Bible Strands
Luke 20:29
Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a wife but died childless.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Sadducees are addressing Jesus in the temple courts, advancing their hypothetical challenge about the resurrection after quoting Moses in Luke 20:28. They introduce a specific case involving seven brothers to force a theological contradiction.
The words — The Greek οὖν (oun) operates as a narrative connector meaning "therefore" or "now," linking the Sadducees' premise to the example. The participle λαβὼν (labōn) means "having taken" or "having married," marking the first brother's completed action of taking a wife.
The thread — This verse continues the Sadducees' direct quotation of levirate marriage instructions in Luke 20:28 and immediately precedes the second brother's account in Luke 20:30. The scenario mirrors the Mosaic law framework the Sadducees are testing against Jesus' authority.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader to track how a legal premise scales into an impossible sequence before Jesus answers. It requires attention to how the Sadducees construct their argument rather than evaluating the historical accuracy of their example.
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 were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 20:20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered the nakedness of his uncle. They will bear their sin; they shall die childless.
- Jeremiah 22:30 This is what the LORD says: “Enroll this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will prosper to sit on the throne of David or to rule again in Judah.”