What does the Bible say about the disposition of the dead? Several passages speak about man's origin from dust at creation and about his return to dust at death. They include no command or instruction about how to deal with the body, simply the observation that, upon death, the body breaks down into its elemental parts.2
In the Bible, the normal disposition of the dead was burial, generally in a marked grave3 after preparing the body.4 The affluent purchased plots with ground or a cave5 sufficient to accommodate the remains of several family members.6 Abraham, for example, acquired a parcel of land for that expressed purpose, where he and several relatives were interred.7 Whenever practical, the survivors would transport the body to those sites.8 If distance was not a problem, burial outside the family property was a sign of disgrace.9 Those who could not afford their own plot were often buried in a community cemetery or in a common grave.10
Other ways to dispose of the dead, such as cremation, were acceptable but not common.11 If there was any stigma, it attached not to the manner of disposition but to the neglect of disposition.12 It was disgraceful to leave a body unburied, to expose it to wild animals and the elements,13 or to desecrate it in any way.14 To leave a body unburied was also defiling to the land.15
In most cases, the living did not abandon the dead but gave them the respect of interment.16 Nevertheless, even the most respectful treatment of the body upon death would not improve a person's state after death. Ultimately, it was his decision in life that determined his disposition in death.
In the Bible, the normal disposition of the dead was burial, generally in a marked grave3 after preparing the body.4 The affluent purchased plots with ground or a cave5 sufficient to accommodate the remains of several family members.6 Abraham, for example, acquired a parcel of land for that expressed purpose, where he and several relatives were interred.7 Whenever practical, the survivors would transport the body to those sites.8 If distance was not a problem, burial outside the family property was a sign of disgrace.9 Those who could not afford their own plot were often buried in a community cemetery or in a common grave.10
Other ways to dispose of the dead, such as cremation, were acceptable but not common.11 If there was any stigma, it attached not to the manner of disposition but to the neglect of disposition.12 It was disgraceful to leave a body unburied, to expose it to wild animals and the elements,13 or to desecrate it in any way.14 To leave a body unburied was also defiling to the land.15
In most cases, the living did not abandon the dead but gave them the respect of interment.16 Nevertheless, even the most respectful treatment of the body upon death would not improve a person's state after death. Ultimately, it was his decision in life that determined his disposition in death.
For the Endnotes see the pdf here.
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Jim Skaggs