Topical Bible: Sepulchre

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Topical Encyclopedia

A sepulchre, in biblical terms, refers to a burial place or tomb. It is a significant concept in the Bible, symbolizing both physical death and the hope of resurrection. The term is often used in the context of the burial sites of significant biblical figures and is a testament to the customs and beliefs surrounding death and burial in ancient times.

Old Testament Context

In the Old Testament, sepulchres were typically caves or hewn rock tombs, often located outside city limits. The patriarchs, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were buried in sepulchres. Genesis 23:19 records the burial of Sarah: "After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan." This cave, purchased by Abraham, became the family sepulchre, a place of honor and remembrance.

The sepulchre was not only a place of burial but also a site of ancestral significance. In Genesis 50:13 , Joseph's brothers carried his body to Canaan and buried him in the family sepulchre: "They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, the field Abraham had bought as a burial site from Ephron the Hittite, near Mamre."

New Testament Context

In the New Testament, sepulchres continue to hold importance, particularly in the context of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. The Gospels describe the burial of Jesus in a new sepulchre, hewn out of rock, belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. Matthew 27:59-60 states, "So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away."

The sepulchre of Jesus is central to the Christian faith, as it is the site of His resurrection. The empty tomb is a powerful symbol of victory over death. In John 20:1-2 , Mary Magdalene discovers the empty sepulchre: "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have put Him!'"

Symbolism and Significance

Sepulchres in the Bible are more than mere burial sites; they are places of hope and divine promise. They remind believers of the transient nature of life and the eternal hope found in God. The sepulchre of Jesus, in particular, is a testament to the core Christian belief in the resurrection and the promise of eternal life for those who believe in Him.

The Bible also uses sepulchres metaphorically to describe spiritual states. In Matthew 23:27 , Jesus rebukes the Pharisees, saying, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity." Here, the sepulchre symbolizes hypocrisy and spiritual death, contrasting outward appearances with inner reality.

Sepulchres, therefore, serve as a profound reminder of both the physical reality of death and the spiritual truths of life, death, and resurrection as revealed in Scripture.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

First mentioned as purchased by Abraham for Sarah from Ephron the Hittite (Genesis 23:20). This was the "cave of the field of Machpelah," where also Abraham and Rebekah and Jacob and Leah were burried (79:29-32). In Acts 7:16 it is said that Jacob was "laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem." It has been proposed, as a mode of reconciling the apparent discrepancy between this verse and Genesis 23:20, to read Acts 7:16 thus: "And they [i.e., our fathers] were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor [the son] of Sychem." In this way the purchase made by Abraham is not to be confounded with the purchase made by Jacob subsequently in the same district. Of this purchase by Abraham there is no direct record in the Old Testament. (see TOMB.)

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb.

2. (v. t.) To bury; to inter; to entomb; as, obscurely sepulchered.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

SEPULCHRE

sep'-ul-ker (2 Chronicles 21:20; 2 Chronicles 32:33 John 19:41 Acts 2:29, etc.).

See BURIAL; JERUSALEM, VIII.

Greek

3419. mnemeion -- a memorial, a monument
... sepulcher, monument. 3419 (a neuter noun derived from 3451 , "to remember,
keep in memory") -- a tomb (sepulchre). Word Origin from ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3419.htm - 7k

5028. taphos -- a burial, hence a grave
... sepulchre, tomb. Masculine from thapto; a grave (the place of interment) --
sepulchre, tomb. see GREEK thapto. (taphois) -- 1 Occurrence. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5028.htm - 6k

3418. mnema -- a memorial, a sepulcher
... grave, sepulcher, tomb. From mnaomai; a memorial, ie Sepulchral monument
(burial-place) -- grave, sepulchre, tomb. see GREEK mnaomai. (mnema) -- 3 Occurrences. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3418.htm - 7k

Strong's Hebrew

6900. qeburah -- a grave, burial
... Or qburah {keb-oo-raw'}; feminine passive participle of qabar; sepulture; (concretely)
a sepulchre -- burial, burying place, grave, sepulchre. see HEBREW qabar. ...
/hebrew/6900.htm - 6k

6913. qeber -- a grave, sepulcher
... burying place, grave, sepulcher. Or (feminine) qibrah {kib-raw'}; from qabar; a
sepulchre -- burying place, grave, sepulchre. see HEBREW qabar. 6912, 6913. ...
/hebrew/6913.htm - 6k

Library

At the Sepulchre
... The Treasury of Sacred Song. Book First CXCIX AT THE SEPULCHRE. Ye humble
souls, that seek the LORD, Chase all your fears away; And ...
/.../palgrave/the treasury of sacred song/cxcix at the sepulchre.htm

Passion Week at the Sepulchre.
... Passion Week At the Sepulchre. V. At the Sepulchre. 4,4,7,7,6. Nun gingst auch
Du. [84]Viktor Strauss. Thou sore-oppress'd,. The Sabbath rest. ...
/.../passion week at the sepulchre.htm

The Return from the Sepulchre.
... CHAPTER LIII. The Return from the Sepulchre. Joseph of Arimathea is put
in Prison. The Sabbath was close at hand, and Nicodemus ...
/.../the dolorous passion of our lord jesus christ/chapter liii the return from.htm

The Holy Women at the Sepulchre.
... CHAPTER LXIV. The holy Women at the Sepulchre. The holy women were very
near the door of Nicodemus's house at the moment of our ...
/.../the dolorous passion of our lord jesus christ/chapter lxiv the holy women.htm

Discovery of the Most Holy Sepulchre.
... Book III. Chapter XXVIII."Discovery of the Most Holy Sepulchre. This also
was accomplished without delay. But as soon as the original ...
/.../pamphilius/the life of constantine/chapter xxviii discovery of the most.htm

That the Holy Sepulchre had Been Covered with Rubbish and with ...
... Book III. Chapter XXVI."That the Holy Sepulchre had been covered with
Rubbish and with Idols by the Ungodly. For it had been in ...
/.../pamphilius/the life of constantine/chapter xxvi that the holy sepulchre.htm

That Thy Resurrection Might be Believed among the Gainsayers, they ...
... Hymn VIII. That Thy Resurrection might be believed among the gainsayers,
they sealed Thee up within the sepulchre, and set guards. ...
/.../hymns and homilies of ephraim the syrian/hymn viii that thy resurrection.htm

The Body of Our Lord Placed in the Sepulchre.
... CHAPTER LII. The Body of our Lord placed in the Sepulchre. The men placed
the sacred body on a species of leathern hand-barrow, which ...
/.../the dolorous passion of our lord jesus christ/chapter lii the body of.htm

Of Brother Giles's Manner of Life when He Went to the Holy ...
... PART THREE. THE LIFE OF THE BLESSED BROTHER GILES, COMPANION OF ST FRANCIS CHAPTER
III OF BROTHER GILES'S MANNER OF LIFE WHEN HE WENT TO THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. ...
/.../the little flowers of st francis of assisi/chapter iii of brother giless.htm

Conclusions Jesus as the Christ of the Creator Proved from the ...
... Luke. The Pious Women at the Sepulchre. The Angels at the Resurrection.
The Manifold Appearances of Christ After the Resurrection. ...
/.../the five books against marcion/chapter xliii conclusions jesus as the.htm

Thesaurus

Sepulchre (57 Occurrences)
... In Acts 7:16 it is said that Jacob was "laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought
for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem." It has been ...
/s/sepulchre.htm - 25k

Hewn (32 Occurrences)
... Matthew 27:60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock:
and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. ...
/h/hewn.htm - 16k

Mary (50 Occurrences)
... in the earliest dawn of the first day of the week she, with Salome and Mary the
mother of James (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2), came to the sepulchre, bringing with ...
/m/mary.htm - 72k

Shebna (9 Occurrences)
... In 22:16 the words "hewing him out a sepulchre," etc., should be placed immediately
before the rest of the verse as 22:16a with the rest of the section is in ...
/s/shebna.htm - 20k

Sepulchres (17 Occurrences)
... Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres
bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that ...
/s/sepulchres.htm - 12k

Josi'ah (50 Occurrences)
... (See RSV). 2 Kings 21:26 And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden
of Uzza; and Josiah his son reigned in his stead. (See RSV). ...
/j/josi'ah.htm - 21k

Graveth (1 Occurrence)
... and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that
heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for ...
/g/graveth.htm - 6k

Graving (7 Occurrences)
... and whom has thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out here a sepulchre? hewing him
out a sepulchre on high, graving a habitation for himself in the rock! ...
/g/graving.htm - 10k

Gravest (1 Occurrence)
... and whom has thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out here a sepulchre? hewing him
out a sepulchre on high, graving a habitation for himself in the rock! ...
/g/gravest.htm - 6k

Wrapped (40 Occurrences)
... Mark 15:46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen,
and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a ...
/w/wrapped.htm - 18k

Resources

What is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre? | GotQuestions.org

Where was Jesus crucified? | GotQuestions.org

Where/what is Golgotha/Calvary? | GotQuestions.org

Sepulchre: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Sepulchre (57 Occurrences)

Matthew 27:60
And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
(KJV)

Matthew 27:61
And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.
(KJV WEY ASV DBY YLT RSV)

Matthew 27:64
Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
(KJV WEY ASV DBY YLT RSV)

Matthew 27:66
So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
(KJV WEY ASV DBY YLT RSV)

Matthew 28:1
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
(KJV WEY ASV DBY YLT RSV)

Matthew 28:8
And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
(KJV)

Mark 15:46
And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.
(KJV DBY YLT)

Mark 16:2
And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
(KJV DBY YLT)

Mark 16:3
And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
(KJV DBY YLT)

Mark 16:5
And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
(KJV DBY YLT)

Mark 16:8
And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
(KJV DBY YLT)

Luke 23:53
And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
(KJV)

Luke 23:55
And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
(KJV DBY)

Luke 24:1
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
(KJV)

Luke 24:2
And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
(KJV DBY)

Luke 24:9
And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.
(KJV DBY)

Luke 24:12
Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.
(KJV DBY)

Luke 24:22
Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
(KJV DBY)

Luke 24:24
And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
(KJV DBY)

John 19:41
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
(KJV)

John 19:42
There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
(KJV)

John 20:1
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
(KJV)

John 20:2
Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
(KJV)

John 20:3
Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
(KJV)

John 20:4
So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.
(KJV)

John 20:6
Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
(KJV)

John 20:8
Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
(KJV)

John 20:11
But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
(KJV)

Acts 2:29
Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
(KJV)

Acts 7:16
And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.
(KJV DBY)

Acts 13:29
And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.
(KJV DBY)

Romans 3:13
Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
(KJV ASV DBY YLT)

Revelation 11:9
And men of the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations see their body three days and a half, and they do not suffer their bodies to be put into a sepulchre.
(DBY)

Genesis 23:4
I am a stranger and a sojourner with you; give me a possession of a sepulchre with you, that I may bury my dead from before me.
(DBY)

Genesis 23:6
Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.
(Root in KJV JPS ASV DBY RSV)

Genesis 23:9
that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which is his, which is at the end of his field; for the full money let him give it to me amongst you for a possession of a sepulchre.
(DBY)

Genesis 23:20
And the field and the cave that was in it were assured to Abraham for a possession of a sepulchre by the sons of Heth.
(DBY)

Genesis 47:30
but when I shall lie with my fathers, thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their sepulchre. And he said, I will do according to thy word.
(DBY)

Genesis 49:30
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite to Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought of Ephron the Hittite along with the field for a possession of a sepulchre.
(DBY)

Genesis 50:13
and his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah which Abraham had bought along with the field, for a possession of a sepulchre, of Ephron the Hittite, opposite to Mamre.
(DBY)

Deuteronomy 34:6
And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY)

Judges 8:32
And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
(KJV JPS ASV)

1 Samuel 10:2
When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?
(KJV ASV DBY)

2 Samuel 2:32
And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY)

2 Samuel 4:12
And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron.
(KJV DBY)

2 Samuel 21:14
And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY)

1 Kings 13:22
But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY)

1 Kings 13:30
And he laid his corpse in his own sepulchre; and they mourned over him saying, Alas, my brother!
(DBY)

1 Kings 13:31
And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:
(KJV JPS ASV DBY)

2 Kings 9:28
And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY)

2 Kings 21:26
And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY)

2 Kings 23:17
Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY)

2 Kings 23:30
And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY)

2 Chronicles 16:14
And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odorous and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries' art: and they made a very great burning for him.
(Root in KJV JPS ASV DBY)

Psalms 5:9
For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY RSV)

Isaiah 22:16
What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?
(KJV JPS ASV DBY YLT)

Jeremiah 5:16
Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY YLT)

Subtopics

Sepulchre

Related Terms

Josi'ah (50 Occurrences)

Polluted (80 Occurrences)

Sepulchre (57 Occurrences)

Pleases (51 Occurrences)

Maccabaeus

Nehemiah (9 Occurrences)

Indeed (628 Occurrences)

Maccabees