The people of Israel and the other countries of the ancient Near East considered it very important to honor those who had died by giving them a proper burial. Because of the warm climate in Palestine it was important to bury people within twenty-four hours after they died. In fact, Jewish law required that a dead person should be buried before sunset (Deut 21:23). To let a loved-one's body decay above ground where vultures and dogs could eat it was considered a serious dishonor.

There is no complete description in the Bible of how Jewish people prepared a body for burial. However, it is known that the body was washed (Acts 9:37), anointed with scented ointments (Luke 24:1), and wrapped in cloth (Matt 27:59; John 11:44).

Most ancient Hebrews were buried in caves or in trenches dug in the ground. Sarah and Abraham were buried in Machpelah Cave near Hebron (Gen 23:19; 25:9,10). Later, tombs cut out of rock were used for burying the dead. Some tombs could only hold one body, others could hold several and were used by families. Because touching a corpse, even accidentally, made a person ceremonially unclean according to Jewish law, tombs were clearly marked. After the flesh had rotted away in the tomb, the bones would be collected in a box (called an ossuary). Then the level place where the dead body had been could be used to receive the body of another person who died.

Greeks, Romans, and Canaanites often burned (cremated) the bodies of people who died. Jewish people saw this as a dishonor and did this only if a body was already in an advanced state of decay (1 Sam 31:12) or during a time of plague (Amos 6:10). The dead bodies of people who had disobeyed God's law were also sometimes burned (Lev 20:14; Josh 7:25).

Burial ceremonies centered on the family's mourning for the dead person and the carrying of the body to the place of burial. The bodies of the dead were put on wooden frames and carried to the place of burial (2 Sam 3:31; Luke 7:11-15). After the burial, those who handled the body were considered unclean and had to undergo a cleansing ceremony in order to be part of the community again (Num 19:11-20). There is no evidence that the Jewish people of Jesus' day performed funeral services to honor the dead.