Bible Strands
Luke 20:28
“Teacher,” they said, “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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Sadducees, who explicitly deny the resurrection, address Jesus as "Teacher" to present a hypothetical legal case. They pose the question during His public teaching following the temple cleansing, intending to expose a contradiction in His view of the afterlife.
The words — διδασκάλε (didaskale) directly titles Jesus as "Teacher," while ἔγραψεν (egrapsen) asserts that Moses "wrote" the statute being quoted. These terms ground the Sadducees' challenge in written Mosaic authority rather than oral tradition.
The thread — The legal premise originates in Deuteronomy 25:5, which commands a living brother to marry his deceased sibling's widow to preserve his lineage. The narrative pattern mirrors the levirate account in Genesis 38:8 and 38:11, where family duty overrides normal marital boundaries to secure an heir.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader to weigh the Sadducees' literal reading of Mosaic law against the reality of a resurrected existence. It requires determining whether earthly statutes governing marriage and lineage retain force when death is conquered.
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
Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man’s brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 25:5 When brothers dwell together and one of them dies without a son, the widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother is to take her as his wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law for her.
- Genesis 38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and raise up offspring for your brother.”
- Genesis 38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.
- Genesis 38:26 Judah recognized the items and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not have relations with her again.
- Ruth 1:11 But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb to become your husbands?