The act of burying another’s body was viewed as an expression of loving-kindness, and the men of Jabesh-gilead risked their lives to effect such a burial for Saul and his sons. (1Sa 31:11-13; 2Sa 2:4-6)

The places selected for burial purposes were varied. Burial in the soil, a common method in the West, though certainly practiced, was not as highly favored in the Middle East. Rebekah’s nursing woman Deborah and also, initially at least, King Saul and his sons were buried under large trees. (Ge 35:8; 1Ch 10:12)