Bible Strands
Hebrews 11:35
Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author addresses a community of believers, cataloging historical figures to illustrate faith under trial. This verse sits between examples of miraculous deliverance and accounts of deliberate endurance of suffering.
The words — The text states that women received back (ἔλαβον, elabon) their dead (τοὺς νεκροὺς, tous nekrous) and that others endured torture to gain a better resurrection (ἀναστάσεως, anastaseōs). These terms contrast immediate physical restoration with a deliberate refusal of release for a future bodily raising.
The thread — The motif of women receiving back their dead aligns with the raising of the widow’s son (1 Kings 17:22) and the Shunammite woman’s appeal at the prophet’s feet (2 Kings 4:27). The pursuit of a superior resurrection mirrors the apostle’s goal to attain it (Philippians 3:11).
Why it lands — The passage requires a reader to choose between immediate relief and a promised future raising, framing the refusal of release as a strategic gain. It demands that present endurance be measured against a specific eschatological hope rather than immediate rescue.
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
Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 17:22 And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, and the child’s life returned to him, and he lived.
- 2 Kings 4:27 When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.”
- Philippians 3:11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
- Acts 9:41 Peter took her by the hand and helped her up. Then he called the saints and widows and presented her to them alive.
- Acts 24:15 and I have the same hope in God that they themselves cherish, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
- 1 Corinthians 15:54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
- John 11:40 Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
- Acts 23:6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It is because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”
- Luke 7:12 As He approached the town gate, He saw a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.
- Luke 14:14 and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”