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Often, in the Bible, people used to tear clothes, sprinkle their heads with ashes, and tear their hair as a sign of humility, penitence, and repentance.

Few examples:

Job 2:12 KJV

And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

Judith 4:15 KJV

And had ashes on their mitres, and cried unto the Lord with all their power, that he would look upon all the house of Israel graciously.

1 Maccabees 11:71 KJV

Then Jonathan rent his clothes, and cast earth upon his head, and prayed.

Lamentations 2:10 KJV

The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.

2 Samuel 1:2 KJV

It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.

Ester 4:1 KJV

When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;

Luke 10:13 KJV

Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

Jeremiah 6:26 KJV

O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.

These are all gestures that clearly exhibit the feelings, but how/why did those behaviours originate, and why exactly those (and not other kinds of gestures/behaviours)?

agarza
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Starnuto di topo
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    Those who feel deep repentance and hatred of the sin that dwells within their own nature, express such depth demonstrably. It is not a ritual, nor an affectation (though it can be mimicked or copied) ; but an outward manifesting of their inward penitence. If you could ask the question from a particular place in scripture so that the text may be hermeneutically examined, then your question may be considered on topic and might well receive an answer. – Nigel J Nov 12 '23 at 09:18
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    It was simply the custom of the time, ie, a cultural thing. Is there a specific text you have in mind? – Dottard Nov 12 '23 at 09:42
  • This might be a good question for https://history.stackexchange.com/questions. However, it may need rewording to fit their group. – Perry Webb Nov 12 '23 at 11:48
  • @Dottard: i edited the question, adding some examples..I agree it was the custom of the time. Nevertheless, it was a weird custom ... – Starnuto di topo Nov 12 '23 at 15:14
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    All customs appear weird to outsiders. However, to those raised in the custom, it appears quite natural. Why does the USA have only yellow school buses? That is weird as no one else does it! – Dottard Nov 12 '23 at 20:09

1 Answers1

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Mourning customs such as those mentioned were and still are normal in many cultures. Many of those mentioned in the OP involve outer expressions of inner pain and bereavement. Beyond that, their origins are pre-biblical and thus outside the scope of this site.

The Bible provides one general guideline about mourning in Deut. 14:1:

You are children of the Lord your God. You must not lacerate yourselves or shave your forelocks for the dead.

This is an indication that while some customs of Middle Eastern culture may be acceptable others were not. The line was drawn at self-mutilation, including the shaving of one's head. (Laceration was also associated with Ba'al worship. - 1 Kings:18:28) Additional mourning restrictions are given specifically to priests in Lev. 21:

Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: “No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his relatives, 2 except for his nearest kin: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother; 3 likewise, for a virgin sister close to him because she has had no husband, he may defile himself for her. 4 But he shall not defile himself for those related to him by marriage and so profane himself.

"Defile himself" here refers to ritual impurity brought about by touching a dead body.

The OP mentions tearing out one's hair. The only example I could find of a Jew or Israelite doing this was Ezra 9:3 ("I tore my garment and my mantle and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled"), which was an expression of outrage over intermarriage rather than mourning.

The other forms of mourning mentioned in the OP were not forbidden. A poignant exception was God's command to Ezekiel prior to the death of the prophet's wife (Ezek: 24-16-17):

Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the desire of your eyes with a blow; but you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come. Groan silently; make no mourning for the dead.

Conclusion: God allowed both natural (crying and withdrawal) and culturally normal forms of mourning, forbidding only such customs as lacerating one's body and shaving the head.

Dan Fefferman
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