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ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE BIBLE | |||
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TOMBS and CATACOMBS Bible Study Resource |
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| WHAT | Tombs and catacombs were homes for the dead. They were also storage places for the body until it had decomposed, when the bones might be placed in an ossuary or bone box. | |||
| WHERE | Biblical people did not follow the custom of cremation. Tombs, usually cut into the rock, were used in Israel and Palestine. Catacombs were often used by the early Christians. | |||
| WHEN | One of the characteristics of human beings is concern for a dead body. Burials have taken place since prehistoric times. | |||
| BIBLE LINKS | Genesis 35:20, 50:5, 2 Samuel 3:32, 4:12, Isaiah 22:16, Matthew 27:60, Mark 15:46, Luke 23:53, John 11:38, Acts 2:29 | |||
| See end of page for ancient burial customs | ||||
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INTERESTING WEBSITES SCROLL DOWN FOR IMAGES
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A 1925 photograph of tombs in the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. Jesus would have walked along this road, past the tombs, when he made his way from Jerusalem up over the hill to the home of his friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus |
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The tomb that is said
to have belonged to Lazarus -
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The Tomb of Lazarus
today.
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Inside the Tomb of Lazarus Compare this
with paintings of the moment when Jesus summons Lazarus from the tomb,
see
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Looking outwards from
the tomb See also a
short version of what happened to Lazarus at
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A circa 1900 photograph of the tomb of the beautiful, tragic queen Mariamme, who was strangled by her husband Herod the Great. Upper Hinnom Valley, Jerusalem
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A circa 1900
photograph
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Tomb of Tobiah, who
resisted
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A rock tomb
from the 1st century AD.
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An ossuary was a box in
which
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This tablet,
erected
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A tomb in Iran, said to
have belonged to Queen Esther and her uncle Mordecai
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Archaeologists
suggest that this picture of the inner part of the fortress of Herodium
may show the tomb of Herod the Great. Herod's tomb and his funeral
procession were described by the 1st century historian Josephus |
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CATACOMBS |
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Catacombs are underground
cemeteries, with narrow winding tunnels normally about 8' high. They were
used by the early Christian and Jewish communities for the burial of the
dead - early Christians rejected the custom of cremation, because
they believed that bodies would one day rise from the dead. At first the
catacombs were used for funerals and then for memorial services, but later
they became centers of devotion and pilgrimage.
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Fayum
coffin portrait, |
WHY HAVE A TOMB? Tombs were homes for the dead. They began as circular huts in which the body was placed, along with tools and personal goods. As time passed, tombs were built of more durable materials like brick and stone. They were domed or rectangular, depending on the shape of the houses used by that particular society. Kings and queens were sometimes provided not only with sumptuous funerary goods, but also with servants to look after them in the afterlife. The tomb of Queen Shub-Ad of Ur (where Abraham originated), contained the bodies of more than sixty of the queen's attendants. In early Christian communities, the tomb was seen as an earthly symbol of the heavenly home. Roman catacombs are decorated with scenes of the resurrected person in Paradise. When Jewish people heard that someone they loved had died, they tore the front part of their inner clothing. The tear was several inches long, a symbol of grief: it represented the tearing pain in their hearts. It was the women’s task to
prepare a dead body for burial. The body was washed, and hair and nails
were cut. Then it was gently wiped with a mixture of spices and wrapped in
linen strips of various sizes and widths. While this was happening,
prayers from the Scriptures were chanted. Tombs were visited and watched for
three days by family members and friends. On the third day after death,
the body was examined. This was to make sure that the person was really
dead, for accidental burial of someone still alive could happen. At this
stage the body would be treated by the women of the family with oils and
perfumes. The women's visit to the tombs of Jesus and Lazarus are
connected with this ritual. After the funeral, the family of the dead person stayed at home for seven days. They sat on the floor or on a low bench, barefoot. They did not wash themselves or their clothes, or do any work. They did not cook, but were given food by relatives. They were visited by a continual stream of friends and relatives, who sat with them and comforted them. For a thirty-day period after the death, the family members took no part in any entertainment, but lived a quiet, reflective life. After the death of a father or a mother, the mourning period was one year. This period was an opportunity to pay respect to the two people who had given you life. _____________________________________________________________________________ INTERESTING WEBSITES - photographs, reconstructions, information
The way artists liked to
see it: paintings of the Resurrection
Paintings of Lazarus summoned
from the tomb by Jesus A
shorter version of the story of what happened to Lazarus
Death and burial in biblical
times: caring for a family member who died Mary
Magdalene at the tomb of Jesus
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