Burial customs were very different in ancient times than they are today. In the ancient eastern cultures, including Israel, burial was always something which was to be done in haste, because of how rapidly the body decomposes. In Israel, there was an immediate defilement with any contact with a dead body. They would bury the dead usually within a few hours, but rarely overnight.
The closest relative would close the eyes of the dead and after the announcement the lamentation would begin with wailing and bitter weeping. It was customary to have professional mourners present. Even the poorest family should hire at least one mourner.
Can you imagine hiring professional mourners for someone close to you? I guess things were different back in those days. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but hiring professional mourners sounds kind of funny to me. And why did they need to do this I wonder?
Steve
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Lamentation 3:24 The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope.
If you'll remember from the story of Jesus' raising Jarius' daughter back to life, there were professional mourners at the house when Jesus came. These were the ones that laughed at Jesus when He said that the girl was only sleeping.
They really didn't care about the family. They were just there for the money. And they missed out on that when Jesus brought her back to life.
So Jesus here again gets more "religious" people mad at Him for "turning over exchange tables" of a different sort.
