Answer:
I am not sure that this was the first cremation, but I did find a very early one. The bible does not specifically mention cremation, and in the Old Testament it was the common practice to bury the dead rather than cremate them.
Still, I did find this one:
1 Samuel 31 describes how Saul and Jonathan were killed in battle and the Philistines mutilated their bodies. “And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul; All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.” (verses 11-13) Many contend the cremation of bodies is strictly a pagan practice but Here we have Jonathan: a godly man who was cremated.
Pastor Brad