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and calves from the midst of the stall;

who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp,

and, like David, improvised on musical instruments;

who drink wine in bowls,

and anoint themselves with the finest oils,

but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

Therefore they shall now be the first of those to go into exile,

and the revelry of those who stretch themselves shall pass

away. (Amos 6:4-7)

The last line, which includes the word “mirzaḥ,” has been difficult to translate. According to McLaughlin, this line is better understood as: “and the ’sprawler’s’ marzeaḥ shall cease,” meaning that those who have “sprawled” on their couches (possibly, though not conclusively, implying intoxication, sexual excess, as well as idolatry) for this banqueting will be requited with exile.14 The passage is an oracle of woe, promising destruction to the affluent of the northern state of Israel who lie on their ivory beds and neglect the needy and hence the commandments of the LORD. The description of their insensitivity to the needs of the poor, lying around drinking and eating all day, together with a word which could be vocalized marzeaḥ, suggests, rather than states, the kind of drinking feasts that we saw in Canaanite culture. Yet it is not idolatry itself which is their sin. They are secure and confident; however their luxuriousness is nothing but sin and will be punished. So the existence of an explicit, sinful marzeaḥ, as in Ugarit culture, is moot, unless there is other evidence to support it.15

There is some. There are hints of the practice in Hosea 9:1-6 and Hosea 7:3-7 of the marzeaḥ, though there are no direct references to it. The only other direct reference to the marzeaḥ occurs in Jeremiah 16:5-9:

For thus says the LORD: Do not enter the house of mourning (marzeaḥ), or go to lament, or bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the LORD, my steadfast love and mercy. Both great and small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, and no one shall lament for them or cut himself or make himself bald for them. No one shall break bread for the mourner, to comfort him for the dead; nor shall any one give him the cup of consolation to drink for his father or his mother.

You shall not go into the house of feasting (marzeaḥ) to sit with them, to eat and drink. For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will make to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

The passage explicitly mentions the marzeaḥ and explicilty clarifies the funeral context, even without the RSV translating the exact words in an identifiable way. John McLaughlin finds this reference insufficient for proving the existence of the Canaanite marzeaḥ here because the religious context is not clarified.16 It may be that the term is being used ironically, and it may be that we do not adequately understand the context of this passage. But, contrary to McLaughlin, I find the relationship of the feast to the punishment convincing. Mourners are specifically mentioned, and the oracle of woe is promising death and destruction without proper burial to those who participate in the feasting. To me, this suggests a much more explicit funeral and ritual context than McLaughlin allows. It ironically states that the punishment for practicing such funeral rites will be the end of wedding joys.

So I conclude from these passages that there were a variety of funeral practices which offended the prophets, rites which resembled the funeral feasts of the Canaanites and Mesopotamians. Jeremiah 16:7 criticizes what appears to be banqueting: “No one shall break bread for the mourner, to comfort him for the dead; nor shall any one give him the cup of consolation to drink for his father or his mother.” Ezekiel 24 suggests the same, as well as questions other kinds of mourning customs: “Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor