Bible Strands
1 Corinthians 15:41
The sun has one degree of splendor, the moon another, and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Corinthian church while detailing the mechanics of the resurrection, positioning this observation between his contrast of earthly and heavenly bodies in 1 Corinthians 15:40 and his declaration of the perishable versus imperishable in 1 Corinthians 15:42.
The words — ἄλλη (allē) translates to "another" or "one," and δόξα (doxa) translates to "glory" or "splendor," structuring the verse around comparative radiance.
The thread — The passage catalogs sun, moon, and stars as distinct light sources, aligning with Deuteronomy 4:19's prohibition against bowing to them, Psalm 148:3's command to praise them, and Isaiah 24:23's vision of their eventual subordination.
Why it lands — The text states that celestial bodies possess graded splendor, establishing a visible pattern of distinction that the reader must acknowledge before applying the principle to the resurrection body.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 4:19 When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
- Psalms 148:3 Praise Him, O sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars.
- Isaiah 24:23 The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.
- Genesis 1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.
- Job 31:26 if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
- Psalms 8:3 When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—
- Psalms 19:4 their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.