The Egyptians held the understanding that the body was a manifest form of the soul; a reflection of a divine inner being; a perfectly integrated, orchestrated union of entity and vehicle. Even after death, soul and body remain linked. They felt that entering a greater state of being depended upon several aspects which included preparation of the body, ceremonial procedures, and upon the aspirant having lived a life free from evil. The selective process was symbolically represented in the popular scene of the "Balance" where the heart of the deceased was weighed against a feather. Should the balance be unfavorable, the deceased's desire for a glorious new life remained unattained. The implications of this understanding were felt in Hebrew and Christian religions and represented one of the earliest introductions of a sense of inner values which served to control people in their relations to each other.

The Torah makes reference to the caves in the land of Canaan that held the sacredly prepared bodies of Abraham and his wife Sara, Isaac and his wife Rebekah, Jacob and his wife Leah. Of Joseph's death, The Torah states, "Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt."

"When Jacob finished his instructions to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and, breathing his last, he was gathered to his people.
Joseph flung himself upon his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. Then Joseph ordered the physicians in his service to embalm his father, and the physicians embalmed Israel. It required forty days, for such is the full period of embalming. The Egyptians bewailed him seventy days." Genesis 49; 50:

It's been said that in the early years of the life of Jesus, he traveled to the lands of India, Tibet, and Egypt where he received schooling in ancient philosophies. Whether this is true or not remains unproven. One thing seems clear: Jesus was mummified. The Bible's Gospel according to John describes the entombment of Jesus as follows:

"And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.
Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand."

Another religious holy book, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, depicts the inhumation of the Dalai and Tashi Lamas, holy men of the Buddhist faith, as again a form of mummification, rich and complete in the rituals and ceremonies surrounding it.

Further examples include the Peking Woman, a mummified body of a woman buried two thousand years ago in a pyramid tomb in Beijing, China. Scientists were amazed at how the hair and skin remained in remarkable condition for such a long period of time.

Then there are the popes of the Catholic Church who were mummified, and the American Indians who practiced the same.

In mummification, the preserved body serves as a reference point for the travelling soul and a guide  to its new destination. This can alleviate much of the fear, anxiety, and confusion that follow death . Depending on the circumstances, when the soul leaves the body, separation between the two is not necessarily abrupt nor instantaneous. It is more likely to be lingering and bewildering.