The Sadducees and the Resurrection
Matthew 22:23-33
Matt.22.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Εν: PREP
- εκεινη: DEM,dat,sg,f
- τη: ART,dat,sg,f
- ημερα: NOUN,dat,sg,f
- προσηλθον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- Σαδδουκαιοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- λεγοντες: VERB,pres,act,ptc,nom,pl,m
- μη: PART
- ειναι: VERB,pres,act,inf
- αναστασιν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- επηρωτησαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m,3
Parallels
- Mark 12:18 (verbal): Parallel Gospel account: Sadducees approach Jesus denying the resurrection and pose the same question; closely parallels Matthew's wording and context.
- Luke 20:27 (verbal): Parallel Gospel account: Luke records the Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) coming to Jesus with the same challenge; shares the same narrative episode.
- Acts 23:8 (thematic): Describes belief differences between Sadducees and Pharisees—Sadducees deny the resurrection (and angels/spirits)—echoing Matthew’s identification of Sadducees and their denial.
- Daniel 12:2 (thematic): Old Testament promise of a future resurrection of many to everlasting life or shame—background theological motif to the dispute about resurrection confronted by the Sadducees.
- 1 Corinthians 15:12 (thematic): Paul addresses opponents who say there is no resurrection of the dead; thematically connects to the denial challenged by Jesus in Matthew and the broader early Christian defense of resurrection.
Alternative generated candidates
- On that day some Sadducees—who say there is no resurrection—came to him and posed a question.
- That same day there came to him some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, and they questioned him,
Matt.22.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- λεγοντες·Διδασκαλε: PART,pres,act,nom,pl,m + NOUN,voc,sg,m
- Μωυσης: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ειπεν·Εαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- τις: PRON,nom,sg,m
- αποθανη: VERB,aor,act,subj,3,sg
- μη: PART
- εχων: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,sg,m
- τεκνα: NOUN,acc,pl,n
- επιγαμβρευσει: VERB,fut,act,ind,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- αδελφος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,3,m
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- γυναικα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,3,m
- και: CONJ
- αναστησει: VERB,fut,act,ind,3,sg
- σπερμα: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- αδελφω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,3,m
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 25:5-10 (quotation): Gives the law of levirate marriage (brother marrying widow to raise offspring), which Jesus’ interlocutors cite in Matthew 22:24.
- Genesis 38:8-10 (thematic): Narrates Judah’s instruction to Onan (to provide offspring for his deceased brother) and Onan’s refusal, illustrating the levirate obligation and its social/legal implications.
- Mark 12:18-23 (structural): Parallel Gospel account of the Sadducees’ hypothetical levirate question and Jesus’ reply, closely corresponding to Matthew 22:23–33 context and content.
- Luke 20:27-40 (structural): Another parallel narrative in Luke recounting the Sadducees’ levirate question and Jesus’ answer, matching the same legal/theological issue raised in Matthew 22:24.
Alternative generated candidates
- They said, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man's brother dies, leaving a wife and no children, his brother shall take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.'"
- saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies having no children, his brother shall marry the widow and raise up offspring to his brother.'"
Matt.22.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ησαν: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,pl
- δε: CONJ
- παρ᾽ημιν: PREP,dat,pl
- επτα: NUM,acc,pl
- αδελφοι·και: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- πρωτος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- γημας: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- ετελευτησεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- και: CONJ
- μη: PART
- εχων: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,sg,m
- σπερμα: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- αφηκεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- γυναικα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,3,m
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- αδελφω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- αυτου·: PRON,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Luke 20:27-33 (structural): Parallel account of the Sadducees' hypothetical about a woman married successively to seven brothers; closely corresponds in content and sequence to Matthew 22:23–33.
- Deuteronomy 25:5-10 (thematic): Prescribes the levirate marriage obligation (a brother marrying his deceased brother's widow to raise offspring); provides the legal background for the Sadducees' hypothetical scenario.
- Genesis 38:8-10 (thematic): The episode of Onan concerns a brother's duty to produce offspring for a deceased sibling and the consequences of refusing; thematically related to the issue of lineage and surviving seed raised by the Sadducees' example.
- Exodus 3:6 (quotation): God's declaration 'I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob' (quoted later by Jesus in his reply, Matt 22:31–32) is used to argue for life after death and continuity of relationship with the patriarchs, which undercuts the Sadducees' premise.
Alternative generated candidates
- Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died, leaving no offspring.
- Now there were with us seven brothers. The first took a wife and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother.
Matt.22.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ομοιως: ADV
- και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- δευτερος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- τριτος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- εως: CONJ
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- επτα·: NUM,card,gen,pl,n
Parallels
- Mark 12:23 (verbal): Mark's parallel account of the Sadducees' hypothetical uses the same sequence (the second and the third up to the seventh), closely matching Matthew's wording.
- Luke 20:30 (verbal): Luke's version of the story likewise lists the second and third brothers in the same phrasing — a near-verbal parallel in the Synoptic tradition.
- Matt 22:25 (structural): Immediate context in Matthew that describes the first brother's marriage and death, which sets up the series ('likewise the second and the third') in verse 26.
- Deuteronomy 25:5 (thematic): The law of levirate marriage (a brother marrying his brother's widow) underlies the Sadducees' hypothetical and explains why the question about sequential brothers arises.
Alternative generated candidates
- The second took her and died, and the third likewise.
- So too the second and the third, down to the seventh.
Matt.22.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- υστερον: ADV
- δε: CONJ
- παντων: ADJ,gen,pl,ne
- απεθανεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- γυνη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
Parallels
- Mark 12:23-27 (verbal): Parallel account of the Sadducees' hypothetical about the woman who married seven brothers; Mark contains the same detail that the woman "died also," and records Jesus' identical response about the resurrection.
- Luke 20:29-37 (verbal): Lukan version of the same exchange: lists the successive husbands and states that the woman died last; includes Jesus' teaching on marriage at the resurrection and God as God of the living.
- Exodus 3:6 (quotation): Jesus appeals to God's words to Moses ('I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob') in his reply about the resurrection; Matthew's pericope (including v.27) culminates in this citation to demonstrate God's relation to the living.
- Matt.22:28 (structural): Immediate contextual parallel within Matthew: the preceding verse explains the scenario—that seven brothers had the woman as wife—which sets up the statement in v.27 that the woman died last.
Alternative generated candidates
- So all seven took her and died, leaving no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.
- Last of all the woman died also.
Matt.22.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- εν: PREP
- τη: ART,dat,sg,f
- αναστασει: NOUN,dat,sg,f
- ουν: CONJ
- τινος: PRON,gen,sg,masc
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- επτα: NUM,acc,pl
- εσται: VERB,fut,mid,ind,3,sg
- γυνη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- παντες: ADJ,nom,pl,m
- γαρ: CONJ
- εσχον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτην: PRON,acc,sg,f
Parallels
- Luke 20:33 (verbal): Near-verbatim parallel in Luke's account of the Sadducees' hypothetical: asks which of the seven brothers will be her husband at the resurrection (same wording and context).
- Mark 12:23 (verbal): Mark preserves the same Sadducean question about the seven brothers and the woman's status 'in the resurrection'—a closely corresponding account in the Synoptic tradition.
- Mark 12:25 (thematic): Jesus' reply in Mark (and paralleled in Matthew/Luke) that at the resurrection people 'neither marry nor are given in marriage' and are like angels addresses directly the problem posed by the Sadducees.
- Deuteronomy 25:5-6 (allusion): The Sadducees' scenario is based on the Israelite law of levirate marriage (brother-in-law raising offspring for a deceased brother); the hypothetical depends on this legal background.
- Acts 23:8 (thematic): Explicit statement that Sadducees deny the resurrection (and Pharisees affirm it); explains the Sadducees' motive for posing the question and frames their theological dispute with Jesus.
Alternative generated candidates
- In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had her as wife.
- In the resurrection, then, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her as wife."
Matt.22.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Αποκριθεις: VERB,aor,mid,ptc,nom,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- Ιησους: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ειπεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτοις·Πλανασθε: PRON,dat,pl,3+VERB,pres,mid,ind,2,pl
- μη: PART
- ειδοτες: VERB,perf,act,part,nom,pl,m
- τας: ART,acc,pl,f
- γραφας: NOUN,acc,pl,f
- μηδε: CONJ
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- δυναμιν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- θεου·: NOUN,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Mark 12:24 (verbal): Nearly identical reply to the Sadducees: 'You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.' (direct verbal parallel).
- Luke 20:27-40 (structural): Parallel account of the Sadducees' question about the resurrection and Jesus' response; same narrative and theological point though Luke's wording differs.
- Exodus 3:6 (quotation): The OT text ('I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob') that Jesus invokes in the same pericope (Matt 22:31–32) to argue for God's relation to the living and the reality of resurrection.
- John 5:39-40 (thematic): Jesus charges opponents with misreading the Scriptures and missing their true witness—themewise similar critique of ignorance of Scripture and God's power found in Matt 22:29.
Alternative generated candidates
- Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.
- Jesus answered them, "You are mistaken, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
Matt.22.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- εν: PREP
- γαρ: CONJ
- τη: ART,dat,sg,f
- αναστασει: NOUN,dat,sg,f
- ουτε: CONJ
- γαμουσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- ουτε: CONJ
- γαμιζονται: VERB,pres,middp,ind,3,pl
- αλλ᾽ως: ADV
- αγγελοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- θεου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- εν: PREP
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- ουρανω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- εισιν·: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
Parallels
- Mark 12:25 (verbal): Near-verbatim Synoptic parallel: Jesus teaches that at the resurrection people neither marry nor are given in marriage, using the same contrast with present marital life.
- Luke 20:34-36 (verbal): Luke expands the saying: those 'worthy' of the resurrection are like angels and cannot die, explicitly linking angelic-like existence with the imperishable, immortal status of the resurrected.
- 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 (thematic): Paul's account of the resurrection body (perishable -> imperishable; natural -> spiritual) thematically explains why earthly institutions like marriage no longer apply to the transformed, spiritual resurrection life.
- 1 Corinthians 15:50-53 (thematic): Paul insists flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom and that the dead must be changed, supporting Jesus' point that the resurrection entails a radically different mode of existence (hence no marriage).
Alternative generated candidates
- For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven.
- For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven.
Matt.22.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- περι: PREP
- δε: CONJ
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- αναστασεως: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- νεκρων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- ουκ: PART
- ανεγνωτε: VERB,perf,act,ind,2,pl
- το: ART,nom,sg,n
- ρηθεν: PART,aor,pass,acc,n,sg
- υμιν: PRON,dat,pl,m
- υπο: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- θεου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- λεγοντος·: PART,pres,act,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Exodus 3:6 (quotation): The cited words ('I am the God of Abraham...') come from God's address to Moses at the burning bush; Matthew quotes this to ground the argument for the resurrection.
- Mark 12:26 (verbal): Synoptic parallel in which Jesus makes the same argument to the Sadducees, using the same scriptural citation about God and the patriarchs.
- Luke 20:37 (verbal): Luke's parallel recounts the identical rhetorical question and Old Testament citation in Jesus' dispute over the resurrection.
- Acts 7:32 (quotation): Stephen, recounting the burning-bush revelation, cites the divine self‑identification ('I am the God of your fathers'), showing early Christian use of the same text.
- Hebrews 11:17-19 (thematic): Discusses Abraham's faith that God could raise the dead (in offering Isaac), thematically linked to Matthew's appeal to Abraham's living status as proof of resurrection.
Alternative generated candidates
- And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
- And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
Matt.22.32 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Εγω: PRON,nom,sg,1
- ειμι: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- θεος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- Αβρααμ: PROPN,nom,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- θεος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- Ισαακ: PROPN,nom,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- θεος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- Ιακωβ: PROPN,nom,sg,m
- ουκ: PART
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- θεος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- νεκρων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- αλλα: CONJ
- ζωντων: PART,pres,act,gen,pl,m
Parallels
- Exodus 3:6 (quotation): The original OT declaration ('I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob') spoken to Moses; Jesus cites this text to argue for the living status of the patriarchs.
- Mark 12:26-27 (verbal): Synoptic parallel account of the same dispute; Jesus uses the same citation and wording to deny that God is 'God of the dead' and to affirm resurrection.
- Luke 20:37-38 (verbal): Another synoptic parallel that repeats the Exodus citation and the conclusion that God is 'not God of the dead but of the living,' emphasizing continuity across the Gospels.
- Hebrews 11:19 (thematic): Speaks of Abraham's faith that God could raise the dead (in the context of Isaac), thematically supporting the claim that the patriarchs are living before God.
- Romans 4:17 (thematic): Paul's depiction of God as one 'who gives life to the dead and calls into being the things that are not' echoes the theological move that God is Lord of life, not death, as implied in Matthew's citation.
Alternative generated candidates
- He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are greatly mistaken.
- He is not God of the dead but of the living.
Matt.22.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ακουσαντες: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,pl,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- οχλοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- εξεπλησσοντο: VERB,impf,mp,ind,3,pl
- επι: PREP
- τη: ART,dat,sg,f
- διδαχη: NOUN,dat,sg,f
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,3,m
Parallels
- Matt.7:28 (verbal): Same concluding formula in Matthew: crowds are astonished at Jesus' teaching (εξεπλησσοντο επι τη διδαχη αυτου), marking a recurrent Matthean motif about the effect of his instruction.
- Mark 1:22 (verbal): Uses nearly identical wording—people are astonished at his teaching—and adds that Jesus taught with authority, a parallel emphasis on the nature of his instruction.
- Luke 4:32 (verbal): Luke echoes the same reaction (astonishment at his teaching), likewise highlighting the authoritative character of Jesus' words in the synoptic tradition.
- Mark 6:2 (thematic): A similar scene where townspeople are astonished at Jesus' teaching and question its source; thematically parallels the crowd's amazement at the authority and content of his instruction.
Alternative generated candidates
- When the crowd heard this they were astonished at his teaching.
- When the crowd heard this they were astonished at his teaching.
That same day there came to him the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, and they put a question to him,
saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies having no children, his brother shall take his wife and raise up offspring to his brother.'" Now there were with us seven brothers. The first took a wife and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother.
In like manner the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.
Last of all the woman herself also died. So then, at the resurrection whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her as wife. But Jesus answered and said to them, "You are in error, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God.
For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven.
As for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying,
'I am 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.
When the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.