“Teacher, Moses wrote to us, ‘If a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.’ There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring. The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise; and the seven took her and left no children. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife.”
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Mark 12:19-23 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Some Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, came to him. They asked him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote to us, ‘If a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.’ There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring. The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise; and the seven took her and left no children. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife.”
Parallel Translations
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“Teacher, Moses wrote to us, ‘If a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.’
There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring.
The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise;
and the seven took her and left no children. Last of all the woman also died.
In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife.”
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Master Moses wroote vnto vs yf eny mans brother dye and leve his wyfe behinde him and leve no chyldren: that then hys brother shuld take his wyfe and reyse vp seed vnto his brother.
Ther were seven brethren: and the fyrst toke a wyfe and when he dyed leeft no seed behynde him.
And the seconde toke hir and dyed: nether leeft eny seed. And the thyrde lyke wyse.
And seven had her and leeft no seed behynde them. Last of all the wyfe dyed also.
In the resurreccion then when they shall ryse agayne: whose wyfe shall she be of them? For seven had her to wyfe.
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Master, Moses wrote vnto vs, If any mans brother die, and leaue his wife, and leaue no children, that his brother should take his wife, and rayse vp seede vnto his brother.
There were seuen brethren, and the first tooke a wife, and when he died, left no issue.
Then the seconde tooke her, and he died, neither did he yet leaue issue, and the third likewise:
So those seuen had her, and left no yssue: last of all the wife died also.
In the resurrection then, when they shall rise againe, whose wife shall she be of them? for seuen had her to wife.
Cross-references (6)
- Deuteronomy 25:5-10 (v19) If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married outside to a stranger. Her…
- Genesis 38:8 (v19) Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her, and raise up offspring for your…
- Ruth 1:11-13 (v19) Naomi said, “Go back, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Go…
- Ruth 4:5 (v19) Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must buy it also from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead,…
- Matthew 22:25-28 (v20) Now there were with us seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. In the same way,…
Show all 6 cross-references
- Luke 20:29-33 (v20) There were therefore seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died childless. The second took her as wife, and he died childless. The…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (8 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv19–23 19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s…
19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
Ver. 19. {See Trapp on "Mat 22:24"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v19 The true question about the resurrection was: Whether the…
The true question about the resurrection was: Whether the bodies of the dead shall rise or not? Not whether they shall arise with the same qualities, affections, powers, &c. They are sown natural, but they shall rise spiritual, bodies, without affections and qualities disposing them to actions only necessary for the supporting the natural life, such as hunger and thirst, &c.; or for the upholding the world, that while one generation passeth it might be supplied by another, such as an appetite to marriage, &c.: what needs this when all generations shall be determined in the everlasting world? So as in truth these learned men showed themselves dunces, wholly ignorant of what they came to argue upon. They should first have proved that there would be any need of wives, or any such thing as marriage, after the world should have an end. In the mean time our Saviour proveth the resurrection out of the writings of Moses, owned by themselves for holy writ. Without a resurrection Abraham would not be Abraham, nor Isaac Isaac, nor Jacob Jacob. See the notes on this part of the history: See Poole on "Mat 22:24", and following verses to Mat 22:32.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv19–23 The second took her,.... To wife, married her, as…
The second took her,.... To wife, married her, as the next eldest brother, by the above law was obliged to: and so the Jewish (l) canon upon it runs thus;
"the command is, "for the eldest" to marry his brother's wife: if he will not, they go to all the brethren; if they will not, they return to the eldest, and say, the command is upon thee, either pluck off the shoe, or marry.''
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Maimonides (m) relates it in this manner;
"if a man dies, and leaves many brethren, the command is upon the eldest to marry, or pull off the shoe; as it is said, Deu 25:6, "and it shall be the firstborn which she beareth". From tradition, it is learned that it does not speak but of the firstborn among the brethren; and it is all one as if it was said, the eldest of the brethren shall succeed in the name of his brother that is dead; and this is what is said, "which she beareth": the sense is, which the mother has borne, and not which the brother's wife beareth; if the eldest will not marry her, they go round to all the brethren; and if they will not, they return to the eldest, and say, upon thee is the command, either pluck off the shoe, or marry; and they do not compel him to marry, but they compel him to pluck off the shoe;''
i.e. in case he will not marry.
And died, neither left he any, seed, and the third likewise; married her, and died without issue, as the second did. The Persic version adds, "and the fourth, and fifth"; for so they all did to the seventh.
(l) Misn. Yebamot, c. 4. sect. 5. & T. Bab. Yebamot, fol. 39. 1. (m) Hilch. Yebum Uchalitza, c. 2, sect. 6, 7. Vid. Jarchium in Deut. xxv. 6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v19 Deut. xxv, 5.
Deut. xxv, 5.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v23 Verse 23. When they shall rise] This clause is…
Verse 23. When they shall rise] This clause is wanting in BCDL, four others, Syriac, later Arabic, later Persic, Coptic, Saxon, and two of the Itala. Griesbach leaves it doubtful.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv19, 20, 23 19. Moses wrote] The Law concerning the Levirate marriage…
19. Moses wrote] The Law concerning the Levirate marriage is found in Deu_25:5. It was ordained for the preservation of families, that if a man died without male issue, his brother should marry his widow, and that the firstborn son should be held in the registers to be the son of the dead brother.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v20 There were seven brothers
There were seven brothers
The Sadducees talk about a situation that did not really happen because they want Jesus to tell them what he thinks is right and wrong. AT: "Suppose there were seven brothers" (See: Hypothetical Situations)
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the first ... the second ... the third
These numbers refer to each of the brothers and can be expressed as such. AT: "the first brother ... the second brother ... the third brother" (See: Ellipsis)
The seven
This refers to all the brothers. AT: "The seven brothers" (See: Ellipsis)
the first took a wife ... the second took her
"the first married a woman ... the second married her." Here marrying a woman is spoken of as "taking" her.
the third likewise
It may be helpful to explain what "likewise" means. AT: "the third brother married her as his other bothers did, and he also died leaving no children" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
The seven left no children
Each of the brothers married the woman and then died before he had any children with her. This can be stated clearly. AT: "Eventually all seven brothers married that woman one by one, but none of them had any children with her, and one by one they died" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be?
The Sadducees are testing Jesus by asking this question. If your readers can only understand this as a request for information, this can be written as a statement. AT: "Now tell us whose wife she will be in the resurrection, when they all rise again." (See: Rhetorical Question)
translationWords
die
resurrection
raise
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v19 12:19 The Sadducees based their views only on the…
12:19 The Sadducees based their views only on the books of Moses. • Like the Pharisees (12:14), they addressed Jesus as Teacher. The Sadducees were fond of debating with religious teachers (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.1.4).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.