Luke 20:29
What does Luke 20:29 mean?
A plain-English look at Luke 20:29 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Luke 20:29 means
To construct their argument against the resurrection, the Sadducees presented a hypothetical scenario involving seven brothers. The first brother married a wife but tragically died without having any children. This detail is crucial because, according to levirate law, the next brother would then be obligated to marry the widow to ensure the deceased brother's lineage. This setup establishes the beginning of their chain of marriages, designed to create a complex problem in their imagined resurrection reality, which they believe renders the resurrection impossible or absurd.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died childless;
KJV
King James Version · 1611There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died childless;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Now there were seven brothers, and the first had a wife and came to his end, having no children;
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862`There were, then, seven brothers, and the first having taken a wife, died childless,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife and died without children.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890There were then seven brethren: and the first, having taken a wife, died childless;
Context
This verse begins the detailed narrative of the Sadducees' hypothetical case, immediately following their reference to the Mosaic law on levirate marriage. It introduces the first brother in a series of seven, setting the stage for a complex marital entanglement that will form the basis of their perceived logical flaw in the doctrine of the resurrection.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Jeremiah 22:30
Thus saith Jehovah, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no more shall a man of his seed prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling in Judah.
- Leviticus 20:20
And if a man shall lie with his uncle’s wife, he hath uncovered his uncle’s nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.
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