Burial and Tombs in the Bible

• The dead were buried quickly, often the same dayDeut 21:23, Acts 5:6, Acts 5:10
  The verses

  Deut 21:23you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

  Acts 5:6Then the young men stepped forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

  Acts 5:10At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
• Spices were burned in honor of dead kingsJer 34:5
  The verses

  Jer 34:5you will die in peace. As spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who preceded you, so people will burn spices for you and lament, ‘Alas, O master!’ For I Myself have spoken this word, declares the LORD.”
• King David walks behind Abner’s bier and weeps at his tomb2 Sam 3:31–32
  The verses

  2 Sam 3:31–32Then David ordered Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David himself walked behind the funeral bier. When they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb, and all the people wept.
• At Nain a large crowd follows a widow’s only son to burialLuke 7:12
  The verses

  Luke 7:12As He approached the town gate, He saw a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.

Funerals

• Pharaoh’s elders, chariots and horsemen go up to bury JacobGen 50:7–9
  The verses

  Gen 50:7–9Then Joseph went to bury his father, and all the servants of Pharaoh accompanied him—the elders of Pharaoh’s household and all the elders of the land of Egypt— along with all of Joseph’s household, and his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children and flocks and herds were left in Goshen. Chariots and horsemen alike went up with him, and it was an exceedingly large procession.
• Isaac and Ishmael bury Abraham; Esau and Jacob bury IsaacGen 25:9, Gen 35:29
  The verses

  Gen 25:9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.

  Gen 35:29Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
• All Israel mourns Samuel and buries him at his home in Ramah1 Sam 25:1, 1 Sam 28:3
  The verses

  1 Sam 25:1When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.

  1 Sam 28:3Now by this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.
• The men of Jabesh travel all night to recover Saul’s body1 Sam 31:11–13
  The verses

  1 Sam 31:11–13When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there. Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
• David moves the bones of Saul and Jonathan to the tomb of Kish2 Sam 21:12–14
  The verses

  2 Sam 21:12–14he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies after they had struck down Saul at Gilboa. So David had the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan brought from there, along with the bones of those who had been hanged. And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in Zela in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. After they had done everything the king had commanded, God answered their prayers for the land.
• God-fearing men bury Stephen and mourn deeply over himActs 8:2
  The verses

  Acts 8:2God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.

Wishes about burial

• Jacob asks to be buried with his fathers, not in EgyptGen 47:30, Gen 49:29–32
  The verses

  Gen 47:30but when I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me with them.” Joseph answered, “I will do as you have requested.”

  Gen 49:29–32Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”
• Joseph makes Israel swear to carry his bones out of EgyptGen 50:25
  The verses

  Gen 50:25And Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath and said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”
• Barzillai wants to die near the tomb of his father and mother2 Sam 19:37
  The verses

  2 Sam 19:37Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.”
• An old prophet asks to be buried beside the man of God1 Kgs 13:30–31
  The verses

  1 Kgs 13:30–31Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they lamented over him, “Oh, my brother!” After he had buried him, the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, you must bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones,

Tombs and burial places

• Abraham buys the cave of Machpelah for four hundred shekels of silverGen 23:16–20
  The verses

  Gen 23:16–20Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the standard of the merchants. So Ephron’s field at Machpelah near Mamre, the cave that was in it, and all the trees within the boundaries of the field were deeded over to Abraham’s possession in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and its cave were deeded by the Hittites to Abraham as a burial site.
• Jacob sets up a pillar on Rachel’s grave on the way to BethlehemGen 35:19–20
  The verses

  Gen 35:19–20So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel’s tomb to this day.
• Buried under trees: Deborah under an oak, Saul under a tamariskGen 35:8, 1 Sam 31:13
  The verses

  Gen 35:8Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bachuth.

  1 Sam 31:13Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
• Kings of Judah were buried in the City of David1 Kgs 2:10, 2 Chr 32:33
  The verses

  1 Kgs 2:10Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.

  2 Chr 32:33And Hezekiah rested with his fathers and was buried in the upper tombs of David’s descendants. All Judah and the people of Jerusalem paid him honor at his death. And his son Manasseh reigned in his place.
• Jehoiada the priest is buried with the kings2 Chr 24:16
  The verses

  2 Chr 24:16And Jehoiada was buried with the kings in the City of David, because he had done what was good in Israel for God and His temple.
• Joash and Jehoram are buried, but not in the tombs of the kings2 Chr 24:25, 2 Chr 21:20
  The verses

  2 Chr 24:25And when the Arameans had withdrawn, they left Joash severely wounded. His own servants conspired against him for shedding the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him on his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

  2 Chr 21:20Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He died, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
• Uzziah, a leper, is buried in a field near the royal tombs2 Chr 26:23
  The verses

  2 Chr 26:23And Uzziah rested with his fathers and was buried near them in a field of burial that belonged to the kings; for the people said, “He was a leper.” And his son Jotham reigned in his place.
• Manasseh and Amon are buried in the garden of Uzza2 Kgs 21:18, 2 Kgs 21:26
  The verses

  2 Kgs 21:18And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. And his son Amon reigned in his place.

  2 Kgs 21:26And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah reigned in his place.
• Joab is buried at his own home in the wilderness1 Kgs 2:34
  The verses

  1 Kgs 2:34So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, struck down Joab, and killed him. He was buried at his own home in the wilderness.
• Josiah sees tombs on a hillside and a monument over one2 Kgs 23:16–17
  The verses

  2 Kgs 23:16–17And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the hillside, and he sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar to defile it, according to the word of the LORD proclaimed by the man of God who had foretold these things. Then the king asked, “What is this monument I see?” And the men of the city replied, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and pronounced these things that you have done to the altar of Bethel.”
• Jesus is laid in a new tomb in a garden near the place of the crossJohn 19:41–42
  The verses

  John 19:41–42Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. And because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus there.
• The women wonder who will roll the large stone from the tombMark 16:3–4
  The verses

  Mark 16:3–4They were asking one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, even though it was extremely large.
• The potter’s field is bought as a burial place for foreignersMatt 27:7
  The verses

  Matt 27:7After conferring together, they used the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners.
• Uriah’s body is thrown into the burial place of the common peopleJer 26:23
  The verses

  Jer 26:23They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him put to the sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.
• Absalom is cast into a pit under a huge mound of stones2 Sam 18:17
  The verses

  2 Sam 18:17They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.
• No one knows where Moses’ grave isDeut 34:6
  The verses

  Deut 34:6And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows the location of his grave.
• A demon-possessed man lives among the tombsMark 5:3, Luke 8:27, Matt 8:28
  The verses

  Mark 5:3This man had been living in the tombs and could no longer be restrained, even with chains.

  Luke 8:27When Jesus stepped ashore, He was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothing or lived in a house, but he stayed in the tombs.

  Matt 8:28When Jesus arrived on the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, He was met by two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.