Encyclopedia entry
Mourn
Disambiguation
The source enumerates 3 distinct subjects under Mourn. Jump to one below, or read in order.
Frequent references are found in Scripture to,
Mourn (1)
#Mourning for the dead. Abraham mourned for Sarah (Gen. 23:2); Jacob for Joseph (37:34, 35); the Egyptians for Jacob (50:3-10); Israel for Aaron (Num. 20:29), for Moses (Deut. 34:8), and for Samuel (1 Sam. 25:1); David for Abner (2 Sam. 3:31, 35); Mary and Martha for Lazarus (John 11); devout men for Stephen (Acts 8:2), etc.
Mourn (2)
#For calamities, Job (1:20, 21; 2:8); Israel (Ex. 33:4); the Ninevites (Jonah 3:5); Israel, when defeated by Benjamin (Judg. 20:26), etc.
Mourn (3)
#Penitential mourning, by the Israelites on the day of atonement (Lev. 23:27; Acts 27:9); under Samuel’s ministry (1 Sam. 7:6); predicted in Zechariah (Zech. 12:10, 11); in many of the psalms (51, etc.).
Mourning was expressed, (1) by weeping (Gen. 35:8, marg.; Luke 7:38, etc.); (2) by loud lamentation (Ruth 1:9; 1 Sam. 6:19; 2 Sam. 3:31); (3) by the disfigurement of the person, as rending the clothes (Gen. 37:29, 34; Matt. 26:65), wearing sackcloth (Gen. 37:34; Ps. 35:13), sprinkling dust or ashes on the person (2 Sam. 13:19; Jer. 6:26; Job 2:12), shaving the head and plucking out the hair of the head or beard (Lev. 10:6; Job 1:20), neglect of the person or the removal of ornaments (Ex. 33:4; Deut. 21:12, 13; 2 Sam. 14:2; 19:24; Matt. 6:16, 17), fasting (2 Sam. 1:12), covering the upper lip (Lev. 13:45; Micah 3:7), cutting the flesh (Jer. 16:6, 7), and sitting in silence (Judg. 20:26; 2 Sam. 12:16; 13:31; Job 1:20).
In the later times we find a class of mourners who could be hired to give by their loud lamentation the external tokens of sorrow (2 Chr. 35:25; Jer. 9:17; Matt. 9:23).
The period of mourning for the dead varied. For Jacob it was seventy days (Gen. 50:3); for Aaron (Num. 20:29) and Moses (Deut. 34:8) thirty days; and for Saul only seven days (1 Sam. 31:13). In 2 Sam. 3:31-35, we have a description of the great mourning for the death of Abner.
In the Bible
66
Verses where Mourn is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Kings 13:29
So the old prophet lifted up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him.
- 1 Kings 14:13
All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. For this is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will receive a proper burial, because only in him has the LORD, the God of Israel, found any good in the house of Jeroboam.
- 1 Samuel 16:1
Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”
- 1 Samuel 25:1
When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.
- 2 Samuel 3:31
Then David ordered Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David himself walked behind the funeral bier.
- Amos 1:2
He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and raises His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.”
+60 more verses naming Mourn.
Scripture on Mourn
84
See all 84 +−
- Genesis 23Genesis 37Exodus 33Leviticus 10Numbers 20Deuteronomy 34Judges 201 Samuel 25Job 1Job 2Isaiah 61Jeremiah 4Jeremiah 6Jeremiah 22Jeremiah 48Ezekiel 7Matthew 9John 11Genesis 35Genesis 50Leviticus 13Leviticus 23Deuteronomy 21Judges 11Ruth 11 Samuel 61 Samuel 71 Samuel 161 Samuel 312 Samuel 12 Samuel 122 Samuel 132 Samuel 141 Kings 131 Kings 142 Chronicles 35Nehemiah 8Job 5Job 14Psalms 35Psalms 55Proverbs 5Proverbs 29Ecclesiastes 3Isaiah 3Isaiah 16Isaiah 19Isaiah 38Isaiah 59Isaiah 66Jeremiah 8Jeremiah 9Jeremiah 12Jeremiah 15Jeremiah 49Lamentations 1Ezekiel 27Ezekiel 31Hosea 4Hosea 10Joel 1Amos 1Amos 5Amos 8Amos 9Jonah 3Micah 1Micah 3Matthew 5Matthew 6Matthew 11Matthew 24Matthew 26Luke 6Luke 7Acts 8Acts 27James 4Revelation 1
Entries that reference Mourn
1
Mourn references
27
Voices on Mourn
16
Surfaced by name match — accuracy varies by title clarity.
Sources · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.