So obviously none of us is an expert on Jewish burial customs and neither is anyone here 2000+ years old. That said, I find the narrative in Mark 16 strange that the Jews would go to reopen a sealed tomb to apply spices on a dead body that has already been buried. Like what purpose did this serve exactly? This to me is like the modern day equivalent of exhuming a grave to dress the deceased in a better suit then reburying them again.
In Mark 16:3 the women, (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome), ask each other who will roll away the stone from the tomb implying this is something they had never done or seen done before.
In John 11:39 Jesus is even warned from trying to reopen Lazarus’ tomb because Lazarus had been dead for four days and there would be a stench! So we know from this, if you had been dead and buried for 4 days, your tomb would NOT be reopened. But in the case of Jesus tomb, the women went there early in the morning on the 3rd day to apply spices! So for what? What was this that was expected to happen between the 3rd and 4th day of the body being inside the tomb that necessitated the women to visit the tomb to apply spices? In fact, why would you reopen a sealed tomb let’s just start from there. This looks like disturbing the dead to me.
The spices were meant to further reduce the stench of decay.
John 19:40. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.
You’re drawing very weird conclusions not based on any scriptural fact. Actually, the fact that Jesus attempted to open Lazarus’s tomb means that opening tombs was not unusual.
I guess tombs were not for an individual burial but for many members of say, a family and done over time. Just like the Queen Elizabeth II was put in a crypt where her husband and other royals are interred. Even the Catholic popes are put in tombs. Locally, the Taita (used to) put their dead in caves and you were removed for some ceremonies
So the question is, why would a person try to reduce the stench of decay of a body that has already been buried? isn’t this the same as exhuming someone’s body to apply perfume on them and then bury them again?
Glad you have brought John 19:40 up! You see John recognizes there is a problem with Mark’s narrative of applying spices AFTER burial, so he fixes it by correctly stating spices were applied on Jesus’ body immediately he died i.e BEFORE he was buried (as you would expect to be done). However, that messes up the overall story because there is no longer a reason why the women have to go back to the tomb of a buried Jesus. So, John removes Salome and Mary the mother of James from the story eliminating the conversation amongst them, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb…” John simply states Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb while it was still dark and found the stone already taken away. He never explains what Mary Magdalene was going to do at the tomb.
This is the whole issue, why would you reopen a sealed tomb of a buried body? For what purpose? Jesus had a good reason for opening Lazarus tomb, he wanted to resurrect him. If you buried your family member, would you go to reopen their grave, like ever?
What’s your point? Because the various accounts given by Mark, Luke and John are complementary not conflicting in any way. There’s no reason one shouldn’t believe that spices could be applied both on the linen and again after the burial.
My point is this tomb story is a hekaya, even this mysterious, rich Joseph of Arimathea who appeared out of nowhere to organise and finance Jesus’ burial is kinda convenient!