Original Word: קֶבֶר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: qeber
Pronunciation: KEH-ber
Phonetic Spelling: (keh'-ber)
KJV: burying place, grave, sepulchre
NASB: grave, graves, tomb, tombs, burial, burial place
Word Origin: [from H6912 (קָבַר - buried)]

1. a sepulchre

burying place, grave, sepulcher

Or (feminine) qibrah {kib-raw'}; from qabar; a sepulchre -- burying place, grave, sepulchre.

see HEBREW qabar

Word Origin
from qabar
Definition
a grave, sepulcher
NASB Translation
burial (6), burial place (1), grave (28), graves (16), tomb (8), tombs (8).

קֶ֫בֶר₆₇ noun masculine^{1Kings 13:31} grave, sepulchre; — absolute ׳ק Genesis 23:4 +, קָ֑בֶר 1 Kings 14:13 +; construct קֶבֶר Judges 8:32 +; suffix קִבְרִי Genesis 50:5, etc.; plural קְבָרִים Exodus 14:11 +, construct קִבְדֵי Jeremiah 26:23 +, suffix קִבְרֵיהֶם Jeremiah 8:1; also קְבָרוֺת Job 21:32, construct קִבְרוֺת Nehemiah 2:3 +, suffix קִבְרֹתָיו Exodus 32:23; 2Chronicles 16:14, etc.; — grave, sepulchre, Judges 8:32; 2 Samuel 2:32; 1 Kings 13:22 +; ׳אֲחֻזַּת ק Genesis 23:4; Genesis 23:9; Genesis 23:30; Genesis 49:30; Genesis 50:13; hewn out (חָצַב) Isaiah 22:16 (twice in verse); מִכֶּטֶן לַקֶּבֶר אוּבָ֑ל Job 10:19; figurative ׳ק ׳וַתְּהִילִֿי אִמִּ Jeremiah 20:17; ׳שֹׁכְבֵי ק Psalm 88:6 the slain lying in grave; הַיּשְׁבִים כַּקְּבָרִים Isaiah 65:4 they who sit in the tombs (occult rite, probably in necromancy, etc., compare Che and RS^{Semitic I.180 ff.; 2nd ed. 197 ff.}); קֶבֶר בְּנֵי הָעָם 2 Kings 23:6 i.e. burial-place of common people, so קִבְרֵי בְּנֵי הָעָם Jeremiah 26:23; plural intensive Job 17:1, also of stately (royal) sepulchre 2 Kings 22:20=2Chronicles 34:28; Nehemiah 3:16; 2Chronicles 16:14; compare 2 Chronicles 35:24; Job 21:32; conceived as in lower world Ezekiel 32:22,23,25,26, "" אֲבַדּוֺן Psalm 88:12; Psalm 49:12 read קְבָרִים for "" קִרְבָּם Vrss and most; מָּתוּחַ ׳ק simile of quiver Jeremiah 5:16; figurative גְּרֹנָם ׳פ ׳ק Psalm 5:10; of exile Ezekiel 37:12 (twice in verse); Ezekiel 37:13 (twice in verse).

Essential Sense and Scope

קֶבֶר denotes a burial place—a grave, tomb, or sepulcher—where the body is laid after death. While related ideas such as Sheol describe the unseen realm of the dead, קֶבֶר points to the tangible site in earth or rock that receives the corpse.

Distribution in the Old Testament

The term appears about sixty-eight times, spanning narrative, legal, poetic, and prophetic literature. Its frequency in Genesis, Samuel–Kings, Chronicles, Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and minor prophets shows the centrality of burial customs throughout Israel’s history.

Literal Uses in Narrative

1. Family Tombs. The word first surfaces in the patriarchal narratives: Abraham bargains for “the cave of Machpelah … as a burial site” (Genesis 23:4-20). This establishes the pattern of family sepulchers (Genesis 25:9; 49:30-31; 50:13).
2. Covenant Loyalty. Jacob’s demand, “Bury me with my fathers” (Genesis 47:30), and Joseph’s oath-bound request for reinterment in Canaan (Genesis 50:25) weave קֶבֶר into Israel’s covenant identity with the promised land.
3. Royal Burials. Kings of Judah are commended or disgraced by where—or whether—they are laid in the royal graves: “They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings” (2 Chronicles 24:25; cf. 2 Kings 23:30; 2 Chronicles 21:20).
4. Prophetic Sign-Acts. Jeremiah smashes a jar in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom where “no place will remain to bury” (Jeremiah 19:11), dramatizing national judgment.
5. Acts of Kindness. After Saul’s death, valiant men “took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree” (1 Samuel 31:13), illustrating honor for the dead.

Metaphorical and Poetic Uses

1. Symbol of Mortality. “Man … will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish” and “their graves are their eternal homes” (Psalm 49:12-14).
2. Image of Security or Irony. Job longs for the grave as rest (Job 14:13) yet warns of the wicked, “Terrors overtake him like flood; a tempest snatches him from his place … destined for the grave” (Job 27:20; 30:23).
3. Parallel with Destruction. Isaiah foretells, “Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your harps” (Isaiah 14:11), where the grave underscores Babylon’s collapse.

Theological Significance

1. Dignity of the Body. Regular concern for burial affirms human worth as image-bearers even in death (Genesis 23; Deuteronomy 34:6).
2. Continuity of Covenant. Being laid with one’s fathers testifies to ongoing participation in God’s promises beyond an individual lifespan.
3. Anticipation of Resurrection. Job’s plea “that You would conceal me until Your wrath has passed” (Job 14:13) and Daniel’s prophecy that “many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake” (Daniel 12:2) invest the grave with temporary status pending divine vindication.

Messianic and Prophetic Dimensions

Isaiah declares the Suffering Servant was assigned “a grave with the wicked” yet “with a rich man in His death” (Isaiah 53:9), fulfilled when Jesus was buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s new tomb (Matthew 27:57-60), transforming the grave from finality to a stage for resurrection glory.

Cultural and Archaeological Background

Israelite graves varied from shaft burials to hewn family chambers with loculi. Grave goods were minimal compared with surrounding cultures, reflecting a hope centered on Yahweh rather than on provisioning the dead. Whitewashing tombs (Matthew 23:27) echoes Second Temple-period practices to warn pilgrims of ceremonial impurity.

Practical Ministry Applications

1. Funeral Ministry. Scripture models compassionate care: “Abraham rose up … to speak to the Hittites” (Genesis 23:3), teaching sensitivity to cultural negotiations and grief.
2. Hope in Bereavement. The empty tomb of Christ stands as the decisive answer to every grave, enabling pastors to proclaim, “Death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).
3. Ethical Stewardship of Land. Burial sites remind believers of land’s sanctity and the need for wise, respectful use.

Connections with New Testament Revelation

While קֶבֶר itself is Hebrew, its Greek equivalent τάφος appears in the Gospels, especially regarding Jesus’ burial (Matthew 27:60; John 19:41-42). The New Testament affirms bodily resurrection (John 5:28-29; 1 Thessalonians 4:16), elevating the significance already hinted at in the Old Testament.

Selected Key Passages for Study

Genesis 23:4-20; Genesis 50:5-13

Exodus 14:11

1 Samuel 25:1; 2 Samuel 2:32

2 Kings 21:26; 23:17

Job 3:22; 14:13; 17:1

Psalm 5:9; 49:14; 88:5

Isaiah 14:11; 53:9

Ezekiel 32:23

Hosea 13:14

Summary

קֶבֶר threads through Scripture as a witness to human mortality, covenant continuity, and the promise that the Lord will ultimately open the graves and bring forth life (Ezekiel 37:12). Every grave scene in the Old Testament sets the stage for the empty tomb of Jesus Christ, securing the believer’s confidence that death does not have the final word.

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