history L7 CH 7 & 8

Roots of modern funeral service can be traced to early ____ mortuary practices

Judeo-Christian

Ancient Israelites or Hebrews

• Descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac

• Height of Ancient Hebrew culture was around 1000 BC

• Reign of Kings David and Solomon

Early ______ only had the first 5 books of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible because that was all that had been written – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  

Hebrews

Pentateuch

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (first 5 books of the old testament)

the Pentateuch are believed to have been written by ______

Moses

later, Jews will use the _____

Torah

597-547 BC

Babylonian captivity of the Jews

350-150 BC

Ancient Persians

20-150 BC

Ancient Greeks

____ was the only God

Yahweh

____ was very strict and dominated the Hebrew religion and every aspect of Hebrew life and culture

Divine Law

hebrew// Human is composed of 2 elements:

• Basar

• Nephesh

Basar

Flesh, returned to dust upon death

Nephesh

• Breath or soul, spirit like substance

• Existed in the blood during life and continues in the blood after death

• Retained thought, feeling, and supernatural powers

• Capable of possessing stones, images, and people

• Suffered when the body was injured

• Soul stayed with the grave for reunion with the body

hebrew Believed at death, the ___ returned to dust, while the ____ persisted

flesh; breath or spirit

hebrews believed they not only maintained most of their powers of thought and feeling but added certain ____ such as the ability to take possession of stones, images, or even the bodies of men.

supernatural powers

hebrews believed these spirits (ghosts) looked, acted, and dressed like the bodies they had left, although they were more like _____.

shadows or weakened images

hebrews Believed the soul kept a close connection to the dead body, so if the corpse was hurt, ____

so was the soul

hebrews believed the soul led a shadowy after-life in a netherworld called ____. (this belief came later)

Sheol

earlier Hebrews emphasized the return of the spirits of the dead to the ______

grave or to a place of residence

Hebrew Death belief by 150 BC:

• Sheol was a place where the soul existed in a shadowy afterlife

• This was the Netherworld or Realm of the Dead or House of Dead (holding place for ALL the dead to be separated from God and the living)

Hebrews believed ALL souls went to Sheol

• Souls of the righteous passed to a blessed existence

• Souls of the wicked were punished

Hebrews believed ALL souls raise from Sheol on the day of_____

“Final Judgment”

“Final Judgment”

hebrews receive either reward or punishment

for Hebrews, embalming was rarely practiced, but ____

not forbidden

Body washed in warm water, a custom known as the _____ which is still practiced today among some Jewish groups

“Purification of the Dead,”

Deceased dressed in its best attire, although the earliest Hebrews were covered in ____ instead of clothed

linen and shrouded

Chevrah Kadisha

holy brotherhood that did the “Purification of the Dead”; which was a group of 7 or 8 men or women that prepared the members of their respective sex for burial.

Hebrews// in the very early times, the body was bound in the ___

fetal position

The ancient Jewish believed that in the underworld the dead would be recognized by their garments.  This suggests that they had been buried in their _____.

customary daily apparel

Ancient Jews buried their kings with _____

spices, ornaments, gold and silver.

hebrews// Burial of the body was considered a sacred duty, or the soul would _____

have no home and wander aimlessly

Hebrews buried to prevent the body from ___

being eaten by wild animals

hebrews// Poor, criminals, and strangers were interred in ___

public burial grounds

Hebrews// Only foreign enemies were ___

denied burial as punishment

hebrews// Burial was done _____ for sanitary reasons or hygienic necessity

before sundown on the day of death

In Palestine’s warm climate _____ would have begun quickly

decomposition and putrefaction

Bier

forerunner of today’s hearse; a hand stretcher on which the uncoffinedbody was carried to the grave

hebrews carried the body on a ____

bier

Hebrews buried their dead without ____

coffins

hebrews// Coffins came into limited use after the ____ which was from 597-547 B.C.

Babylonian Captivity

hebrews// Poor were ______ and covered with a  mound of dirt

laid on the ground or in shallow trenches

hebrews // Wealthy were placed ___

in natural caves or carved tombs (artificial sepulchers carved out of rock)

Cremation was not used for Hebrews because it had ___

pagan associations

Hebrews// Was considered undignified treatment and was ____

punishable by death

Hebrews// Without the body, the soul ____

would not have a home

It was important that Hebrew family members were ____ in family burial grounds or tombs because they were thought to ____

buried together; remain together in Sheol

Hebrew burials usually took place on ___

family land

To be buried away from the family was thought to be judgement by ___.

Yahweh

Hebrew// Survivors made ____ at the grave because it was the law and customary at that time.  

sacrifices and offerings

Without the sacrifices and offerings, the soul ____.

could not rest in Sheol

Firstborn sons got a double inheritance because of their ___ to the dead

duty to bring sacrifices and libations

Hebrew tombs were located outside the city walls for sanitary reasons. Whitened with lime for ____. Simple with no ornamentation or inscriptions, so ___

visibility and ceremonial impurity, today it is difficult to date their tombs

Single chamber with recessed graves

oldest and most common

Sunken grave covered in stone:

resembled the trench grave but was a little deeper and was covered with a stone slab. Generally used for the middle class.

Bench grave covered with a ___

mound of dirt

Trench grave covered with a mound of dirt:

shallow dug trenches covered with a small amount of earth generally used for the indigent or poor

During all historical periods, the ancient Hebrews ___ their dead.

interred

for hebrews, Cremation was ___, it was frowned upon as an indignity to the corpse.

forbidden

for hebrews, It was a sacred duty for all people to bury___

any unburied body.

Kriah

When death occurred, the nearest of kin “rent their garments.”  This rending or tearing of the garments was a custom of the early Hebrews and is still practiced today

during kriah, Originally the mourner would remain ____ until the burial rites were completed

naked

hebrew// however as civilization advanced and social awareness increased, the ceremonial rending (Kriah) became a stripping down to a of goat’s or camel’s hair and later only ____ were removed.

loin cloth ; the upper garments

Early Hebrews also would cut off a generous tuft of hair between the eyes or shave their beard to parade their sorrow. The later Hebrews reduced this to ____

just plucking a few small tufts

during internment, Early Hebrews would throw themselves in the dust where-as later Hebrews would just __

sit in the dust and pour dust on their heads.

Hebrews would fast from the ___

moment of death until the evening on the day of the death.

Lamentation

passionate or weeping expression of grief or sorrow for the dead ; was a regular and important rite

christian// “Flesh and blood”

relationship between humans and God

christian// Resurrection of the body from the “___”

afterworld

christian // Divine and final judgment with ___

reward or punishment

New concepts introduced by Jesus Christ

• Great commandment to love God and love one another

• Sonship of humans with God

• Brotherhood of all humans

Christian’s believed wicked would be sent to ___ while Righteous would be to ___ for blessed existence

punishment; Heaven

Christians preached ____ in the eyes of the Lord

equal value

The Christian concept included that the soul was infinite and had equal value in every human. ____ could get into heaven – didn’t depend on wealth, being a hero, or social position

Anyone

The soul was Spiritual and ___ and was not destroyed by death

Immortal

christian//

• Eyes were closed by family members

• Hands folded

• Body was washed, wrapped in a linen sheet, and ___

• laid on a couch

Christian Laying Out of the Body

Feet extended to hasten departure of soul

Christian Cross placed on the ___ of the deceased

chest

Wake / vigil

Originated as an Ancient Hebrew practice, family and friends sit with the deceased as a precaution against premature burial; continued as an act of piety in Middle Ages

Reposed on bier ___ for wake/viewing

in home

Christian funeral ; Before noon

• Held Requiem Mass

• Distributed Holy Communion

Requiem Mass

A Catholic mass for the dead.  During the mass the priest would use the burning of incense to mask the odor of decomposition.  It was during the Middle Ages that the custom of bringing the deceased into the church for the service was begun.

christian funeral ; In the afternoon

• Sang psalms

• Said prayers

• Held special service for the dead

The Christian Funeral Procession

• Early Christian funeral processions were subdued and reverent

• No loud crying or mourning

• Included the body, bearers of the body, family, and friends

• Torches and light symbolized victory over death and entry into eternal life

Christian Internment

• Farewell prayers

• Anointing with oil

• Kiss Of Peace

Kiss of Peace

A final kiss of the deceased to wish them eternal peace.  It was an ancient traditional Christian greeting.  

THE 7 CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY are as follows:

• 1. Feed the hungry.

• 2. Give drink to the thirsty.

• 3. Clothe the naked.

• 4. Shelter the homeless.

• 5. Visit the sick.

• 6. Visit the imprisoned.

• 7. Bury the dead.

Burial of the dead was one of the ____ (practices considered meritorious in Christian ethics)

seven great corporal works of mercy

in Christian Burial

• No coffin or outer burial container

• Burial in consecrated ground blessed by the Church

Catacombs

Originated in Ancient Rome as excavated cemeteries cut out of soft rock for the tombs of wealthy Christians; later became a place for religious rites to avoid persecution before Constantine

• Galleries, chambers, and passages carved out of soft rock with public entrances

• Used for worship

Fossores

Gravediggers, Sextons, and Cemeterians in the catacombs during the period of early Christianity from 300AD to 450 AD

By the time of Pope John III ___, burial occurred in cemeteries within the city walls

560-575 AD

Unlike other pagan cultures, early Christians believed in resurrection of the body and union with the soul through the power of ____.  Therefore, the dead had to be buried.

God on judgment day.

Burial followed the example of ___

Jesus of Nazareth

Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337 AD) prohibited ___

cremation

Cremation was practiced by Greek and Roman ____ cultures

“pagan”

Initially, funerals functions were performed by family and friends under the direction of the ___

church clergy

Burial clubs

also served as social clubs with large drinking parties.  They were organizations intended to assist people of the working classes, particularly guild members, to defray the heavy expenses of the funeral and to perpetuate the memory of dead friends.  The costs were shared by others via weekly collections and this was the forerunner of industrial insurance.

Under Constantine, burial clubs changed because he required burial of the poor by law

Everyone received a free coffin.

Procession included a cross bearer, eight monks, and three acolytes.

Parabolani:

visited the sick