# mourn, mourning # ## Facts: ## The terms "mourn" and "mourning" refer to expressing deep grief, usually in response to the death of someone. * In many cultures, mourning includes specific outward behaviors that show this sadness and grief. * The Israelites and other people groups in ancient times expressed mourning through loud wailing and lamenting. They also wore rough clothing made of sackcloth and put ashes on themselves. * Hired mourners, usually women, would loudly weep and wail from the time of death until well after the body was put in the tomb. * The typical period of mourning was seven days, but could last as long as thirty days (as for Moses and Aaron) or seventy days (as for Jacob). * The Bible also uses the term figuratively to talk about "mourning" because of sin. This refers to feeling deeply grieved because sin hurts God and people. (See also: [[../other/sackcloth.md]], [[../kt/sin.md]]) ## Bible References: ## * [1 Samuel 15:34-35](en/tn/1sa/help/15/34) * [2 Samuel 01:11-13](en/tn/2sa/help/01/11) * [Genesis 23:1-2](en/tn/gen/help/23/01) * [Luke 07:31-32](en/tn/luk/help/07/31) * [Matthew 11:16-17](en/tn/mat/help/11/16)