Mourning Customs of Ancient Israel

“…in Pharais there are no tears shed, though in the remotest part of it there is a grey pool, the weeping of all the world, fed everlastingly by the myriad eyes that every moment are somewhere wet with sorrow, or agony, or vain regret, or vain desire. And those who go there stoop, and touch their eyelids with that grey water; and it is as balm to them, and they go healed of their too great joy: and their songs thereafter are the sweetest that are sung in the ways of Pharais.”

Pharais and the Mountain Lovers by Fiona MacLeod.

From time immemorial, there has always been some type of mourning ritual associated with death in every culture. Allow me to land you in imagination on the shore of Palestine where we will observe some of the mourning practices of ancient Israel.

The most common occasion for mourning in the Bible is the death of a close relative. The sentences which open the twenty-third chapter of Genesis are deeply personal and poignant. Here is the voice of human sorrow, the universal human cry of grief which is as old as the world and as new as the most recent heartbreak. “Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.”

And, we also hear Jacob’s mourning for Joseph; the Israelites mourning for Aaron and Moses and Samuel; David mourning for Saul and Jonathan and Abner. In the New Testament there appears to be a more subdued, but nevertheless heartfelt sadness when Mary, Martha and Jesus mourn for Lazarus and colleagues and others who loved him mourned for Deacon Stephen.

As true today, mourning comes to expression in a variety of situations other than death. Troubles and losses that have overwhelmed the individual often are presented in Scripture as occasions precipitating sorrow and grief. Job is a classic example. There are numerous Old Testament examples of mourning due to national disasters. The prophets give vivid expression to the mourning that resulted from the collapse of Judah and the subsequent exile of the people. Jeremiah cried,

“Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people” (9:1)

and Joel preached,

“Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God.” (1:13).

Trouble and catastrophe which are threatening and impending were occasions for mourning as expressed in Nehemiah and Esther. Generally these threats were perceived as being due to an unhappy Deity and called for penitential mourning in the hope that God’s favor might be restored.

Interestingly, the same idea of winning back God’s approval is found in most all occasions for mourning. Whereas mourning in the actual presence of death was spontaneous emotional feelings, the mourning associated with the prophetic prediction of national disaster was motivated by the hope of altering the path of impending doom. The thought seems to be that to mourn before a disaster was better than mourning afterward, particularly, if it is efficacious in averting the catastrophe. In an era when it was firmly and widely believed that God is present and that He controls the affairs of men, we can understand why penitential mourning would be preached to the nation by the prophets. Just as we say, “prayer changes things,” ancient Israel sincerely felt and believed that “mourning changes things.”

We find many instances in Scripture of mourning being a method of offsetting an impending disaster as in Hezekiah’s mourning in sackcloth as a means of securing God’s help in overruling the Assyrian threat.

It may have been David’s breach of custom in mourning before the death of Bathsheba’s child, instead of after his death, that gave sincere mourning the characteristic of influencing God rather than remaining simply a spontaneous manifestation of grief:

His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!" He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." 2 Samuel 12:21-23.

Be that as it may, one of the interesting things we notice in the Old Testament is the Hebrew’s sorrowful tears. Though probably using hyperbole, the psalmist speaks of flooding his bed every night with tears. Loud cries frequently were associated with weeping as a sign of grief as presented in Ruth “May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them and they wept aloud.”(1:9). Accompanying these cries, as previously stated, is the curious action of beating the breast. This practice was urged as a token of sincere repentance for an apathetic attitude toward sin. So Isaiah instructs: “Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines” (32:12). A similar sign of repentance is the lifting up of hands: “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.” Psalm 141:2.

Another feature of ancient mourning was the sprinkling of ashes, dust, or dirt upon oneself and seems to have been associated with mourning arising out of personal, national or threatening mishaps. But what was absolutely unacceptable and prohibited from being a part of the Jewish mourning rites were certain practices found among their pagan neighbors, i.e., gashing the flesh or shaving the head or beard as was done by the priest of Baal on Mount Carmel.

The type of clothing worn was another form that confirmed mourning. The common mourning garment was black sackcloth, with any adornment removed and the mourner usually went about barefoot. The tearing of sackcloth was a universal sign among the Hebrews signifying grief and distress. It was also a pious means of showing holy indignation: “When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled.” Ezra 9:3. And, of course, you remember when at Jesus’ trial the high priest Caiaphas, who pretended to grieve when Jesus acknowledged being the Son of God, tore his robe.

Now, we cannot leave out mention of the professional mourners, generally female, who assumed an important place in the mourning rituals. These individuals embellished the funeral rites with skillfully engineered dirges and eulogies. Sometimes they were accompanied by flutes.

“Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD God Almighty, says: "There will be wailing in all the streets and cries of anguish in every public square. The farmers will be summoned to weep and the mourners to wail.” Amos 5:16.

This profession was usually passed on from mother to daughter.

“Now, O women, hear the word of the LORD; open your ears to the words of his mouth. Teach your daughters how to wail; teach one another a lament.” Jeremiah 9:20.

Here again it may have been David who popularized the practice of formal lamentation with his lengthy elegy sung at the funeral of Saul and Jonathan.

It is clear in the Old Testament that the outward signs of mourning were called for in situations of repentance and supplication as well as sorrow. This would indicate that the rituals were more than natural expressions of lament but served as a means of reconciliation with God. But Paul’s words to the Thessalonians; “We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope” show grief as a natural response that is transformed by faith. For believers, grief never becomes a paralyzing bondage.

When we cross over into the New Testament, we run into a startling paradox for it exalts an eschatological and existential hope: “Blessed are those who mourn.” The world says, “Enjoy!” Christ says, “Grieve,” a sharp denial of the world’s standard. Yet, Jesus knew well that grief in itself is not blessed. He cried in empathy with the sorrow of Mary and Martha. Yet, the beatitude stands, and in Luke’s account, it is even more stunning: “Blessed are you who weep now.” Thus, we cannot help but ask what kind of mourning is it that brings this blessing?

New Testament believers lucidly understood that life is not given for our comfort. Darkness may reveal stars that even the sun cannot hide. Sorrowful mourning finds comfort for it summons the aid of God. The comfort God provides is not mere soothing; it is divine tenderness and loving reinforcement. Mourning in its Christian context is seen as participating in the transforming power and hope of the Gospel. In a manner more glorious that in the Old Testament, penitential and prayerful mourning for the Christian turn into glory and joy with Christ for He is the Messenger of great joy.

Joy, in its most profound meaning, is not the opposite of pain, but rather the product of pain and can emerge only through pain. Christian joy is the result of suffering and distress. Joy is intrinsically connected with what you have been through or what you are going through. It is the outcome of faith and patience. It is a supernatural gift of God’s peace and strength. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy does come in the morning.” The night pain is transformed into morning joy. Christian mourners thus enter life’s most precious secret, hidden from the experience of nonbelievers. We enter God’s blessedness.