Footnote

a Regarding the Hebrew word rendered “bewail,” the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament states: “All who sensed the loss of the departed would come to share their grief with the members of the family. . . . Shrill cries or loud wailing often accompanied the mourning.” Concerning the Hebrew word for “weep,” the same work explains: “Whereas tears are associated with the eyes, weeping is associated with the voice; Semites do not weep quietly, but aloud. . . . Throughout the O[ld] T[estament] weeping is the natural and spontaneous expression of strong emotion.”