Mourning
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
—grief, especially for the dead, was expressed in the biblical world by beating the breast, tearing garments, loosening or cutting the hair, putting dust or ashes on the head, fasting, going barefoot, covering the head or face, wearing sackcloth, sitting on the ground, and lamenting aloud (Gen. 37:29, 34; 1 Sam. 4:12; 2 Sam. 12:16; 15:30; Ezra 9:3; Job 2:8; Jer. 16:6; Nah. 2:7). Some practices, especially self-cutting for the dead, were forbidden to Israel (Lev. 19:28; Deut. 14:1).
Professional mourners and singers might be summoned for public lamentation (Jer. 9:17–20; 2 Chron. 35:25). Seven days was a common mourning period, though circumstances could call for longer observance. Similar customs were known among neighboring peoples, Greeks, and Romans.