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Mark12:18–27

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

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Mark 12:18–27 — The Sadducees and the Resurrection. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

18

Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him:

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai Saddoukaioi hoitines legousin einai mē anastasin erchontai pros auton kai epērōtōn auton legontes

Word by word14 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiThenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ΣαδδουκαῖοιSaddoukaioithe SadduceesG4523
√ Σαδδουκαῖος — a Sadducæan (iNounNominative Masculine Plural
Σαδδουκαῖος: a Sadducee Rare in the Greek canon (14 verses), and this is its only occurrence in Mark. Pulpit derives the name from the Hebrew Zadoc, which he says means "just" or "righteous," and places them with the Pharisees and Essenes as one of the three sects Josephus describes. Pulpit gives the historical frame: they took the Pentateuch (and probably more), rejected oral tradition, and denied what "connect us more immediately with another world." JFB names them the materialists of the day and points to Acts 23:7-8, where the same party denies resurrection, angel and spirit together, which is exactly the double front Jesus will answer in vv. 25 and 26.
οἵτινεςhoitineswhoG3748
√ ὅστις — which some, iPersonal / Relative PronounNominative Masculine Plural
ὅστις: which some, whoever (qualitative) The relative that classifies rather than merely identifies. Mark is not adding a footnote about these particular men; he is telling us what kind of men they are, so that the case of the seven brothers reads as a party argument rather than a sincere perplexity.
λέγουσινlegousinsayG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
εἶναιeinaithere isG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Infinitive Active
μὴmēnoG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
ἀνάστασινanastasinresurrectionG386
√ ἀνάστασις — a standing up again, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
ἀνάστασις: a standing up again The controlling noun of the unit (40 verses in the Greek canon), built on ana plus histēmi: a standing up, not an escape from the body. That morphology is why the Sadducees' question about a body's marital claims looks clever to them, and why Jesus answers on their ground rather than retreating to immortality of the soul.
ἔρχονταιerchontaicameG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Plural
ἔρχομαι: to come or go Historic present; the third delegation to come at him in the temple courts.
πρὸςprostoG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
αὐτόνauton[Jesus]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐπηρώτωνepērōtōnquestionedG1905
√ ἐπερωτάω — to ask for, iVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ἐπερωτάω: to ask for, to interrogate The verb of formal inquiry, imperfect and iterative. Cambridge notes the shift in posture: these were the men who had "stood aloof" from the Prophet of Nazareth; that they now come to interrogate him at all measures how far the week has escalated.
αὐτὸνautonHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
λέγοντεςlegontesG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
19

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.

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Greek — tap a word ↓

Didaskale Mōusēs egrapsen hēmin hoti ean tinos adelphos apothanē kai katalipē gynaika kai mē aphē teknon hina autou ho adelphos labē tēn gynaika kai exanastēsē sperma tō autou adelphō

Word by word29 · parsed
ΔιδάσκαλεDidaskaleTeacherG1320
√ διδάσκαλος — an instructor (genitive case or specially)NounVocative Masculine Singular
διδάσκαλος: an instructor Vocative. The courtesy is the setup: they address him by the office of the one who expounds Moses, then cite Moses against him.
ΜωϋσῆςMōusēsMosesG3475
√ Μωσεύς — Moseus, Moses, or Mouses (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἔγραψενegrapsenwroteG1125
√ γράφω — to "grave", especially to writeVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
γράφω: to grave, to write Aorist of the fixed written statute. Gill notes they adhered to the literal sense of the writings and rejected the rabbinic traditional interpretation; that is why the argument is conducted entirely from text, and why Jesus answers with a text.
ἡμῖνhēminfor usG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounDative 1st Person Plural
ὅτιhotithatG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
ἐάνeanifG1437
√ ἐάν — a conditional particleConjunction
τινοςtinosa man’sG5100
√ τὶς — some or any person or objectInterrogative / Indefinite PronounGenitive Masculine Singular
ἀδελφὸςadelphosbrotherG80
√ ἀδελφός — a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (much like G1 (Α))NounNominative Masculine Singular
ἀποθάνῃapothanēdiesG599
√ ἀποθνήσκω — to die off (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
ἀποθνῄσκω: to die off Aorist subjunctive inside the conditional protasis: the whole case is hypothetical from its first verb.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
καταλίπῃkatalipēleavesG2641
√ καταλείπω — to leave down, iVerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
γυναῖκαgynaikaa wifeG1135
√ γυνή — a womanNounAccusative Feminine Singular
καὶkaibutG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
μὴmēnoG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
ἀφῇaphēG863
√ ἀφίημι — an intensive form of , to go)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
τέκνονteknonchildrenG5043
√ τέκνον — a child (as produced)NounAccusative Neuter Singular
ἵναhinaG2443
√ ἵνα — compare G3588 (ὁ))Conjunction
αὐτοῦautouvvvG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ὁhovvvG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἀδελφὸςadelphos[the man]G80
√ ἀδελφός — a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (much like G1 (Α))NounNominative Masculine Singular
λάβῃlabēis to marryG2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
λαμβάνω: to take, receive The Greek idiom is take a wife, not "marry." The levirate obligation is framed as a taking-up of a duty, which is why Gill (at v. 21) can quote the rabbinic rule that the eldest is commanded either to marry or to loose the shoe.
τὴνtēn[his brother’s]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
γυναῖκαgynaikawidowG1135
√ γυνή — a womanNounAccusative Feminine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐξαναστήσῃexanastēsēraise upG1817
√ ἐξανίστημι — objectively, to produce, iVerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
ἐξανίστημι: to raise up out of Rare (3 verses). The levirate law exists so that a dead man's name is not erased from Israel; it is, within the old covenant, a legal substitute for resurrection. The Sadducees weaponise the substitute in order to deny the reality, and Jesus answers by going behind Deuteronomy to Exodus.
σπέρμαspermaoffspringG4690
√ σπέρμα — something sown, iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
σπέρμα: something sown, seed Accusative object of the rare verb. "Seed raised up for the brother" is the law's whole aim: continuity of a name through death.
τῷtōforG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
αὐτοῦautouG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἀδελφῷadelphō[him]G80
√ ἀδελφός — a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (much like G1 (Α))NounDative Masculine Singular
20

Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died, leaving no children.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

ēsan hepta adelphoi kai ho prōtos elaben gynaika kai apothnēskōn aphēken ouk sperma

Word by word13 · parsed
ἦσανēsan[Now] there wereG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ἑπτὰheptasevenG2033
√ ἑπτά — sevenAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἑπτά: seven The number is chosen for effect. Seven is the number of completeness, so the case is built to exhaust every possible claim on the woman: not two rival husbands but a full, closed set.
ἀδελφοὶadelphoibrothersG80
√ ἀδελφός — a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (much like G1 (Α))NounNominative Masculine Plural
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhoTheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
πρῶτοςprōtosfirst [one]G4413
√ πρῶτος — foremost (in time, place, order or importance)AdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
πρῶτος: foremost in time or rank Gill, citing the Mishnah and Maimonides at v. 21, notes the command fell first on the eldest, and only then passed round the brothers. The story's order of succession is legally exact, which is part of what makes it look unanswerable.
ἔλαβενelabenmarriedG2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
γυναῖκαgynaika. . .G1135
√ γυνή — a womanNounAccusative Feminine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀποθνῄσκωνapothnēskōndiedG599
√ ἀποθνήσκω — to die off (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
ἀποθνῄσκω: to die off (present participle) The durative participle keeps dying and childlessness in one frame, which is the rhetorical engine of vv. 20 to 22: seven times a man dies and nothing stands up after him.
ἀφῆκενaphēkenleavingG863
√ ἀφίημι — an intensive form of , to go)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
οὐκouknoG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
σπέρμαspermachildrenG4690
√ σπέρμα — something sown, iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
σπέρμα: seed Singular. The repeated negated "seed" through vv. 20, 21 and 22 is the drumbeat of the trap: the law's remedy fails seven consecutive times.
21

Then the second one married the widow, but he also died and left no children. And the third did likewise.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai ho deuteros elaben autēn kai apethanen katalipōn mē sperma kai ho tritos hōsautōs

Word by word14 · parsed
καὶkaiThenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
δεύτεροςdeuterossecond [one]G1208
√ δεύτερος — (ordinal) second (in time, place, or rankAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
ἔλαβενelabenmarriedG2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
λαμβάνω: to take The same verb as v. 20; the repetition is deliberate serial monotony.
αὐτήνautēn[the widow]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Feminine 3rd Person Singular
καὶkai[but] he also diedG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀπέθανενapethanen. . .G599
√ ἀποθνήσκω — to die off (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἀποθνῄσκω: to die off (aorist) Finished, punctiliar. Set against the present participle of v. 20, Mark's Greek varies the aspect while the outcome never varies.
καταλιπὼνkatalipōn[and] leftG2641
√ καταλείπω — to leave down, iVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
καταλείπω: to leave down, leave behind The compound of kata plus leipō, used in the Greek canon 24 times. It is the legal word for what a man leaves at death; negated seven times here, it empties the estate of the only legacy the levirate law cared about, a name.
μὴmēnoG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
σπέρμαspermachildrenG4690
√ σπέρμα — something sown, iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
τρίτοςtritosthird [did]G5154
√ τρίτος — thirdAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
ὡσαύτωςhōsautōslikewiseG5615
√ ὡσαύτως — as thus, iAdverb
ὡσαύτως: in like manner A summarising adverb, doing the work of four more deaths.
22

In this way, none of the seven left any children. And last of all, the woman died.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai ouk hoi hepta aphēkan sperma kai eschaton pantōn hē gynē apethanen

Word by word12 · parsed
καὶkaiIn this wayG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οὐκouknoneG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
οἱhoiof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ἑπτὰheptasevenG2033
√ ἑπτά — sevenAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἀφῆκανaphēkanleftG863
√ ἀφίημι — an intensive form of , to go)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ἀφίημι: to send away, let go, leave Aorist plural. The verb that in Mark elsewhere carries forgiveness and release here carries only sterility: seven men release nothing into the future.
σπέρμαsperma[any] childrenG4690
√ σπέρμα — something sown, iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἔσχατονeschatonlastG2078
√ ἔσχατος — farthest, final (of place or time)AdjectiveAccusative Neuter Singular
ἔσχατος: farthest, final Adverbial. An unintended resonance: the storytellers reach their eschaton and think the matter closed, when the question of the last things is precisely what they have not understood.
πάντωνpantōnof allG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveGenitive Neuter Plural
ἡhētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Singular
γυνὴgynēwomanG1135
√ γυνή — a womanNounNominative Feminine Singular
γυνή: a woman, a wife Nominative at last. Mark's Greek quietly gives her the subject position at the one moment the case treats her as a person rather than a claim to be adjudicated.
ἀπέθανενapethanendiedG599
√ ἀποθνήσκω — to die off (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
23

In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

en tē anastasei hotan anastōsin tinos autōn gynē estai gar hoi hepta eschon gynaika autēn

Word by word15 · parsed
ἐνenInG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῇtētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
ἀναστάσειanastaseiresurrectionG386
√ ἀνάστασις — a standing up again, iNounDative Feminine Singular
ἀνάστασις: a standing up again Dative of sphere. The Sadducees can use the word fluently while denying the thing; fluency in the vocabulary is not knowledge of the Scriptures, as v. 24 will say.
ὅτανhotan[then]G3752
√ ὅταν — whenever (implying hypothesis or more or less uncertainty)Conjunction
ἀναστῶσινanastōsin. . .G450
√ ἀνίστημι — to stand up (literal or figurative, transitive or intransitive)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Plural
ἀνίστημι: to stand up Aorist subjunctive. Gill treats the clause as good Jewish idiom rather than a gloss, comparing the Targum on Zechariah 3:7; the textual witnesses are divided, and several ancient versions drop it.
τίνοςtinoswhoseG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounGenitive Masculine Singular
αὐτῶνautōn. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
γυνήgynēwifeG1135
√ γυνή — a womanNounNominative Feminine Singular
ἔσταιestaiwill she beG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
εἰμί: to be (future) The hinge tense of the trap. Everything the Sadducees can imagine about the age to come is a projection forward of present arrangements.
γὰρgarForG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
οἱhoi[all]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ἑπτὰheptasevenG2033
√ ἑπτά — sevenAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἔσχονeschonwereG2192
√ ἔχω — to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remoteVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ἔχω: to hold, to have Aorist. The legal language of claim. Poole's objection stands: they never proved there would be anything for the claim to attach to.
γυναῖκαgynaikamarriedG1135
√ γυνή — a womanNounAccusative Feminine Singular
αὐτὴνautēnto herG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Feminine 3rd Person Singular
24

Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

ho Iēsous Ephē autois touto planasthe Ou dia mē eidotes tas graphas mēde tēn dynamin tou Theou

Word by word17 · parsed
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἜφηEphēsaidG5346
√ φημί — to show or make known one's thoughts, iVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
φημί: to make known one's thought Imperfect ephē, "he was saying," a verb of declaration rather than of debate. Mark does not have him argue back; he has him pronounce.
αὐτοῖςautoisto themG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
τοῦτοtoutovvvG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
πλανᾶσθεplanastheAren’t you mistakenG4105
√ πλανάω — to (properly, cause to) roam (from safety, truth, or virtue)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive2nd Person Plural
πλανάω: to cause to roam from safety or truth The root behind our word planet, the wanderer. It returns intensified in v. 27 with poly, framing the whole answer between two occurrences of the same verb: you are wandering, and you are wandering greatly. The passive sense would make their error not mere miscalculation but a being led off course.
ΟὐOu. . .G3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
διὰdiabecauseG1223
√ διά — through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional)Preposition
μὴmēvvvG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
εἰδότεςeidotesyou do not knowG1492
√ εἴδω — used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι) and G3708 (ὁράω)VerbPerfect Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
εἴδω: to see, hence to know Perfect participle: knowledge as a possessed state. The charge is not that they have read badly today but that they have never come to know what they profess to defend.
τὰςtastheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Plural
γραφὰςgraphasScripturesG1124
√ γραφή — a document, iNounAccusative Feminine Plural
γραφή: a writing, a Scripture Plural and articular, the writings. Pulpit lists what he takes them to have missed, Job 21:25 as he cites it, Isaiah 26:19 and Daniel 12:2; Cambridge adds that a right reading of the power of God would have made a merely repeated mortal life unimaginable.
μηδὲmēde[or]G3366
√ μηδέ — but not, not evenConjunction
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
δύναμινdynaminpowerG1411
√ δύναμις — force (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
δύναμις: force, power The second ignorance, and in Mark's Gospel the word for what raises and heals. Pulpit's argument is that raising what once was requires less power than creating from nothing, so a God confessed as Creator cannot coherently be denied as Raiser.
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ΘεοῦTheouof GodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounGenitive Masculine Singular
θεός: God Genitive of source. The genitive is not decorative: the whole answer of vv. 26 and 27 will turn on what kind of God this is, named at a bush.
25

When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

gar hotan anastōsin ek nekrōn oute gamousin oute gamizontai all’ eisin hōs angeloi en tois ouranois

Word by word16 · parsed
γὰρgarG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
ὅτανhotanWhenG3752
√ ὅταν — whenever (implying hypothesis or more or less uncertainty)Conjunction
ἀναστῶσινanastōsinthe dead riseG450
√ ἀνίστημι — to stand up (literal or figurative, transitive or intransitive)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Plural
ἀνίστημι: to stand up Aorist subjunctive with hotan: whenever they stand up. The same stem the Sadducees themselves used in v. 19 for raising up seed now names the thing their law could only imitate.
ἐκek. . .G1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
νεκρῶνnekrōn. . .G3498
√ νεκρός — dead (literally or figurativelyAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
οὔτεoutevvvG3777
√ οὔτε — not too, iConjunction
γαμοῦσινgamousinthey will neither marryG1060
√ γαμέω — to wed (of either sex)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
γαμέω: to wed The active member of the pair, used of the man. Paired with G1061 it forms a fixed formula found also in the Noah sayings of Matthew 24:38 and Luke 17:27.
οὔτεoutenorG3777
√ οὔτε — not too, iConjunction
γαμίζονταιgamizontaibe given in marriageG1061
√ γαμίσκω — to espouse (a daughter to a husband)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Plural
γαμίσκω: to give in marriage Rare (7 verses). JFB gives the reason the institution lapses: marriage is ordained to perpetuate the human family, and where death makes no more breaches the ordinance has nothing left to do. Barnes adds a careful limit: the text denies the marital relation, not the recollection or recognition of those who once stood in it.
ἀλλ’all’InsteadG235
√ ἀλλά — properly, other things, iConjunction
εἰσὶνeisinthey will beG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ὡςhōslikeG5613
√ ὡς — which how, iAdverb
ἄγγελοιangeloi[the] angelsG32
√ ἄγγελος — compare G34 (ἀγέλη)) (to bring tidings)NounNominative Masculine Plural
ἄγγελος: a messenger, angel Anarthrous. Cambridge notes that the Sadducees denied angels as well as resurrection (Acts 23:8), so Jesus answers the whole of their unbelief at once by appealing to angels as persons whose existence is simply assumed. Pulpit's list of the points of likeness (purity, spiritual life, immortality, glory) goes beyond what the verse itself specifies.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τοῖςtoisG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Plural
οὐρανοῖςouranoisheavenG3772
√ οὐρανός — the skyNounDative Masculine Plural
οὐρανός: the sky, heaven Plural and dative, in the heavens, the Semitic plural preserved in Greek.
26

But concerning the dead rising, have you not read about the burning bush in the Book of Moses, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Peri tōn nekrōn hoti egeirontai ouk anegnōte epi tou Batou en tē biblō Mōuseōs pōs ho Theos eipen autō legōn Egō ho Theos Abraam kai ho Theos Isaak kai ho Theos Iakōb

Word by word33 · parsed
δὲdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ΠερὶPericoncerningG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
τῶνtōntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
νεκρῶνnekrōndeadG3498
√ νεκρός — dead (literally or figurativelyAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
ὅτιhotiG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
ἐγείρονταιegeirontairisingG1453
√ ἐγείρω — to waken (transitively or intransitively), iVerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Plural
ἐγείρω: to waken, to raise Present, with passive force available. In Mark this verb has already raised Peter's mother in law, Jairus' daughter and the boy after the convulsion; the Gospel's own usage answers the question of whose power is meant.
οὐκoukvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
ἀνέγνωτεanegnōtehave you not readG314
√ ἀναγινώσκω — to know again, iVerbAorist Indicative Active2nd Person Plural
ἀναγινώσκω: to know again, to read Aorist. The sharpest word in the verse to address to men whose authority rested on the written Pentateuch.
ἐπὶepiaboutG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
τοῦtoutheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ΒάτουBatou[burning] bushG942
√ βάτος — a brier shrubNounGenitive Masculine Singular
βάτος: a bramble bush Genuinely rare: 5 verses in the whole Greek canon. Its other appearances include Stephen's retelling of the same theophany (Acts 7:30) and a proverb about fruit (Luke 6:44). Here it is functioning as a section title rather than as scenery, which is why Ellicott insists on "at the Bush" rather than "in the bush."
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῇtētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
βίβλῳbiblōBookG976
√ βίβλος — bookNounDative Feminine Singular
βίβλος: book Gill notes that the five parts of the Torah were reckoned one book, as the Psalms are the Book of Psalms (Acts 1:20) and the Prophets the Book of the Prophets (Acts 7:42). Cambridge presses the rhetorical turn: they had brought Moses forward to perplex him, and he now appeals to the same name to confute them.
ΜωϋσέωςMōuseōsof MosesG3475
√ Μωσεύς — Moseus, Moses, or Mouses (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
πῶςpōshowG4459
√ πῶς — an interrogative particle of mannerConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΘεὸςTheosGodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounNominative Masculine Singular
εἶπενeipentoldG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτῷautōhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
λέγωνlegōnG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
ἘγὼEgōI [am]G1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
ἐγώ: I The emphatic pronoun, standing with no copula. Exodus 3:6 is quoted from the covenant self-naming at the bush, and the covenant name is relational by construction: God of, God of, God of. Cambridge's question is the argument in miniature: how meaningless such a Name would be, if those named had passed into annihilation.
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΘεὸςTheosGodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἈβραὰμAbraamof AbrahamG11
√ Ἀβραάμ — Abraham, the Hebrew patriarchNounGenitive Masculine Singular
Ἀβραάμ: Abraham The first of three genitives of relation. Not "the God who once dealt with Abraham" but "the God of Abraham," a title that, as Benson puts it at v. 18, plainly intimates a relation to persons.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΘεὸςTheosGodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἸσαὰκIsaakof IsaacG2464
√ Ἰσαάκ — Isaac (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΘεὸςTheosGodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἸακώβIakōbof JacobG2384
√ Ἰακώβ — Jacob (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
Ἰακώβ: Jacob The threefold repetition of ho Theos before each name is not stylistic padding; it individualises the relation, so that the argument holds of each patriarch separately and not merely of a lineage.
27

He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

estin ouk Theos nekrōn alla zōntōn poly planasthe

Word by word8 · parsed
ἔστινestinHe isG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
εἰμί: to exist, to be Present indicative, first word, and the load bearing member of the whole exchange. Everything the Sadducees built stood on a future tense (v. 23, estai); Jesus answers with a present, and the present is what Exodus 3:6 leaves unwritten and assumed.
οὐκouknotG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
ΘεὸςTheos[the] GodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounNominative Masculine Singular
νεκρῶνnekrōnof [the] deadG3498
√ νεκρός — dead (literally or figurativelyAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
νεκρός: dead Anarthrous genitive plural. Cambridge draws the conclusion carefully: the patriarchs, though their bodies were dead, must themselves have been still living in the separate state and awaiting the resurrection. That two stage reading, souls now and bodies then, is the classical Protestant handling of the verse.
ἀλλὰallabutG235
√ ἀλλά — properly, other things, iConjunction
ζώντωνzōntōnof [the] livingG2198
√ ζάω — to live (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Plural
ζάω: to live Present participle. Luke 20:38 adds "for all live unto him," which JFB glosses as "in his view," and he restricts the "all" to those accounted worthy of that world. That restriction is JFB's own exegetical judgment, not something Mark's text states.
πολὺpolyvvvG4183
√ πολύς — (singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) manyAdjectiveAccusative Neuter Singular
πολύς: much, great Adverbial. The error is measured, not merely noted.
πλανᾶσθεplanastheYou are badly mistakenG4105
√ πλανάω — to (properly, cause to) roam (from safety, truth, or virtue)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive2nd Person Plural
πλανάω: to cause to roam from truth The verb of v. 24 returns, now intensified and with no interrogative to soften it. Mark's Greek closes the answer the way it opened, so that the charge frames the argument on both sides: you wander, and you wander greatly.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The case built to be unanswerable — Mark 12:18-23

Mark introduces the party by the trait that makes the question a trap: οἵτινες λέγουσιν ἀνάστασιν μὴ εἶναι, the sort who say there is no resurrection. JFB calls them "the materialists of the day" and points to Acts 23:7-8, where the same party denies resurrection, angel and spirit together. Cambridge notes that these men, "few, rich, and dignified," had until now stood aloof from the Prophet of Nazareth; their arrival is itself a measure of the week. Pulpit records that they accepted the Pentateuch and probably more, but rejected oral tradition, which is why the whole exchange will be conducted from text alone.

Their case is legally exact. Cambridge locates the statute at Deuteronomy 25:5 and states its purpose, the preservation of families, with the firstborn son entered in the registers as the son of the dead brother; Gill quotes the Mishnah (Yebamoth 4:5) and Maimonides for the rule that the obligation falls first on the eldest and passes round the brothers, with the loosing of the shoe as the alternative. Cambridge judges the seven-brother case probably fictitious, since the Jews were averse to fulfilling the enactment at all; Pulpit is willing to allow it may have happened, and insists that at any rate it was a possible case. ⚙ What neither commentator says, and the Greek does, is that the Sadducees' own citation reaches for a resurrection-shaped verb: ἐξαναστήσῃ (G1817, only 3 verses in the Greek canon), to raise up out of. The levirate law is the old covenant's legal substitute for resurrection, a way of keeping a dead man's name standing in Israel, and they have made the substitute an argument against the reality.

Poole's verdict is blunt and, we think, correct in substance if not in tone: they never established that there would be any need of wives, or any such thing as marriage, after the world should have an end, so "these learned men showed themselves dunces, wholly ignorant of what they came to argue upon." Cambridge names the same fault more gently: their difficulty originated entirely in a carnal notion that the connections of this life must be continued in another. Gill states the legal force honestly, that she was by law the lawful wife of all seven with no special claim available to any one of them, which is exactly why the case looks airtight from inside its own frame.

ii. Two ignorances, answered in reverse order — Mark 12:24-25

The reply is one sentence with two charges: μὴ εἰδότες τὰς γραφὰς μηδὲ τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ellicott prefers the literal participle, "not knowing the scriptures." Gill notes that what Matthew puts as a flat affirmation Mark puts as a question, and that with the Jews a question was a more vehement way of affirming, so Mark's form is sharper rather than softer. Cambridge observes the structure of the answer: Jesus deals with the second ignorance first, taking the power of God in v. 25 before the Scriptures in v. 26.

On the power of God, Pulpit's argument is the strongest in the brief: God can raise bodies as at first he created them out of nothing, "for a greater power is required to make that to be which was not, than to make that again to be which once was." JFB adds the pastoral edge, that before the power of God "a thousand such difficulties vanish." Cambridge sends the reader to Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians 15:39-44 from the endless variety of the creative power of God: a God whose creativity is not exhausted need not repeat mortal life in order to give life.

On the marriage question itself, JFB gives the reason the institution lapses rather than merely asserting that it does: marriage is ordained to perpetuate the human family, and where death makes no more breaches the ordinance has nothing left to do. Pulpit preserves Augustine to the same effect, that marriages are on account of children, children on account of succession, succession on account of death. Two cautions belong here and both come from the commentators themselves. Barnes limits the denial precisely: the text does not affirm that there will be no recollection of former marriages, or no recognition of each other as having existed in that tender relation. JFB limits the angel comparison: since the subject is death and resurrection, we are not warranted to extend the equality beyond the immortality of their nature. ⚙ The Greek supports both cautions. ὡς is "like," not "equal to," and Pulpit notes that the article before "angels" is absent; the comparison is deliberately narrow.

iii. At the Bush: an argument carried by a tense that is not written — Mark 12:26-27

Ellicott makes the philological point that governs the verse: ἐπὶ τοῦ βάτου points to "the bush" not as the place where God spoke but as the title by which the section Exodus 3 was commonly described. Cambridge supplies the parallels, 2 Samuel 1:17-27 known as "the Bow," Ezekiel 1:15-28 as "the Chariot," Romans 11:2 as "in Elijah," and notes that Wyclif alone among the early English translators rendered it rightly. Barnes gives the practical reason: with no chapters and verses, quoting a book by its subject was the easiest way. So Jesus is not describing a scene, he is giving a chapter reference, and he gives it in the Pentateuch because, as Pulpit says, whatever the Sadducees held about the rest of the Old Testament, "these books of Moses they readily acknowledged." Cambridge catches the rhetorical reversal: they had brought Moses forward to perplex him, and he appeals to the same great name to confute them.

⚙ The argument itself hangs on a word that is not in the text. Ἐγὼ ὁ Θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ has no copula; every translation must supply one, and the supplied present is the whole case. Benson states the inference at length: the character of being the God of any persons plainly intimates a relation to them, not as dead but as living, and since the persons in question are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, consisting of souls and bodies, there must be a resurrection of the body to share with the soul. Cambridge presses it as a rhetorical question, whether such a Name could mean anything if those named had crumbled to dust and passed into annihilation. JFB adds the Hebrews 11:16 corollary, that God "would be ashamed to be called their God, if He had not prepared for them a city."

Two honesty notes. JFB reports that some of the early Fathers concluded from Jesus' choice of this passage, rather than the clearer testimonies elsewhere, that the Sadducees accepted no part of the Old Testament but the Pentateuch, and that the opinion has held its ground; he rejects it, noting it has no New Testament support and that Josephus says only that they rejected Pharisaic tradition. We follow JFB and mark the claim disputed. Second, JFB reports that the repeated word "God" before "of the living" in v. 27 is almost certainly an addition excluded by critical editors, and Gill notes it is absent from the Vulgate, Syriac and Arabic but present in the Persic and Ethiopic; BSB follows the shorter text. Neither issue disturbs the argument, and saying so plainly is better than not mentioning them.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ This is the tool's own fallible reading, offered to be tested against the text. Notice what Jesus does not do. He does not solve the case. He never tells them whose wife she would be, and he never concedes that the question was well formed. He dissolves it, and then he proves the doctrine from a verse that never mentions resurrection at all. That is the shape of the answer: their error was not arithmetical but grammatical. Every tense in their story pointed forward, ἔσται, "whose wife will she be" (v. 23), and they assumed that the age to come runs on the tenses of this one, that resurrection would simply be more of the same life, with the same claims to adjudicate. Jesus answers with a present indicative, ἔστιν, "he is not God of dead ones" (v. 27), and the present he stands on is not even written in the verse he quotes; it is the copula that Exodus 3:6 leaves out and that any reader must supply. The whole doctrine of the resurrection, on his account, is carried by what a covenant name must silently mean.

There is a second thing worth saying, and here we are extending rather than reporting the commentators. The Sadducees came holding the levirate law, which exists so that a dead man's name is not blotted out of Israel. It is the Law's own protest against death, a legal fiction by which the dead are given standing among the living through seed raised up (ἐξαναστήσῃ, v. 19). They took the one statute in Moses that most nearly imitates resurrection and used it to argue that resurrection is absurd. Jesus goes behind Deuteronomy to Exodus, behind the remedy to the Name, and shows that what the levirate law could only counterfeit, God had already guaranteed in the way he introduced himself at a burning thornbush. Marriage ceases in that age (v. 25) not because the human bond was small, but because the institution that existed to hold a line of names against death has no work left where nobody dies. Poole saw the logical half of this; we think the covenantal half is also in the text.

We hold this reading loosely on one point: whether πλανᾶσθε should be read as true passive (you are being led astray) or as middle (you go astray). The form is ambiguous, no commentator in this brief presses it, and we do not build anything on it.

⚙ A synthesis line, not Scripture: they built their case on a future tense, and he answered with a present that Moses never wrote down.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The statute they quoted: the levirate law of Moses structural / thematic: confirmed

The Sadducees' whole case is a citation. Cambridge locates it at Deuteronomy 25:5, ordained for the preservation of families so that a man who died without male issue should have his widow married by his brother, with the firstborn entered in the registers as the son of the dead. JFB cites the same reference at v. 19, and Gill gives the statute's sense in the same words. The practice appears earlier than Sinai, in Judah's charge to Onan at Genesis 38:8, and its later working is visible in Ruth 4:5 and 4:10, where a kinsman marries to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. ⚙ Because Mark is Greek and Deuteronomy is Hebrew, no shared Strong's lexeme can be produced for this link and we do not claim one; the connection is a stated quotation of content, and it is tiered accordingly.

Deuteronomy 25:5 · Genesis 38:8 · Ruth 4:5

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek Mark to Hebrew Deuteronomy), so shared Strong's numbers are impossible and no verbal tier is available. The link is the explicit content citation named by Cambridge, JFB and Gill at Mark 12:19, plus the same institution operating at Genesis 38:8 and Ruth 4:5.

The Bush as a chapter heading: a rare word shared with Stephen verbal / quotation: confirmed

βάτος (G942, bramble bush) occurs in only 5 verses of the Greek canon, and one of them is Stephen's retelling of the same theophany, where an angel appears to Moses in a flame of fire in a bush (Acts 7:30). Ellicott argues from the Greek word order that Mark and Luke both use "the bush" as a section title rather than a location; Cambridge compares "the Bow" for 2 Samuel 1:17-27, "the Chariot" for Ezekiel 1:15-28, and "in Elijah" at Romans 11:2, and notes Wyclif alone rendered it correctly in English. Luke 6:44, the other close occurrence, uses the same rare noun in a wholly different sense, of a bramble that yields no grapes, which is a useful control: shared vocabulary is not by itself shared meaning.

Acts 7:30 · Luke 6:44

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G942 βάτος (in 5 vv), a genuinely rare word, with G32 ἄγγελος also shared at Acts 7:30. All refs are New Testament Greek, so the verbal tier is legitimate. The Luke 6:44 occurrence is included as a semantic control, not as a thematic parallel.

Raising up out of: a rare verb and a different use verbal / quotation: confirmed

ἐξανίστημι (G1817) is one of the rarest verbs in this unit, appearing in only 3 verses of the Greek canon. In Mark 12:19 the Sadducees use it for the levirate duty to raise up seed for a dead brother; at Acts 15:5 the same verb is used quite differently, of certain believers of the party of the Pharisees who rose up in the Jerusalem assembly. ⚙ We record the lexical link and explicitly decline to make it a thematic one: the shared item is the stem, not a shared idea. The observation that is worth keeping is internal to Mark, that the Sadducees chose a compound of the very stem (ana plus histēmi) that Jesus then uses in vv. 23 and 25 (G450) for standing up from the dead.

Acts 15:5

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G1817 ἐξανίστημι (in 3 vv), rare, both refs New Testament. The basis is strictly lexical; the two uses are semantically unrelated and no quotation or allusion is claimed.

Marrying and being given in marriage: a fixed formula verbal / quotation: confirmed

The pair γαμοῦσιν / γαμίζονται (G1060 with G1061) is not an ad hoc phrase but a set formula for ordinary life running on undisturbed. It names the resurrection state here by negation, and it names the days of Noah and of Lot in the eschatological discourse at Matthew 24:38 and Luke 17:27, where people were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage until the flood came. Luke 20:34 uses the same pair for "the sons of this age." ⚙ Read across these, the formula marks the way of life proper to this age only: in Noah's generation it is the sign of a world unaware that the age is ending; in Mark 12:25 it is the thing the coming age does not need.

Matthew 24:38 · Luke 17:27 · Luke 20:34

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G1060 γαμέω (in 25 vv) and G1061 γαμίσκω (in 7 vv, rare) at all three refs. All refs are New Testament Greek. The shared item is a fixed two-verb formula, not a quotation of one passage by another.

The Sadducees and the resurrection, again in Acts structural / thematic: confirmed

Acts 23:6-8 records the same party holding the same position, and it supplies the fuller description JFB draws on here: the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit, while the Pharisees confess both. Cambridge uses Acts 23:8 to explain why Jesus answers with angels in v. 25, arguing that the reply embraces the whole area of their unbelief at once. ⚙ We tier this below verbal deliberately. The shared lexemes are real but the link is a shared subject and a shared party, not a citation of one text by the other.

Acts 23:6

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G386 ἀνάστασις (in 40 vv) and G4523 Σαδδουκαῖος (in 14 vv) at Acts 23:6. Both refs are Greek, so a verbal tier would be permissible on the rarity of Σαδδουκαῖος, but we downgrade: this is the same doctrinal dispute described twice, not a quotation or allusion.

The Scriptures they did not know: resurrection outside the Pentateuch structural / thematic: confirmed

Pulpit reads the first charge of v. 24 as ignorance of texts that plainly teach the resurrection, and names them: Job 21:25 as he cites it (usually the passage adduced is Job 19:25-27, "I know that my Redeemer liveth"), Isaiah 26:19, "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise," and Daniel 12:2, "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake." Psalm 16:10 belongs with these, and is cited for exactly this purpose in Acts 2:27. ⚙ Two honest qualifications. First, the link is cross-Testament and therefore cannot be verbal. Second, Pulpit's chapter and verse for the Job passage does not match the words he quotes, which sit at Job 19:25; we give both so a reader can check rather than inherit the slip.

Isaiah 26:19 · Daniel 12:2 · Job 19:25 · Psalm 16:10

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek Mark to Hebrew Isaiah, Daniel, Job, Psalms), so shared Strong's numbers are unavailable and no verbal tier is possible. The basis is Pulpit's named list at Mark 12:24 plus the shared doctrine of bodily resurrection; the Job reference is corrected from Pulpit's 21:25 to 19:25 and both are shown.

Flagged: did the Sadducees hold only the Pentateuch? flagged: verify source

A claim repeated for centuries, and disputed inside this very brief. Pulpit says they "accepted the Pentateuch, and probably more than the Pentateuch," and at v. 26 argues that Jesus chose Exodus because these books they readily acknowledged. JFB reports the stronger form of the claim and rejects it: some of the early Fathers concluded from Jesus' resting his proof on this passage rather than clearer testimonies that the Sadducees acknowledged no part of the Old Testament but the Pentateuch, and the opinion has held its ground even till now, but there is no ground for it in the New Testament and Josephus is silent on it, saying only that they rejected the Pharisaic traditions. Pulpit's own note at v. 18 also says they rejected oral tradition, not the Prophets. ⚙ We flag this rather than settle it. It affects how the argument from Exodus 3:6 is read, and the underlying sources (Josephus, and the patristic claims JFB alludes to without naming) should be checked directly.

Mark 12:26 · Acts 23:8

basis: Contested provenance. JFB explicitly disputes the traditional claim, attributing it to unnamed early Fathers and noting Josephus does not support it; Pulpit assumes a milder version of it. No primary source is quoted by either commentator, so the claim is recorded as unverified rather than asserted.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The God of the living, days before the tomb ancient/widely-held

The apostolic and patristic reading of this exchange has never been merely that souls survive. Benson states the argument in its full form: the title "God of Abraham" intimates a relation to persons not as dead but as living, and since those persons consist of souls and bodies, there must be a resurrection of the body to complete the relation. Cambridge draws the same two stage conclusion, that the patriarchs, though their bodies were dead, must themselves have been living in the separate state and awaiting the resurrection. JFB grounds the covenant logic in Hebrews 11:16, that God would be ashamed to be called their God if he had not prepared for them a city, and in Romans 6:10-11, where the life Christ lives he lives to God. Pulpit takes the further step that the whole scene is spoken by a man about to demonstrate it: in a few days they will put him to death, and in three days he will rise, and in due time raise them. ⚙ The claim we would add is narrow and grammatical. The proof of resurrection here rests on an unwritten present tense in Exodus 3:6, and the Gospel that records it reports the empty tomb with the aorist passive of the very verb Jesus uses here for the dead being raised: ἠγέρθη at Mark 16:6, from egeirō (G1453, v. 26). Mark lets the argument and its demonstration share a stem, and lets the demonstration carry the passive voice that names who did it.

Exodus 3:6 · John 11:25 · Hebrews 11:16 · Romans 6:10 · Mark 16:6

The brother who raises up seed for the dead novel

⚙ This reading is ours and we mark it novel; none of the commentators in this brief draws it. The law the Sadducees quote is the levirate obligation, in which a living brother takes the place of a dead one in order that the dead man's name not be blotted out of Israel and that seed be raised up for him (ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα, v. 19). Gill notes in passing that the ancient Jews used "seed" of a single person. Ruth 4:5 and 4:10 show the institution at work under the wider category of the redeeming kinsman, and Hebrews 2:11 and 2:14-15 present Christ as the one who is not ashamed to call them brothers precisely because he shared in flesh and blood in order to destroy the one who holds the power of death. The figural fit is exact at one point and only one: a brother enters death's vacancy so that the dead may have standing among the living. We claim no more than that, and we note the disanalogy plainly, since in the levirate law the living brother acts for a dead one, whereas in the gospel the brother himself dies and rises.

Deuteronomy 25:5 · Ruth 4:5 · Hebrews 2:11 · Hebrews 2:14

Why marriage ends: the bond it was rehearsing novel

JFB gives the negative reason marriage ceases, that it exists to perpetuate the human family and death will make no further breaches; Pulpit, quoting Augustine, gives the same chain, marriages for children, children for succession, succession because of death. ⚙ We would put a positive reason alongside it, and we mark this as our own extension rather than the commentators' claim. Paul calls the one flesh union of Genesis 2:24 a great mystery spoken of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:31-32), and the Apocalypse names the consummation of the age a marriage of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9). On that reading the earthly institution does not so much expire as arrive: what it was rehearsing is present, so the rehearsal ends. This holds only if Paul's mystery language is taken as more than illustration, which is a real interpretive commitment and not a demonstrated fact, and Barnes' caution stands over it, that the text denies the marital relation without denying recognition of those who stood in it.

Ephesians 5:31 · Revelation 19:7 · Genesis 2:24

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text. Two variants touch this unit and both are reported by the commentators themselves. At v. 23 Gill notes that the clause ὅταν ἀναστῶσιν, "when they shall rise," is omitted in two of Beza's copies and in the Syriac, Arabic, Persic and Ethiopic versions, perhaps as superfluous; he defends it as ordinary Jewish idiom, comparing the Targum on Zechariah 3:7. At v. 27 JFB reports that the second "God" (before "of the living") is almost certainly an addition excluded by critical editors, and Gill notes it is absent from the Vulgate, Syriac and Arabic but retained in the Persic and Ethiopic. BSB follows the shorter reading. At v. 25 Pulpit notes the article is absent before "angels." At v. 27 Pulpit notes the better text omits oun, giving the blunt "ye greatly err." None of these changes the argument.

Sources. Barnes writes nothing of his own on Mark 12:18 to 24, referring throughout to his notes on Matthew 22:23-33; Poole likewise refers to his Matthew notes for most of the unit; Ellicott has substantive remarks only at vv. 24 and 26; Geneva's entries at most verses are the verse text with no gloss. Where a voice is quoted saying only that, we have said so in its editorial note rather than importing material from another commentary to make the author look fuller than he is. Matthew Henry's entry is a single block on 12:18-27 repeated under each verse, so it is quoted once.

What is uncertain. (1) Whether the Sadducees accepted only the Pentateuch is disputed, with JFB against and Pulpit assuming a milder form; it is recorded as a flagged thread, not settled. (2) Pulpit cites Job 21:25 for words that stand at Job 19:25; we give both. (3) Pulpit's Augustine sentence reaches us in his translation and should be checked against the Latin before being cited as Augustine's wording. (4) The mood of πλανᾶσθε (middle or passive) is formally ambiguous and nothing here is built on it. (5) No cross-Testament thread in this unit can carry a verbal tier: Mark is Greek and Deuteronomy, Exodus, Isaiah, Daniel, Job and the Psalms are Hebrew, so shared Strong's numbers are unavailable by construction. Every such link is tiered structural or typological and says so. (6) The Christ readings marked novel (the levirate figure, and marriage fulfilled rather than merely ended) are our own synthesis, not the testimony of any commentator in this brief.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)