Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it.
World English Bible
Matthew 28:2
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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WEB World English Bible Public Domain ✓ - Modern English
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- TCENT Text-Critical English New Testament A modern reasoned-eclectic New Testament (2022) · CC BY 4.0
- F35 Family 35 New Testament Wilbur Pickering's Byzantine-priority New Testament, with text-critical commentary notes · CC BY-SA 4.0
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- KJV King James Version Public Domain
- ASV American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
- GNV Geneva Bible (1599) The Reformation-era study Bible that preceded the King James · Public Domain
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- WBT Webster's Bible Noah Webster's 1833 modernization of the King James Version · Public Domain
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Examined in Scripture Analysis
Science (1)
Historical claims about the natural world, weighed against the scientific record.
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A major earthquake once occurred specifically to open a sealed stone tomb from the outside.
Geology · Matthew 28:2
The scientific record: Earthquakes result from tectonic stress released along fault lines and occur as random, non-targeted events. (USGS)
Contradictions (4)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
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Who did the women see at the tomb?
Matthew 28:2 has an angel of the Lord descend from heaven, roll back the stone, and sit on it — a single angelic figure. Mark 16:5 has a young man (*neaniskos*) sitting inside the tomb in a long white garment — one figure, not explicitly an angel.
Critical scholarship: Leans toward a genuine contradiction.
Parallel accounts (distinct sources)
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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Was the tomb opened or closed when the women arrived?
Luke 24:2, Mark 16:3-4, and John 20:1 all describe the women arriving to find the stone already rolled away from the entrance. Matthew 28:2 has the women still on their way when an angel descends from heaven and rolls the stone back in their presence — meaning the tomb was still sealed when they got there.
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Parallel accounts (distinct sources)
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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Were the men or angels inside or outside the tomb when the women arrived?
Matthew 28:2 places the angel outside the tomb, having descended from heaven, rolled the stone back, and seated himself upon it. Mark 16:5 has the women enter the tomb and find a young man sitting inside on the right side.
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Parallel accounts (distinct sources)
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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Was Mary Magdalene happy or sad when she saw the risen Jesus?
Matthew 28:1-9 has the women — including Mary Magdalene — leave the empty tomb with "fear and great joy," meet Jesus on the way, grab his feet, and worship. John 20:11-15 has Mary Magdalene weeping at the tomb, talking to angels through tears, and failing even to recognize Jesus when he stands in front of her, mistaking him for the gardener.
Critical scholarship: Leans toward a genuine contradiction.
Parallel accounts (distinct sources)
More on this question
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 →
Other verses examined for the same kind of question or claim
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Cite this page
This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"Matthew 28:2 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/matthew/28/2?version=WEB (retrieved 27 August 2026).