Bible Strands
Matthew 27:52
The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — No speaker; this is narrative description of a public event at the moment of Jesus' death, between the veil tearing (v.51) and his resurrection (v.53). The subject is the tombs and the bodies within them.
The words — ἀνεῴχθησαν (aneōchthēsan) is aorist passive: "were opened," with no human agent named. μνημεῖα (mnēmeia) specifies sealed tombs, not open graves.
The thread — Isaiah 26:19 speaks of the dead rising from the dust; John 5:25 ties the dead hearing to the voice of the Son; 1 Thessalonians 4:14 connects the "fallen asleep" to being brought with Jesus.
Why it lands — The verse is a historical claim: a specific number of bodies left sealed tombs and were seen in a named city. It asks the reader to treat resurrection as a datable, public event rather than a future hope or a metaphor.
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
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
Cross-references
- Isaiah 26:19 Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
- John 5:25 Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
- 1 Corinthians 15:20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
- Daniel 12:2 And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
- Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.
- Hosea 13:14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.
- 1 Corinthians 15:51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
- 1 Corinthians 11:30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.