Gathered to His People

In the Old Testament, when people die, it often says, "He was gathered to his people."  I always thought that meant his soul went to be with the departed saints who had gone before.  But we heard last week in Bible class that it's more likely a reference to burial.  The believers were often buried in the same tomb as the rest of the family, so that their bones were together.  What's more convincing is the stories of those who weren't "gathered to their people" -- like Sarah (who was the first in Abraham's family to die and for whom the family's burial plot was purchased) and Joseph (who was mummified).