Subject: script on burial/ cremeation, how / why |
Bible Note: Lorenzo - Cremation was not the general Hebrew method of disposing of the dead, but it was not unknown to ancient Hebraic culture, particularly in the case of criminals as Joshua 7:25 attests. Morever, we find in 1 Samuel 31:12,13 and account of the citizens of Jabesh Gilead having burned the bodies of Saul and his sons. But it is of interest to note that afterwards they interred their bones. In light of the fact that the Philistines had beheaded Saul, the cremation may well have been an act on the part of the valiant men of Jabesh Gilead to hide the damage. ...... At all events, Scripture neither sanctions nor specifically forbids cremation, although we may reasonably infer that the Israelites placed a certain amount of importance on burying their dead; for example, the account (Gen. 23:2-15) of Abraham's considerable efforts to find a suitable burial site for his deceased wife Sarah, and Jacob's plea to Joseph not to bury him in Egypt (Gen. 47:29,30). --Hank |