution site for a period of several months, guarding them against birds and animals. When David heard of her vigil, he journeyed to Jabesh-Gilead to retrieve the bodies of Saul and Jonathan, which had been buried there after the father and son died in battle against the Philistines (1 Samuel 31). Then he buried their bodies with those of the seven hanged men. Burial was essential to the Israelite. In preparation of the funeral, the family and friends gathered around the home to lament with loud cries of sorrow. The intensity of this cathartic grieving may be reflected in Micah 1:8;I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches. The issue of mourning was a vital part of the healing aspect of these rituals. The ancient Hebrews placed a greater emphasis on external symbolic acts of mourning than we do today. People in the East still carry on this respect for symbolic activity.
The early Hebrews took mourning very seriously. A death in a household set in motion an elaborate ceremony of mourning that lasted a week or more. The members of the family and their friends gathered around the corpse and indulged in lamentations bordering on hysteria. The mourners tore their clothes, usually of coarse sackcloth, and then covered themselves with dust and ashes. Some may have even shaved their heads or beards, as was the custom of earlier times.