Death

Death in Easton's Bible Dictionary

may be simply defined as the termination of life. It is represented under a variety of aspects in Scripture: (1.) "The dust shall return to the earth as it was" (Eccl. 12:7). (2.) "Thou takest away their breath, they die" (Ps. 104:29). (3.) It is the dissolution of "our earthly house of this tabernacle" (2 Cor. 5:1); the "putting off this tabernacle" (2 Pet. 1:13, 14). (4.) Being "unclothed" (2 Cor. 5:3, 4). (5.) "Falling on sleep" (Ps. 76:5; Jer. 51:39; Acts 13:36; 2 Pet. 3:9. (6.) "I go whence I shall not return" (Job 10:21); "Make me to know mine end" (Ps. 39:4); "to depart" (Phil. 1:23). The grave is represented as "the gates of death" (Job 38:17; Ps. 9:13; 107:18). The gloomy silence of the grave is spoken of under the figure of the "shadow of death" (Jer. 2:6). Death is the effect of sin (Heb. 2:14), and not a "debt of nature." It is but once (9:27), universal (Gen. 3:19), necessary (Luke 2:28-30). Jesus has by his own death taken away its sting for all his followers (1 Cor. 15:55-57). There is a spiritual death in trespasses and sins, i.e., the death of the soul under the power of sin (Rom. 8:6; Eph. 2:1, 3; Col. 2:13). The "second death" (Rev. 2:11) is the everlasting perdition of the wicked (Rev. 21:8), and "second" in respect to natural or temporal death. THE DEATH OF CHRIST is the procuring cause incidentally of all the blessings men enjoy on earth. But specially it is the procuring cause of the actual salvation of all his people, together with all the means that lead thereto. It does not make their salvation merely possible, but certain (Matt. 18:11; Rom. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 1:4; 3:13; Eph. 1:7; 2:16; Rom. 8:32-35).

Death Scripture - Esther 4:11

All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, [there is] one law of his to put [him] to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.

Death Scripture - Jeremiah 26:19

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.

Death Scripture - Jeremiah 38:25

But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee:

Death Scripture - Ruth 2:11

And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and [how] thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.

Death Scripture - Ecclesiastes 8:8

[There is] no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither [hath he] power in the day of death: and [there is] no discharge in [that] war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

Death Scripture - John 8:51

Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

Death Scripture - Ezekiel 33:11

Say unto them, [As] I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Death Scripture - 1 Kings 11:40

Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

Death Scripture - 2 Samuel 15:21

And Ittai answered the king, and said, [As] the LORD liveth, and [as] my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.

Death Scripture - Genesis 26:18

And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

Death in Naves Topical Bible

Miscellaneous Subjects Called GIVING UP THE GHOST Ge 25:8; 35:29; La 1:19; Ac 5:10 KING OF TERRORS Job 18:14 A CHANGE Job 14:14 GOING TO THY FATHERS Ge 15:15; 25:8; 35:29 PUTTING OFF THIS TABERNACLE 2Pe 1:14 REQUIRING THE SOUL Lu 12:20 GOING THE WAY WHENCE THERE IS NO RETURN Job 16:22 BEING GATHERED TO OUR PEOPLE Ge 49:33 GOING DOWN INTO SILENCE Ps 115:17 RETURNING TO DUST Ge 3:19; Ps 104:29 BEING CUT DOWN Job 14:2 FLEEING AS A SHADOW Job 14:2 DEPARTING Php 2:23 -Called SLEEP De 31:16; Job 7:21; 14:12; Jer 51:39; Da 12:2; Joh 11:11; Ac 7:60; 13:36; 1Co 15:6,18,51; 1Th 4:14,15 -EXEMPTION FROM Enoch Ge 5:24; Heb 11:5 Elijah 2Ki 2 Promised to saints at the second coming of Christ 1Co 15:51; 1Th 4:15,17 No death in heaven Lu 20:36; Re 21:4 -DESIRED Jer 8:3; Re 9:6 By Moses Nu 11:15 Elijah 1Ki 19:4 Job Job 3; 6:8-11; 7:1-3,15,16; 10:1; 14:13 Jonah Jon 4:8 Simeon Lu 2:29 Paul 2Co 5:2,8; Php 1:20-23 -AS A JUDGMENT Upon the Antediluvians Ge 6:7,11-13 Sodomites Ge 19:12,13,24,25 Saul 1Ch 10:13,14 -SYMBOLIZED By the pale horse Re 6:8 King of Terrors Job 18:14 -APOSTROPHE TO Ho 13:14; 1Co 15:55 -UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO Ge 2:17; 3:19; 27:2; De 32:39; Jos 23:14; 1Sa 2:6; 20:2,3; 2Sa 1:23; 14:14; Job 1:21; 3:13,17-19; 7:1,8-10,21; 10:21,22; 14:2,5-12,14,19-21; 16:22; 17:13,14,16; 21:23,25,26,32,33; 30:23; 34:14,15; 36:18,19; 38:17; Ps 6:5; 23:4; 30:9; 39:4,13; 49:7,9; 68:20; 82:7; 88:9-14; 89:48; 90:3; 103:14-16; 104:29; 115:17; 143:3; 144:4; 146:4; Ec 2:14-18; 3:2,19-21; 4:2; 5:15; 6:6,10; 7:1,2,15; 8:8; 9:3,5,6,10; 12:5,7; Isa 25:8; 38:1,10-13,18; 40:7; 51:12; Jer 9:21; Ho 13:14; Zec 1:5; Mt 10:28; Lu 20:34-38; 23:39-43; Joh 9:4; Ro 5:12,14; 1Co 15:21,22,26,55- 57; 1Ti 6:7; 2Ti 1:10; Heb 2:14,15; 9:27; 13:14; Jas 1:10,11; 1Pe 1:24; Re 1:18; 20:12-14; 21:4 -PREPARATION FOR De 32:29; 2Ki 20:1; Ps 39:4,13; 90:12; Ec 9:4,10; 11:7,8; Isa 38:18,19; Lu 12:35-37; Joh 9:4; Ro 14:8; Php 1:21; Heb 13:14; Jas 4:15; 1Pe 1:17 -OF THE RIGHTEOUS Nu 23:10; 2Sa 12:23; 2Ki 22:19,20; Ps 23:4; 31:5; 37:37; 49:15; 73:24; 116:15; Pr 14:32; Ec 7:1; Isa 57:1,2; Da 12:13; Lu 2:29; 16:22; 23:43; Joh 11:11; Ac 7:59; Ro 14:7,8; 1Co 3:21-23; 15:51-57; 2Co 1:9,10; 5:1,4,8; Php 1:20,21,23,24; 1Th 4:13,14; 5:9,10; 2Ti 4:6-8; Heb 2:14,15; 11:13; 2Pe 1:11,14; Re 14:13 -SCENES OF DEATH OF ISAAC Ge 27:1-4,22-40 DEATH OF JACOB Ge 49:1-33; Heb 11:21 DEATH OF MOSES De 31:14-30; 32:1-52; 33:1-29; 34:1-7 DEATH OF DAVID 1Ki 2:1-10 DEATH OF ZECHARIAH 2Ch 24:22 DEATH OF JESUS Mt 27:34-53; Mr 15:23-38; Lu 23:27-49; Joh 19:16-30 DEATH OF STEPHEN Ac 7:59,60 DEATH OF PAUL 2Ti 4:6-8 -OF THE WICKED Nu 16:30; 1Sa 25:38; 2Ch 21:6,20; Job 4:21; 18:14,18; 20:4,5,8,11; 21:13,17,18,23-26; 24:20,24; 27:8,19- 23; 34:20; 36:12,14,18,20; Ps 37:1,2,9,10,35,36; 49:7,9,10,14,17,19,20; 55:23; 58:9; 73:3,4,17-20; 78:50; 92:7; Pr 2:22; 5:22,23; 10:25,27; 11:7,10; 13:9; 14:32; 21:16; 24:20; 29:1,16; Ec 8:10; Isa 14:11,15; 17:14; 26:14; Jer 16:3,4; Eze 28:8,10; Am 9:10; Lu 12:20; 16:22-28; Ac 5:3-10; 1Th 5:3 -SPIRITUAL Lu 1:79; Joh 5:24-26; 6:50,51,53; 11:26; Ro 5:12,15; 7:11; 8:5,6,12,13; 2Co 5:14; Eph 2:1,5,6; 4:18; 5:14; Col 2:13; 1Ti 5:6; 1Pe 2:24; 1Jo 5:12 See DEPRAVITY See MAN, STATE OF AFTER THE FALL See REPROBACY -SECOND Pr 14:12; Eze 18:4,10,13,21,23,24; 33:8,9,11,14-16; Mt 7:13; 10:28; 25:30,41,46; Mr 9:43,44; Ro 1:32; 6:16,21,23; 8:13; 9:22; 2Th 1:9; Jas 1:15; 4:12; 2Pe 2:12; Re 2:11; 19:20; 20:14; 21:8 See HELL See WICKED, PUNISHMENT OF -FIGURATIVE OF REGENERATION Ro 6:2-11; 7:1-10; 8:10,11; Col 2:20

Death in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE

(maweth; thanatos): PHYSIOLOGICAL AND FIGURATIVE VIEW The word "Death" is used in the sense of (1) the process of dying (Gen 21:16); (2) the period of decease (Gen 27:7); (3) as a possible synonym for poison (2 Ki 4:40); (4) as descriptive of person in danger of perishing (Jdg 15:18; "in deaths oft" 2 Cor 11:23). In this sense the shadow of death is a familiar expression in Job, the Psalms and the Prophets; (5) death is personified in 1 Cor 15:55 and Rev 20:14. Deliverance from this catastrophe is called the "issues from death" (Ps 68:20 the King James Version; translated "escape" in the Revised Version (British and American)). Judicial execution, "putting to death," is mentioned 39 times in the Levitical Law. Figuratively: Death is the loss of spiritual life as in Rom 8:6; and the final state of the unregenerate is called the "second death" in Rev 20:14. Alex. Macalister THEOLOGICAL VIEW 1. Conception of Sin and Death: According to Gen 2:17, God gave to man, created in His own image, the command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and added thereto the warning, "in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." Though not exclusively, reference is certainly made here in the first place to bodily death. Yet because death by no means came upon Adam and Eve on the day of their transgression, but took place hundreds of years later, the expression, "in the day that," must be conceived in a wider sense, or the delay of death must be attributed to the entering-in of mercy (Gen 3:15). However this may be, Gen 2:17 places a close connection between man's death and his transgression of God's commandment, thereby attaching to death a religious and ethical significance, and on the other hand makes the life of man dependent on his obedience to God. This religious-ethical nature of life and death is not only decidedly and clearly expressed in Gen 2, but it is the fundamental thought of the whole of Scripture and forms an essential element in the revelations of salvation. The theologians of early and more recent times, who have denied the spiritual significance of death and have separated the connection between ethical and physical life, usually endeavor...

Death in Bible Times

Death in Oriental Lands THE ATTITUDE OF THE PEOPLE of the East toward death, and their behavior at such times, is so strikingly different from the attitude and behavior in the West that the Bible student will do well to study such customs. [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]

Mourning

BIBLICAL EXPRESSIONS OF ORIENTAL MOURNING The Psalmists, Prophets, and Apostles often make use of expressions referring to Oriental mourning. Some of these cannot be appreciated by the Occidental, unless the highly emotional character of the Easterner is understood, and also his fondness for figurative language. The Psalmist says: "Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law" (Psalm 119:136). The prophet exclaims, "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (Jeremiah 9:1). And. it was to Orientals that Paul said, "Weep with them that weep" (Romans 12:15). [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]

Funerary Customs

EASTERN FUNERALS Burial follows death quickly. The burial of the dead in the East takes place soon after death, usually the same day. The people of these regions have a primitive idea that the spirit of the one who dies, hovers near the body for three days after death. Mourners think of this spirit as being able to hear the wailing calls of grief. Martha, no doubt, thought it would be hopeless to think of reviving her brother's body, because he had been dead four days (John 11:39). Burial in caves, tombs, or graves. Today there are thousands of rock-cut tombs scattered over the land of Israel, to bring to mind past decades. Such tombs were made by the wealthy. Not being able to afford these, the poorer folks buried their dead in graves. Some of these tombs had many chambers in them. They were closed by a rolling-stone which ran down an inclined plane in front of the mouth of the sepulcher. In the vicinity of ancient Gadara (Luke 8:27), there are many rock-hewn tombs today, bringing to mind the experience of JESUS when he met the demoniac who lived in the tombs. Often the dead were buried in graves dug in the earth, as in the case of Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, who was buried under an oak at Bethel (Genesis 35:8). Natural caves were sometimes utilized, as in the case of the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob were placed (Genesis 49:31; 50:13). When they could afford to do so, families had a sepulcher. Gideon was buried in the sepulcher of Joash his father (Judges 8:32). Only prophets and kings were buried within the limits of a city, as Samuel, who was buried in his house at Ramah (I Samuel 25:1), and David, who was buried in the city of David (I Kings 2:10). A graveyard for poorer people was located outside Jerusalem (II Kings 23:6). Many of the villages had graveyards outside their limits, as for example Nain, where JESUS raised the widow's son (Luke 7:11-17). There is a graveyard located there today.8 Custom following burial. In Bible times it was quite customary for the sorrowing ones to fast up to the time burial. Then following the funeral, they would be offered bread and wine as a comforting refreshment. Such was called a mourning feast, which had as its real purpose the comforting of the mourners. The prophet Jeremiah refers to this custom: "Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother" (Jeremiah 16:7). This mourning feast brought to an end the period of deepest sorrow and strict fasting. [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]

Preparing the Body for Burial

PREPARATION OF THE BODY FOR BURIAL In Syria the custom has prevailed of wrapping the dead. Usually the face is covered with a napkin, and then the hands and feet are bound round with linen cloth. The body is then put upon a bier, with a pole at each corner, and thus carried on the shoulders of men to the tomb for burial. The description of Lazarus, when JESUS called him forth from the tomb, indicates that the same custom was practiced in those days: "And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go"(John 11:44). Also we know that the body of JESUS was thus wrapped by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus: "Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury" (John 19:40). Embalming spices were used when they could be afforded. [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]

Death Customs of Expression

EXPRESSIONS OF SORROW AND COMFORT Since Orientals are so very demonstrative and emotional, it is difficult for those not acquainted with their customs to appreciate their method of expressing their sorrow, and their attempts to be comforted. In times of grief and sorrow, sackcloth is worn, and they often rend their garments in order to let people know how deep is their grief (II Samuel 3:31). The beating of the breast is another method of expressing sorrow (Luke 23:48). Tears flow freely at such times and are considered to be a definite means of bringing comfort to sorrowing hearts (John 11:33). [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]

Customary Expressions

EXPRESSIONS OF SORROW AND COMFORT Since Orientals are so very demonstrative and emotional, it is difficult for those not acquainted with their customs to appreciate their method of expressing their sorrow, and their attempts to be comforted. In times of grief and sorrow, sackcloth is worn, and they often rend their garments in order to let people know how deep is their grief (II Samuel 3:31). The beating of the breast is another method of expressing sorrow (Luke 23:48). Tears flow freely at such times and are considered to be a definite means of bringing comfort to sorrowing hearts (John 11:33).

Lamentation

LAMENTATION From the time the death wail is heard, until the burial takes place, relatives and friends continue their lamentation. The prophet Micah compares it to the cry of wild beasts or birds: "Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls" (Micah 1:8). Such lamentation was in the house of Jairus when JESUS entered it: "And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly" (Mark 5:38). In connection with the lamentations, there are apt to be certain exclamations of sorrow used. David mourned over the death of Absalom: "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!" (II Samuel 18:33). Certain words are repeated over and over again. The exclamations concerning the disobedient prophet who died, were: "Alas, my brother!" And in mourning the death of a king, the words were used, "Ah lord!" and "Ah his glory!" (Jeremiah 22:18). The Hebrew prophets mention professional mourners, who were called in at the time of sorrow to express mourning for the dead. "Call for the mourning women, that they may come; . . . and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us" (Jeremiah 9:17, 18). Another reference is to "such as are skillful of lamentation" (Amos 5:16). The presence of such a group of mourners hired for the occasion seems out of place to the Occidental mind; but certainly such professional wailers are no more lacking in helpfulness to the Easterner than are nonreligious professional singers at a Western funeral service. [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]

Wailing

THE DEATH WAIL As soon as a death has taken place in the Orient, a wail is raised that announces to all the neighborhood what has happened. This is a sign for the relatives to begin demonstrating their sorrow. This death wail is referred to in connection with the first-born of Egypt, "And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead" (Exodus 12:30). Such a death-wail heard in an Eastern desert has been thus described as, "a sharp, shrill, ear-piercing shriek." This shriek is followed by prolonged wails. When this is heard, everybody knows a death has occurred. [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]