The treatise “Semahot” did not so much describe formal burial procedures as it reflected the overall worldview and ritual values of the Jewish community of the Second Temple period.

Cultural and Ritual Insights into Second Temple Burial Practices

The treatise “Semahot” did not so much describe formal burial procedures as it reflected the overall worldview and ritual values of the Jewish community of the Second Temple period. In this era, attitudes toward death and burial were shaped by perspectives characteristic of Semitic peoples – where the prevailing idea was that after death, a person descends into the underworld (Sheol), without any notion of resurrection or afterlife recompense. Thus, the rituals were intended to preserve the integrity of the connection with the world of ancestors and to emphasize the need for proper respect for the deceased.

These values are evident in the fact that those who practiced these rituals buried their loved ones along with the belongings used during their lifetime, which were believed to be useful in the underworld. In this context, an important aspect was not only the physical burial but also the symbolic care to ensure that the deceased could “continue life” in their alternate, albeit joyless, state of existence. This practice clearly illustrates how the culture and religious worldview of that era demanded strict adherence to tradition and ritual purity, as well as a respectful treatment of the memory of the dead.

Supporting citation(s):
“The Canaanites (and indeed all Semitic peoples) believed that underground lay the inferno or lower realm, referred to in the Old Testament by the word ‘Sheol’ or simply ‘the pit.’ Upon dying, a person descends to the underworld and lives there among the ‘shadows’ of those who went before. This gloomy, joyless place eventually becomes the destination of all people, regardless of how they led their lives on earth. In other words, the concepts of heaven, resurrection, and afterlife recompense are completely absent in both Canaanite and Israelite religions (until the last centuries of the pre-Christian era), since Israel was no different from other Semitic peoples in this respect. Accordingly, the burial customs of Canaan and Israel are virtually identical. Typically, family members were buried together (one need only recall the Machpelah cave, the sepulchre of Abraham and his wife Sarah). The bodies were interred along with items that the deceased used in life and that, according to belief, might be needed in the underworld. Excavations often reveal jewelry, weapons, and pottery.” (source: link txt)

Thus, the treatise “Semahot” encapsulated the key cultural and religious orientations of its time – the idea of a unified ritual practice among Semitic peoples, the focus on preparing the deceased for life in Sheol, and the preservation of traditions passed down from generation to generation.