Grave

Among the ancient Hebrews, graves were located outside cities in the open field or in hewn rock tombs (Luke 7:12; John 11:30). Kings and prominent persons were sometimes buried in the city itself (1 Kings 2:10; 1 Sam. 25:1). Graves were marked with pillars or stones (Gen. 35:20; 2 Kings 23:17) and their contact rendered a person ceremonially unclean under the Mosaic law (Num. 19:16; Matt. 23:27). The Hebrew word sheol and Greek hades, often translated "grave" in older English versions, more broadly denote the realm of the dead. The resurrection of Lazarus from his tomb (John 11:43–44) and Christ's own resurrection from the grave are the pivotal NT events that transform the grave's meaning for believers: death is no longer final, but the gateway to resurrection life (1 Cor. 15:54–55; Rev. 20:13).