Bible Dictionaries
Sepulchre

Holman Bible Dictionary

(sseh puhl' chre) Tomb or grave (Genesis 23:6 ). It translates a Hebrew word which refers to a niche hewn out of a rock in which bodies were placed. In ancient Palestine, sepulchres usually were carved out of the walls in existing caves. Families were buried together on the carved slabs of stone. After a body had decayed to the bones, the remains were placed in a hole farther back in the cave so that the next body could be placed in the sepulchre. Jesus was buried in such a cave (Mark 15:46 ). See Burial .