Mourning rituals in the Ancient Near East included sitting on the ground, usually in silence (see Joshua 7:6; 2 Samuel 13:31; Job 2:13; Ezekiel 26:16); sprinkling dust or ashes on the head (see 2 Samuel 13:19; Nehemiah 9:1; Job 2:12; Ezekiel 27:30) and wearing sackcloth (see Genesis 37:34; 2 Samuel 3:31; Esther 4:1;Isaiah 15:3; Jonah 3:5).1 Sackcloth was a coarse material often worn as a sign of mourning or penitence (see Genesis 37:34; 2 Samuel 1:11; 2 Samuel 3:31; 2 Samuel 13:31), so all these gestures or materials were signs or symbols of mourning.2
Other mourning practices that were common in these times, but not mentioned here, include wailing and weeping, tearing of garments, cutting oneself, and fasting.3
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth; the young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.