Topical Bible: Mourned

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Definition and Context
Mourning in the Bible is a profound expression of grief, often associated with the loss of a loved one, national tragedy, or personal sin. It is a deeply emotional response that encompasses both private and communal expressions of sorrow. Mourning is not only a natural human reaction but also a significant spiritual act that reflects the brokenness of the world and the hope for divine comfort and restoration.

Biblical Instances of Mourning

1. Personal Loss: Mourning is frequently depicted in the context of personal loss. For example, Abraham mourned for Sarah upon her death: "Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and said to the Hittites, 'I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.'" (Genesis 23:3-4). This passage illustrates the deep sorrow and respect associated with mourning.

2. National Mourning: The Bible also records instances of national mourning, often in response to calamity or divine judgment. In the book of Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah mourns the destruction of Jerusalem: "How lonely lies the city, once so full of people! She who was great among the nations has become a widow, the princess among the provinces has become a slave." (Lamentations 1:1). This collective mourning serves as a call to repentance and a plea for God's mercy.

3. Mourning for Sin: Mourning is also a response to sin and its consequences. In the Beatitudes, Jesus highlights the blessedness of those who mourn: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." (Matthew 5:4). This mourning is not merely for personal loss but for the sinfulness of humanity and the brokenness it causes, leading to a promise of divine comfort.

Cultural Practices of Mourning

In biblical times, mourning was often accompanied by specific cultural practices, including wearing sackcloth, putting ashes on one's head, fasting, and wailing. These outward expressions were manifestations of inner grief and were intended to demonstrate the mourner's sincerity and depth of sorrow. For instance, when Job experienced profound loss, he "tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship" (Job 1:20), signifying his deep mourning and submission to God's sovereignty.

Theological Significance

Mourning in the Bible is not only a human response but also a theological statement. It acknowledges the reality of suffering and death in a fallen world while simultaneously expressing hope in God's ultimate redemption and comfort. The promise of comfort for those who mourn is rooted in the character of God as a compassionate and merciful Father who is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18).

Eschatological Hope

The Bible points to a future where mourning will be no more. In Revelation, the apostle John describes a vision of the new heaven and new earth: "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:4). This eschatological hope provides comfort to believers, assuring them that their mourning will ultimately be transformed into joy in the presence of God.

Conclusion

Mourning, as depicted in the Bible, is a multifaceted expression of grief that encompasses personal, communal, and spiritual dimensions. It serves as a reminder of the brokenness of the world and the hope for divine comfort and restoration. Through mourning, believers are drawn closer to God, who promises to comfort and ultimately redeem His people.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

(imp. & p. p.) of Mourn.

Greek

2875. kopto -- to cut (off), strike, by ext. to mourn
... in lamentation, lament, mourn, sometimes with acc. of person whose loss
is mourned. 2875 -- properly, to cut; be incised (struck ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2875.htm - 7k

3996. pentheo -- to mourn, lament
... R. Trench, .). Word Origin from penthos Definition to mourn, lament NASB Word
Usage mourn (6), mourned (1), mourning (3). mourn, bewail. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3996.htm - 7k

Strong's Hebrew

56. abal -- to mourn
... root Definition to mourn NASB Word Usage caused lamentations (1), grieve (1), grieved
(1), lament (1), mourn (13), mourned (7), mourning (3), mourns (10 ...
/hebrew/56.htm - 6k

5594. saphad -- to wail, lament
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to wail, lament NASB Word Usage beat (1), lament
(9), lamented (5), mourn (8), mourned (6), mourners (1), mourns (1). ...
/hebrew/5594.htm - 6k

Library

How He Mourned his Dead Mother.
... Book IX. Chapter XII."How He Mourned His Dead Mother. 29. I closed her
eyes; and there flowed a great sadness into my heart, and ...
/.../augustine/the confessions and letters of st/chapter xii how he mourned his.htm

The Death of Two Brave Warriors
... THE OLD TESTAMENT THE DEATH OF TWO BRAVE WARRIORS. Samuel had died and all Israel
had mourned for him and had buried him in his own town Ramah. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/the death of two brave.htm

The Church and Social Evils
... 'It came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned
certain days, and fasted, and ... Nehemiah wept and mourned, and that was well. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/the church and social evils.htm

The Turning Point
... He was deeply grieved that he had left his father's house, he lamented his lavish
expenditure upon wantonness and rebelling, he mourned that the son of such a ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 20 1874/the turning point.htm

Nehemiah, the Praying Builder
... "And it came to pass when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned
certain days and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.". ...
/.../bounds/prayer and praying men/viii nehemiah the praying builder.htm

David not Lustful, Though He Fell into Adultery.
... But when King David had suffered this injury at the hands of his impious and unnatural
son, he not only bore with him in his mad passion, but mourned over him ...
/.../on christian doctrine in four books /chapter 21 david not lustful though.htm

Free-Will in Men and Angels.
... We have as proof of this the one fall of David, which happened through his boasting,
which was forgiven then when he so mourned and wept, as it is written. ...
/.../chapter cxli free-will in men and.htm

For if they had Been under the Influence of any Such Passion...
... But when King David had suffered this injury at the hands of his impious and unnatural
son, he not only bore with him in his mad passion, but mourned over him ...
/.../augustine/on christian doctrine in four books/chapter 30 for if they.htm

Similar Human Origin of the Greek Gods, by Decree of Theseus. The ...
... the title of gods by the order of Theseus, of whom Greek history tells us [121] ;
and so the men who pass such decrees die like men and are mourned for, while ...
/.../select works and letters or athanasius/section 10 similar human origin.htm

Joseph Sold as a Slave by his Brothers
... A wild beast has devoured him! Joseph surely is torn in pieces." Then Jacob tore
his clothes, put sackcloth about his waist, and mourned for his son many days. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/joseph sold as a slave.htm

Thesaurus

Mourned (54 Occurrences)
... (imp. & pp) of Mourn. Multi-Version Concordance Mourned (54 Occurrences). ... We
mourned for you, and you didn't lament.' (WEB KJV DBY WBS). ...
/m/mourned.htm - 23k

Lamented (19 Occurrences)
... 2. (a.) Mourned for; bewailed. ... Matthew 11:17 And saying, We have piped unto you,
and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. ...
/l/lamented.htm - 12k

Languished (10 Occurrences)
... Isaiah 19:8 And lamented have the fishers, And mourned have all casting angle into
a brook, And those spreading nets on the face of the waters have languished. ...
/l/languished.htm - 9k

Lamentation (45 Occurrences)
... He mourned for his father seven days. ... 1 Kings 13:30 And he laid his body in his own
grave; and they mourned over him,'saying, Alas, my brother! (See JPS). ...
/l/lamentation.htm - 21k

Fasted (20 Occurrences)
... 2 Samuel 1:12 They mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul, and for
Jonathan his son, and for the people of Yahweh, and for the house of Israel ...
/f/fasted.htm - 12k

Mourner (6 Occurrences)
... and said to her, "Please act like a mourner, and put on mourning clothing, please,
and don't anoint yourself with oil, but be as a woman who has mourned a long ...
/m/mourner.htm - 8k

Mourning (85 Occurrences)
... She isn't dead, but sleeping." (WEB NIV). Luke 23:27 A great multitude of the people
followed him, including women who also mourned and lamented him. (See NAS). ...
/m/mourning.htm - 34k

Mourn (87 Occurrences)
... Abraham mourned for Sarah (Genesis 23:2); Jacob for Joseph (37:34, 35); the Egyptians
for Jacob (50:3-10); Israel for Aaron (Numbers 20:29), for Moses ...
/m/mourn.htm - 38k

Wept (78 Occurrences)
... (WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS RSV NIV). Mark 16:10 She went and told those who had
been with him, as they mourned and wept. (WEB KJV ASV WBS RSV). ...
/w/wept.htm - 31k

Lament (44 Occurrences)
... We mourned for you, and you didn't lament.' (WEB KJV WBS YLT). ... He mourned for his
father seven days. (Root in WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). ...
/l/lament.htm - 20k

Resources

What does the Bible say about mourning? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Amnon in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Samuel in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Mourned: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Mourned (54 Occurrences)

Matthew 11:17
and say,'We played the flute for you, and you didn't dance. We mourned for you, and you didn't lament.'
(WEB KJV DBY WBS)

Mark 16:10
She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
(WEB KJV ASV WBS RSV)

Luke 7:32
They are like children who sit in the marketplace, and call one to another, saying,'We piped to you, and you didn't dance. We mourned, and you didn't weep.'
(WEB KJV DBY WBS YLT)

Luke 23:27
A great multitude of the people followed him, including women who also mourned and lamented him.
(WEB NIV)

Acts 8:2
Devout men buried Stephen, and lamented greatly over him.
(See NIV)

1 Corinthians 5:2
And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
(KJV DBY WBS NAS)

Revelation 18:19
They cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying,'Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her great wealth!' For in one hour is she made desolate.
(See RSV)

Genesis 37:34
Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 50:3
And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.
(KJV DBY WBS NIV)

Genesis 50:10
They came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and there they lamented with a very great and sore lamentation. He mourned for his father seven days.
(WEB KJV WBS)

Exodus 33:4
When the people heard this evil news, they mourned: and no one put on his jewelry.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS RSV)

Numbers 14:39
Moses told these words to all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Numbers 20:29
And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
(KJV DBY WBS NIV)

Deuteronomy 21:13
and she shall put the clothing of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in your house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that you shall go in to her, and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.
(See NIV)

Judges 11:38
He said, "Go." He sent her away for two months: and she departed, she and her companions, and mourned her virginity on the mountains.
(WEB)

1 Samuel 6:19
He struck of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of Yahweh, he struck of the people fifty thousand seventy men; and the people mourned, because Yahweh had struck the people with a great slaughter.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS RSV NIV)

1 Samuel 7:2
It happened, from the day that the ark abode in Kiriath Jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after Yahweh.
(See NIV)

1 Samuel 15:35
Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned for Saul: and Yahweh grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NIV)

1 Samuel 25:1
And Samuel dieth, and all Israel are gathered, and mourn for him, and bury him in his house, in Ramah; and David riseth and goeth down unto the wilderness of Paran.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

1 Samuel 28:3
And Samuel hath died, and all Israel mourn for him, and bury him in Ramah, even in his city, and Saul hath turned aside those having familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.
(See RSV NIV)

2 Samuel 1:12
They mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Yahweh, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
(WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

2 Samuel 11:26
And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
(KJV DBY WBS NAS NIV)

2 Samuel 13:37
But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai the son of Ammihur, king of Geshur. David mourned for his son every day.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

2 Samuel 14:2
Joab sent to Tekoa, and fetched there a wise woman, and said to her, "Please act like a mourner, and put on mourning clothing, please, and don't anoint yourself with oil, but be as a woman who has mourned a long time for the dead.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

1 Kings 13:30
He laid his body in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, "Alas, my brother!"
(WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 14:13
and all Israel have mourned for him, and buried him, for this one -- by himself -- cometh of Jeroboam unto a grave, because there hath been found in him a good thing towards Jehovah, God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.
(YLT)

1 Kings 14:18
All Israel buried him, and mourned for him, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.
(WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 7:22
Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 35:24
So his servants took him out of the chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had, and brought him to Jerusalem; and he died, and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Ezra 10:6
Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came there, he ate no bread, nor drank water; for he mourned because of the trespass of them of the captivity.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Nehemiah 1:4
It happened, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 3:26
And lamented and mourned have her openings, Yea, she hath been emptied, on the earth she sitteth!
(YLT)

Isaiah 19:8
And lamented have the fishers, And mourned have all casting angle into a brook, And those spreading nets on the face of the waters have languished.
(YLT)

Isaiah 19:16
In that day is Egypt like women, And it hath mourned, and been afraid, Because of the waving of the hand of Jehovah of Hosts, That He is waving over it.
(YLT)

Isaiah 24:4
Mourned, faded hath the land, Languished, faded hath the world, Languished have they -- the high place of the people of the land.
(YLT)

Isaiah 24:7
Mourned hath the new wine, languished the vine, Sighed have all the joyful of heart.
(YLT)

Isaiah 33:9
Mourned, languished hath the land, Confounded hath been Lebanon, Withered hath been Sharon as a wilderness, And shaking are Bashan and Carmel.
(YLT)

Isaiah 38:14
Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chatter; I mourned as a dove; mine eyes failed with looking upward: Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.
(DBY WBS)

Jeremiah 2:31
O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah: A wilderness have I been to Israel? A land of thick darkness? Wherefore have My people said, 'We mourned, We come not in again unto Thee.'
(YLT)

Jeremiah 12:11
He hath made it become a desolation, The desolation hath mourned unto Me, Desolated hath been all the land, But there is no one laying it to heart.
(YLT)

Jeremiah 14:2
Mourned hath Judah, and her gates have languished, They have mourned to the earth, And the cry of Jerusalem hath gone up.
(YLT)

Jeremiah 16:4
They shall die grievous deaths: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung on the surface of the ground; and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth.
(See NIV)

Jeremiah 16:6
Both great and small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them;
(See NIV)

Jeremiah 23:10
For of adulterers hath the land been full, For because of these hath the land mourned, Dried up hath been the pleasant places of the wilderness, And their course is evil, and their might -- not right.
(YLT)

Jeremiah 25:33
The slain of Yahweh shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.
(See NIV)

Daniel 10:2
In those days, I, Daniel, have been mourning three weeks of days;
(See NIV)

Joel 1:9
Cut off hath been present and libation from the house of Jehovah, Mourned have the priests, ministrants of Jehovah.
(YLT)

Joel 1:10
Spoiled is the field, mourned hath the ground, For spoiled is the corn, Dried up hath been new wine, languish doth oil.
(YLT)

Amos 1:2
and he saith: Jehovah from Zion doth roar, And from Jerusalem giveth forth His voice, And mourned have pastures of the shepherds, And withered hath the top of Carmel!
(YLT)

Amos 8:8
For this doth not the land tremble, And mourned hath every dweller in it? And come up as a flood hath all of it. And it hath been cast out, and hath sunk, Like the flood of Egypt.
(YLT)

Amos 9:5
And 'it is' the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, Who is striking against the land, and it melteth, And mourned have all the inhabitants in it, And come up as a flood hath all of it, And it hath sunk -- like the flood of Egypt.
(YLT)

Zechariah 7:5
"Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying,'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month for these seventy years, did you at all fast to me, really to me?
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Zechariah 12:10
And I have poured on the house of David, And on the inhabitant of Jerusalem, A spirit of grace and supplications, And they have looked unto Me whom they pierced, And they have mourned over it, Like a mourning over the only one, And they have been in bitterness for it, Like a bitterness over the first-born.
(YLT)

Zechariah 12:12
And mourned hath the land -- every family apart, The family of the house of David apart, And their women apart; The family of the house of Nathan apart, And their women apart;
(YLT)

Subtopics

Mourned

Related Terms

Feign (11 Occurrences)

Mourned (54 Occurrences)

Mourners (13 Occurrences)

Keener (2 Occurrences)

Jaanai (1 Occurrence)

Jachan (1 Occurrence)

Fetched (26 Occurrences)

Teko'a (11 Occurrences)

Tekoah (3 Occurrences)