King Shapur II and Rav Ḥama Debate Jewish Burial Practices

King Shapur [once] said to R. Ḥama: From where in the Torah is there a hint to [the commandment of] burial? [What proof is there that the dead must be buried and not treated in some other manner? R. Ḥama] was silent and said nothing to him, [as he could not find a suitable source]. R. Aḥa bar Jacob said: The world has been handed over to the foolish, as [R. Ḥama] should have said [to King Shapur that the commandment of burial is derived from the verse]: But you shall bury [him (Deuteronomy 21:23). In that case, King Shapur could have replied that the verse merely proves] that a coffin should be made for [the deceased so that he can be placed in it, not that the deceased should be buried in the ground, as the verse could be understood as instructing that the corpse be placed in some sort of receptacle, not in the ground].

[R. Ḥama could still have claimed that the commandment of burial is derived from the doubled verb “you shall] bury him.” [In that case, King Shapur could have replied that] he does not learn [anything from a doubled verb, which seems to be merely a stylistic choice and not the source of a new halakhah]. But let [R. Ḥama] say [that the commandment to bury the dead is derived] from [the fact] that the righteous [forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,] were [all] buried. [King Shapur could have said that this was] merely a custom [of the time, but not a commandment. R. Ḥama could have derived the commandment] from [the fact] that the Holy One buried Moses, [which proves that this is the proper way to handle the dead. King Shapur could still have said that God acted in this manner] in order not to deviate from the [general] custom, [but this does not prove that burying the dead is a commandment].