Bible Strands
Mark 12:23
In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses the Sadducees in Jerusalem, responding to their hypothetical case about a woman married sequentially to seven brothers. He speaks to them at the moment they press a legal contradiction against the doctrine of resurrection.
The words — The Greek ἀναστάσει (anastēsei) means “resurrection” or “rising,” while οὖν (oun) functions as a logical connector meaning “therefore” or “then.” These terms mark the Sadducees’ question as a direct inference drawn from their own premise.
The thread — The scenario originates in the levirate marriage law referenced in Mark 12:22. Jesus returns to this same resurrection dispute in the parallel accounts recorded in Matthew 22:23–33 and Luke 20:27–38.
Why it lands — The verse forces the reader to examine the boundary between earthly legal frameworks and a transformed state. It demands a clear assessment of whether human institutions retain their function when divine power operates.
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
In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.