Grave

A place for burying the dead, often a natural cave or carved from rock.

Tomb with niches, with wall painting of man playing a flute and woman playing a harp (Beit Guvrin)
Tomb with niches, with wall painting of man playing a flute and woman playing a harp (Beit Guvrin) (© Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons) Tomb, grave

About Grave

The tomb was a construction for the burial of the dead. Since much of the land of Israel, especially in the hilly regions, has little topsoil, tombs were often hewn out of bedrock. In some cases natural caves were used for burial. The entrance to a tomb was closed with a stone (see Stone for closing a tomb).

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Key References

Matthew 27:60

and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away.

Mark 16:2

Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb.

Luke 23:53

Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had yet been laid.

John 19:41

Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

All Scripture References (49)

Matthew (11)
Matthew 8:28

When Jesus arrived on the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, He was met by two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.

Matthew 23:27

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you 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.

Matthew 23:29

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.

Matthew 27:52

The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.

Matthew 27:53

After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.

Matthew 27:60

and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away.

Matthew 27:61

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

Matthew 27:64

So give the order that the tomb be secured until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people He has risen from the dead. And this last deception would be worse than the first.”

Matthew 27:66

So they went and secured the tomb by sealing the stone and posting the guard.

Matthew 28:1

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

Matthew 28:8

So they hurried away from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples.

Mark (9)
Mark 5:2

As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, He was met by a man with an unclean spirit, who was coming from the tombs.

Mark 5:3

This man had been living in the tombs and could no longer be restrained, even with chains.

Mark 5:5

Night and day in the tombs and in the mountains he kept crying out and cutting himself with stones.

Mark 6:29

When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.

Mark 15:46

So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.

Mark 16:2

Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb.

Mark 16:3

They were asking one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?”

Mark 16:5

When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

Mark 16:8

So the women left the tomb and ran away, trembling and bewildered. And in their fear they did not say a word to anyone.

Luke (10)
Luke 8:27

When Jesus stepped ashore, He was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothing or lived in a house, but he stayed in the tombs.

Luke 11:44

Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”

Luke 23:53

Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had yet been laid.

Luke 23:55

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how His body was placed.

Luke 24:1

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared.

Luke 24:2

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

Luke 24:9

And when they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.

Luke 24:12

Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. And after bending down and seeing only the linen cloths, he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Luke 24:22

Furthermore, some of our women astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning,

Luke 24:24

Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had described. But Him they did not see.”

John (14)
John 5:28

Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice

John 11:17

When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already spent four days in the tomb.

John 11:31

When the Jews who were in the house consoling Mary saw how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

John 11:38

Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.

John 12:17

Meanwhile, many people who had been with Jesus when He called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify.

John 19:41

Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

John 19:42

And because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus there.

John 20:1

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.

John 20:2

So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we do not know where they have put Him!”

John 20:3

Then Peter and the other disciple set out for the tomb.

John 20:4

The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

John 20:6

Simon Peter arrived just after him. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there.

John 20:8

Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in. And he saw and believed.

John 20:11

But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb,

Acts (3)
Acts 2:29

Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

Acts 7:16

Their bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.

Acts 13:29

When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.

Romans (1)
Romans 3:13

“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”

Revelation (1)
Revelation 11:9

For three and a half days all peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will view their bodies and will not permit them to be laid in a tomb.