Embalming​—Is It for Christians?

As his life drew to a close, the faithful patriarch Jacob made this last request: “Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah that is in front of Mamre in the land of Canaan.”​—Genesis 49:29-31.

JOSEPH honored his father’s request by taking advantage of a custom that prevailed in Egypt at the time. He commanded “his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father.” According to the account found in Genesis chapter 50, the physicians took the customary 40 days to prepare the corpse. The embalming of Jacob allowed for the large, slow-moving caravan of family members and Egyptian dignitaries to travel about 250 miles [400 km] to take Jacob’s remains to Hebron for burial.​—Genesis 50:1-14.

Is it possible that Jacob’s embalmed body will be found one day? The chances are, at best, remote. Israel was a well-watered region, which limits the type of archaeological artifacts discovered there. (Exodus 3:8) Ancient metal and stone objects abound, but most of the more fragile items, such as cloth, leather, and embalmed bodies, have not withstood moisture and the vicissitudes of time.

Jacob was embalmed by those whose religious beliefs were not the same as his. Yet, we can hardly imagine that when Joseph handed his father’s body over to the physicians, he requested the prayers and ritual that may well have accompanied most embalming done in Egypt at that time. Both Jacob and Joseph were men of faith. (Hebrews 11:21, 22) Although apparently not commanded by Jehovah, the preserving of Jacob’s remains is not spoken of with disapproval in the Scriptures. The embalming of Jacob was not meant as a precedent for the nation of Israel or for the Christian congregation. In fact, there are no specific instructions on the subject in God’s Word.