Question about the Resurrection
Luke 20:27-40
Luke.20.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Προσελθοντες: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,pl,m
- δε: CONJ
- τινες: PRON,nom,pl,m
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- Σαδδουκαιων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- αντιλεγοντες: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
- αναστασιν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- μη: PART
- ειναι: VERB,pres,act,inf
- επηρωτησαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m
Parallels
- Matthew 22:23 (verbal): Parallel account: Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, present the same hypothetical marriage question to Jesus.
- Mark 12:18 (verbal): Parallel account in Mark of the Sadducees' challenge about resurrection; closely parallels Luke's wording and setting.
- Acts 23:8 (thematic): Luke elsewhere (in Acts) summarizes the doctrinal divide: Sadducees deny the resurrection (and angels), echoing the dispute introduced in Luke 20:27.
- 1 Corinthians 15:12 (thematic): Paul addresses claims that there is no resurrection of the dead, directly engaging the theological issue raised by the Sadducees.
- Daniel 12:2 (allusion): An earlier Jewish text affirming resurrection of the dead; represents the scriptural background against which New Testament debates over resurrection (e.g., with Sadducees) take place.
Alternative generated candidates
- Some of the Sadducees—those who say there is no resurrection—came to him;
- Then some of the Sadducees—who say there is no resurrection—came to him,
Luke.20.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- λεγοντες·Διδασκαλε: PART,pres,act,nom,pl,m
- Μωυσης: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- εγραψεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- ημιν: PRON,dat,pl,1
- εαν: CONJ
- τινος: PRON,gen,sg,m
- αδελφος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- αποθανη: VERB,aor,act,subj,3,sg
- εχων: VERB,pres,act,ptc,nom,sg,m
- γυναικα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- ουτος: PRON,nom,sg,m
- ατεκνος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- ινα: CONJ
- λαβη: VERB,aor,act,sub,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- αδελφος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- γυναικα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- εξαναστηση: VERB,aor,act,subj,3,sg
- σπερμα: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- αδελφω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 25:5 (quotation): The Mosaic law cited by the Sadducees: the levirate obligation that a brother should marry his deceased brother's wife to raise offspring (yibbum).
- Matthew 22:24 (verbal): Synoptic parallel: the Sadducees pose the same hypothetical about a woman married successively to seven brothers to challenge resurrection teaching.
- Mark 12:19 (verbal): Another synoptic parallel recounting the identical Sadducean question and referencing the Mosaic levirate provision.
- Genesis 38:8-10 (allusion): The episode of Onan illustrates the levirate context (refusal to raise offspring for a brother) and is thematically connected to the Sadducees' appeal to levirate practice.
- Ruth 4:1-10 (thematic): A narrative example of a kinsman-redeemer raising offspring and preserving a family line, thematically related to the levirate obligation cited by the Sadducees.
Alternative generated candidates
- and they put this question to him: “Teacher, Moses commanded us, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother shall marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’
- and they questioned him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaving a wife and no children, his brother should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother.
Luke.20.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- επτα: NUM,acc,pl,neut
- ουν: CONJ
- αδελφοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- ησαν·και: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,pl
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- πρωτος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- λαβων: PART,aor,act,nom,sg,m
- γυναικα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- απεθανεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- ατεκνος·: ADJ,nom,sg,m
Parallels
- Matthew 22:25 (verbal): Parallel wording of the Sadducees' hypothetical about seven brothers, nearly identical account in Matthew's resurrection dispute.
- Mark 12:20 (verbal): Mark gives the same hypothetical about seven brothers and the first dying childless; a close Synoptic parallel to Luke 20:29.
- Deuteronomy 25:5-6 (thematic): The passage on the levirate obligation (a brother marrying the widow to raise offspring) provides the legal background for the Sadducees' hypothetical.
- Acts 23:8 (allusion): Summarizes Sadducean beliefs — denial of the resurrection and of angels/spirits — which explains their motive for posing the marriage/resurrection problem in Luke 20:29–33.
Alternative generated candidates
- Now there were seven brothers; the first took a wife and died childless.
- Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died childless;
Luke.20.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- δευτερος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
Parallels
- Matthew 22:24-28 (verbal): Parallel account of the Sadducees' hypothetical about the woman who married successive brothers; Matthew preserves the same sequence of 'and the second' in listing the husbands.
- Mark 12:20-23 (verbal): Mark's version of the Sadducees' question likewise lists the consecutive brothers; close verbal and narrative parallel to Luke's phrasing.
- Deuteronomy 25:5-6 (thematic): The levirate marriage law (brother marrying a deceased brother's wife to raise offspring) provides the legal background for the Sadducees' hypothetical scenario.
- Genesis 38:6-11 (thematic): Narrative example of a brother-related marriage complication (Onan and Tamar) — thematically related to issues of brotherly succession and offspring that underlie the Sadducees' case.
Alternative generated candidates
- The second
- and the second took her, and died childless; and the third likewise;
Luke.20.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- τριτος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- ελαβεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτην: PRON,acc,sg,f
- ωσαυτως: ADV
- δε: CONJ
- και: CONJ
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- επτα: NUM,acc,pl,neut
- ου: PART,neg
- κατελιπον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- τεκνα: NOUN,acc,pl,neut
- και: CONJ
- απεθανον·: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
Parallels
- Matthew 22:25-28 (verbal): Parallel retelling of the Sadducees' hypothetical about the seven brothers and the woman, giving the same sequence of marriages and lack of offspring.
- Mark 12:20-23 (verbal): Mark's account parallels Luke's here, narrating the seven brothers who each married the woman in turn and died without children.
- Deuteronomy 25:5-6 (thematic): The law of levirate marriage provides the legal and cultural background for the Sadducees' hypothetical scenario (brother marrying brother's widow to raise offspring).
- Acts 23:8 (thematic): Notes that Sadducees deny the resurrection—explains the doctrinal motive behind the Sadducees' question and their use of the levirate scenario to challenge resurrection belief.
Alternative generated candidates
- and the third took her, and in the same way all seven left no children and died.
- and the seven left no children. Last of all the woman also died.
Luke.20.32 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- υστερον: ADV
- και: CONJ
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- γυνη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- απεθανεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- Matthew 22:25-28 (verbal): Matthew recounts the same Sadducean hypothetical: seven brothers who each marry the woman in turn and die; Matthew uses similar language about the woman’s death to pose the resurrection question.
- Mark 12:23-25 (verbal): Mark’s parallel narrative presents the identical sequence (seven brothers, each marrying the woman and dying), echoing Luke’s statement that the woman also died.
- Luke 20:29-33 (structural): Immediate Lukan context that lists the seven brothers and explains the sequence of marriages and deaths leading up to the statement that the woman died.
- Acts 23:8 (thematic): Provides the doctrinal background: Acts notes that Sadducees deny the resurrection of the dead, explaining why they posed the marriage-at-resurrection question narrated in Luke 20.
Alternative generated candidates
- Finally the woman also died.
- In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her as wife.”
Luke.20.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- γυνη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- ουν: CONJ
- εν: PREP
- τη: ART,dat,sg,f
- αναστασει: NOUN,dat,sg,f
- τινος: PRON,gen,sg,m
- αυτων: PRON,gen,pl,m
- γινεται: VERB,pres,mp,ind,3,sg
- γυνη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- γαρ: PART
- επτα: NUM,acc,pl,neut
- εσχον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτην: PRON,acc,sg,f
- γυναικα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
Parallels
- Matthew 22:28-30 (verbal): Parallel account of the Sadducees' hypothetical about the seven brothers and the widow, asking whose wife she will be in the resurrection; Jesus gives the same answer about life after resurrection.
- Mark 12:23-25 (structural): Mark's parallel narrative of the same question and Jesus' reply, preserving the same scenario of the seven brothers and the resurrection.
- Deuteronomy 25:5-6 (thematic): The law of levirate marriage (brother-in-law marrying the widow to raise offspring) provides the legal background for the Sadducees' hypothetical case.
- Genesis 38:8-10 (allusion): The account of Onan and the levirate obligation (and his refusal) illustrates the cultural/legal practice assumed in the Sadducees' example.
Alternative generated candidates
- In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For all had her as wife.”
- Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and are given in marriage,
Luke.20.34 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Και: CONJ
- ειπεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτοις: PRO,dat,pl,3
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- Ιησους·Οι: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- υιοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- αιωνος: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- τουτου: DEM,gen,sg,m
- γαμουσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- και: CONJ
- γαμισκονται: VERB,pres,mid/pass,ind,3,pl
Parallels
- Mark 12:25 (verbal): Parallel account of Jesus' teaching on marriage and the resurrection: 'when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage,' closely matching Luke's contrast between present-age marriage and the age to come.
- Matthew 22:30 (verbal): Matthean parallel to Luke 20:34–36 where Jesus says that in the resurrection people 'neither marry nor are given in marriage,' echoing the same teaching about marriage belonging to this age.
- 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 (thematic): Paul's instructions that those with wives live as though they had none and that the present form of world is passing reflect the same contrast between present marital life and the coming age.
- 1 Corinthians 15:50-53 (thematic): Paul's teaching on the transformation from 'natural' to 'spiritual' bodies at the resurrection explains the theological basis for Jesus' claim that marital relations as known 'in this age' do not obtain in the age to come.
Alternative generated candidates
- Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,
- but those who are considered worthy to attain the age to come and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,
Luke.20.35 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- δε: CONJ
- καταξιωθεντες: PART,aor,pass,nom,pl,m
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- αιωνος: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- εκεινου: DEM,gen,sg,m
- τυχειν: VERB,aor,act,inf
- και: CONJ
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- αναστασεως: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- εκ: PREP
- νεκρων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- ουτε: CONJ
- γαμουσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- ουτε: CONJ
- γαμιζονται·: VERB,pres,mid/pass,ind,3,pl
Parallels
- Matthew 22:30 (verbal): Synoptic parallel: Jesus tells the Sadducees that at the resurrection people 'neither marry nor are given in marriage,' matching Luke's wording and teaching.
- Mark 12:25 (verbal): Another close synoptic parallel with almost identical language affirming that in the resurrection there is no marrying or being given in marriage.
- 1 Corinthians 15:50-53 (thematic): Paul's teaching on the transformation of mortal bodies at the resurrection implies a radically different mode of existence, consistent with Jesus' claim that earthly institutions like marriage do not persist in the risen life.
- 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 (thematic): Paul urges believers to live as 'those who have no hope in this world' because the present form of this world is passing—reflecting the idea that marriage belongs primarily to the present age, not the age to come.
Alternative generated candidates
- but those who are judged worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.
- for they cannot die any more; for they are like the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
Luke.20.36 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ουδε: CONJ,neg
- γαρ: PART
- αποθανειν: VERB,aor,act,inf
- ετι: ADV
- δυνανται: VERB,pres,mid/pass,ind,3,pl
- ισαγγελοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- γαρ: PART
- εισιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- και: CONJ
- υιοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- εισιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- θεου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- αναστασεως: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- υιοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- οντες: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
Parallels
- Matthew 22:30 (verbal): Parallel teaching that in the resurrection people 'are like angels in heaven'—directly echoes Luke's 'equal to the angels.'
- Mark 12:25 (verbal): Synoptic parallel to Matthew 22:30 with essentially the same wording about being 'like angels' in the resurrection (verbal and narrative parallel to Luke 20:36).
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 (structural): Paul's account of the resurrection transformation—perishable put on the imperishable and death swallowed up—echoes Luke's claim that resurrected ones 'can no longer die.'
- John 5:28-29 (thematic): Jesus' teaching that the dead will be raised to 'a resurrection of life' parallels Luke's description of people as 'sons of the resurrection' who share in life beyond death.
- Revelation 20:6 (thematic): The blessedness of those in the 'first resurrection'—the second death has no power over them—resonates with Luke's claim that resurrected 'sons' no longer die.
Alternative generated candidates
- They can no longer die, for they are equal to angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.
- And that the dead are raised—have you not read in the book of Moses, in the episode of the bush—how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
Luke.20.37 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οτι: CONJ
- δε: CONJ
- εγειρονται: VERB,pres,mid,ind,3,pl
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- νεκροι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- Μωυσης: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- εμηνυσεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- επι: PREP
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- βατου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- ως: ADV
- λεγει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- κυριον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- θεον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- Αβρααμ: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- θεον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- Ισαακ: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- θεον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- Ιακωβ·: NOUN,acc,sg,m
Parallels
- Exodus 3:6 (quotation): The original burning-bush text where God identifies himself as 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'—the passage Luke cites to argue for the resurrection.
- Matthew 22:31-32 (verbal): Parallel Synoptic rendering of Jesus' same argument to the Sadducees, quoting Moses at the bush and using the patriarchal formula to support life after death.
- Mark 12:26 (verbal): Another Synoptic parallel in Mark where Jesus appeals to Moses' words at the burning bush to counter the Sadducees' denial of the resurrection.
- Acts 7:32 (allusion): Stephen recounts God's revelation to Moses at the bush, using the same patriarchal designation—showing early Christian use of the Exodus text in theological argument.
- Romans 4:17 (thematic): Paul's description of God as one 'who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist' resonates with the Luke/Exodus motif of God as the living God of the patriarchs and a giver of life.
Alternative generated candidates
- And that the dead are raised—Moses himself showed at the bush, when he calls the Lord, ‘The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
- He is not God of the dead but of the living; for to him all are alive.”
Luke.20.38 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- θεος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- ουκ: PART,neg
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- νεκρων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- αλλα: CONJ
- ζωντων: PTCP,pres,act,gen,pl,m
- παντες: ADJ,nom,pl,m
- γαρ: PART
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- ζωσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
Parallels
- Exodus 3:6 (quotation): Jesus' argument alludes to God's self-identification to Moses ('I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob'), implying the patriarchs are alive to God; Luke invokes this OT statement as the basis for the resurrection claim.
- Matthew 22:32 (verbal): Synoptic parallel in which Jesus uses the same wording and reasoning ('God is not God of the dead but of the living') to argue for resurrection, reflecting the same citation of Exodus.
- Mark 12:27 (verbal): Another synoptic parallel recounting the identical argument and appeal to Moses' words to support the reality of life after death.
- Romans 14:9 (thematic): Paul's assertion that Christ died and rose 'that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living' echoes the Johannine/Lukan theme of God's sovereignty over life and death and the living status of those who belong to God.
- John 11:25-26 (thematic): Jesus' declaration 'I am the resurrection and the life' affirms the same theological conviction that life triumphs over death for those united with God, resonating with Luke's claim that to God all are alive.
Alternative generated candidates
- Now he is not God of the dead but of the living; for to him all are alive.”
- Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.”
Luke.20.39 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- αποκριθεντες: PART,aor,pass,nom,pl,m
- δε: CONJ
- τινες: PRON,nom,pl,m
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- γραμματεων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- ειπαν·Διδασκαλε: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl; NOUN,voc,sg,m
- καλως: ADV
- ειπας·: VERB,aor,act,ind,2,sg
Parallels
- Matthew 22:23-33 (structural): Parallel account of the Sadducees' question about the resurrection and Jesus' reply using Scripture; similar narrative context to Luke 20:39.
- Mark 12:18-27 (structural): Mark's version of the Sadducees' challenge and Jesus' answer on resurrection—same episode that prompts the approving response recorded in Luke 20:39.
- Mark 12:32 (verbal): A scribe in Mark explicitly says, 'Well said, Teacher,' echoing the wording and the approving posture of the scribes in Luke 20:39.
- Matthew 22:33 (thematic): Reports the crowd's astonishment at Jesus' teaching after his reply to the Sadducees—a comparable positive reaction to the answer that Luke summarizes with the scribes' praise.
Alternative generated candidates
- Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.”
- And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Luke.20.40 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ουκετι: ADV
- γαρ: PART
- ετολμων: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,pl
- επερωταν: VERB,pres,act,inf
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m
- ουδεν: PRON,acc,sg,n
Parallels
- Matthew 22:46 (verbal): Synoptic parallel recounting the same debate; Matthew similarly reports that no one could answer Jesus and thereafter no one dared to question him.
- Mark 12:34 (verbal): Mark's parallel concludes the controversy stories with the remark that after Jesus' replies no one dared to ask him any more questions.
- John 8:9 (thematic): In the story of the woman caught in adultery the accusers, convicted by Jesus' response, withdraw without answering—a thematic parallel of opponents silenced by Jesus.
- Acts 6:10 (thematic): Stephen's opponents "were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke," a similar outcome in which opponents cannot reply to a convicting speech.
Alternative generated candidates
- And they dared no longer to ask him anything further.
- And they remained silent, amazed at his teaching.
Some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to him and put this question to him:
"Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaving a wife and no child, the brother should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first took a wife and died without children.
The second took her and died, and the third likewise. And the seven left no children. Last of all the woman also died.
In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of them will she be? For the seven had her as wife."
Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,
but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,
for they cannot die any more; they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. Now that the dead are raised—have you not read in the book of Moses, at the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
He is not God of the dead but of the living, for to him all are alive."
Some of the scribes, answering, said, "Teacher, you have spoken well." And they no longer dared to ask him any question from that day forward.
(They were silenced, amazed at his answer, and held their peace.)