and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
World English Bible
This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.
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and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
World English Bible
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Matthew 28:9 says the first appearance was to the two Marys together. Mark 16:9 and John 20:14-17 say it was Mary Magdalene alone.
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Parallel accounts (distinct sources)
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
John 20:24 says Thomas was absent when Jesus first appeared to the group, so with Judas already dead (Matthew 27:5) the count is ten. Matthew 28:16-17, Mark 16:14, and Luke 24:33-37 all say 'the eleven' were present.
Critical scholarship: Leans toward a genuine contradiction.
Parallel accounts (distinct sources)
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:5 reports that the risen Jesus appeared "to Cephas, then to the twelve." But by the time of the resurrection, Judas Iscariot had already died (Matthew 27:3-5), and Matthew 28:16 explicitly calls the post-resurrection group "the eleven disciples."
Critical scholarship: Genuinely disputed among scholars.
Numbers
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built →
Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.
One of these tensions involves a difference in wording across manuscripts or translations. Examine the original language on Lemma →
This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"1 Corinthians 15:5 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/1-corinthians/15/5?version=WEB (retrieved 26 August 2026).