קֶ֫בֶר

From the study of Jeremiah 20:17

Range of meaning

Grave, tomb, burial site. In Iron Age Judah this was often a family bench-tomb cut into rock, where the bones of generations were gathered ('gathered to one's fathers').

Against the English

'Grave' is accurate. English 'grave' usually brings to mind a single dug plot. In Judah a tomb was an enclosed chamber, which makes the womb–tomb picture closer than English suggests.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common across the Hebrew Bible (Gen 23; 2 Kgs 23:16). Jeremiah elsewhere speaks of unburied corpses as a curse (Jer 8:1–2; 16:4). Being buried at all was a mercy.

From the study of Isaiah 53:9

Range of meaning

Grave, tomb, burial place. That could be a family rock-cut tomb, a common burial ground, or an individual grave.

Against the English

'Grave' is accurate. What English misses is how much burial meant in Israel's world.

Used elsewhere in the period

Being buried in the family tomb and 'gathered to one's fathers' was the hope (Gen 49:29–31; 2 Sam 19:37). Being refused proper burial was a mark of divine curse and public disgrace (1 Kgs 13:22; Jer 22:19, 'the burial of a donkey'; Isa 14:19–20, the tyrant 'cast out of your grave').

From the study of 2 Chronicles 35:24

Range of meaning

Qever means grave or tomb, often a rock-cut family chamber used for generations. 'Fathers' (avot) means ancestors, not only one's literal father.

Against the English

KJV: 'in [one of] the sepulchres of his fathers', where the brackets mark an added word explaining the plural. BSB: 'the tomb of his fathers'. WEB and YLT keep the plural 'tombs/graves'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Chronicles uses burial as a verdict on each king: good kings are buried with honour 'with the fathers' or 'in the city of David', while bad or diseased kings are kept apart (Jehoram 21:20, Joash 24:25, Uzziah 26:23). 2 Kings 23:30 says only 'in his own tomb' (biqvurato). His grandfather Manasseh and father Amon had been buried in 'the garden of Uzza' (2 Kgs 21:18, 26).