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Tomb

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Category:Tombs

A tomb is a place of burial for the remains of the dead.

It is usually either a small building, with walls, a roof, and (if it is to be used for more than one corpse) a door; or a burial vault, partly or wholly in the ground (except for its entrance). They may be located in a cemetery or, in a Christian context, inside a church proper, or in its crypt. Single tombs may be permanently sealed. Those for families (or other groups) have doors or slab entrances for access whenever needed. Monuments within churches or tomb-style chests in churchyards do not usually contain the actual body and should not be referred to as 'tombs'.

[edit] Largest in the world

The tomb of Emperor Nintoku (the 16th emperor of Japan) is the largest in the world by area. However, the Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt is the largest by volume.

[edit] In the Bible

This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.

Tombs of the Hebrews were generally excavated in the solid rock or were natural caves. Mention is made of such tombs in Judges 8:32; 2 Samuel 2:32; and 2 Kings 9:28; 23:30. They were sometimes made in gardens (2 Kings 21:26; 23:16; Matthew 27:60). They are found in great numbers in and around Jerusalem and all over the land. They were sometimes whitewashed (Matthew 23:27, 29). The body of Jesus was laid in Joseph of Arimathea's new rock-hewn tomb, in a garden near to Calvary perhaps the site of the Holy Sepulchre.

The mouth of such rocky tombs was usually closed by a large stone (Hebrew golal), which could only be removed by the united efforts of several men (Matthew 28:2; John 11:39)

Further information: Golgothaand Sepulchre