Matthew 22:25
in Matthew 22Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died without having children. So he left his wife to his brother.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first married and deceased, and having no seed left his wife unto his brother;
KJV
Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:
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This verse in Matthew 22
Commentary
11 notes on this verseSeven brethren - It is very likely that the Sadducees increased the number, merely to make the question the more difficult.
This site's exposition
the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection
on Matthew 22:23-25
The same day came the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, a party distinct from the Pharisees precisely on this point, accepting only the five books of Moses as final authority and reading no bodily resurrection there. Their case is built from Moses' own levirate law in Deuteronomy 25:5, a brother marrying his dead brother's childless widow to raise up seed, and they stretch it into an absurdity, seven brethren married in succession to one woman. The question is designed as a trap for anyone who teaches resurrection, since a shared wife in the age to come was assumed by their own framing to be a problem with no clean answer.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
(Quæst. Ev. i, 32.) Mystically; by these seven brethren are understood the wicked, who could not bring forth the fruit of righteousness in the earth through all the seven ages of the world, during which this earth has being, for afterwards this earth also shall pass away, through which all those seven passed away unfruitful.
As they disbelieved the resurrection of the body, and supposed that the soul perished with the body, they accordingly invent a fable to display the fondness of the belief of a resurrection. Thus they put forward a base fiction to overthrow the verity of the resurrection.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 70 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
And again, these too attack Him with a show of moderation, saying, "Master, Moses said, If a man die, not having children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased; and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the seven?" See Him answering these like a teacher. For though out of craft they came unto Him, yet was their question rather one of ignorance. Therefore neither doth He say unto them, "Ye hypocrites." Moreover, in order that He might not blame, saying, "Wherefore had seven one wife?" they add the authority of Moses; although, as I have said before, it was a fiction, in my judgment at least. For the third would not have taken her, when he saw the two bridegrooms dead; or if the third, yet not the fourth or the fifth; and if even these, much more the sixth or the seventh would not have come unto the woman, but have shrunk from her. For such is the nature of the Jews. For if now many have this feeling, much more then had they; when at least, even without this, they often avoided marrying in this way, and that when the law was constraining them. Thus, at any rate, Ruth, that Moabitish woman, was thrust off to him that was further off from her kindred; and Tamar too was thus compelled to obtain, by stealth, seed from her husband's kinsman. And wherefore did they not feign two or three, but seven? In order the more abundantly to bring derision, as they thought, upon the resurrection. Wherefore they further say, "they all had her," as driving Him into some difficulty.
(Vers. 24 seqq.) And they asked him, saying: Master, Moses said: If any man die, having a wife, and he have no children, that his brother should take her to wife, and raise up seed to his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, having taken a wife, died; and, not having issue, left his wife to his brother. In like manner the second and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also.
The Medieval Church1 voice
When the mouths of the Pharisees and the Herodians had been shut, again the Sadducees put Him to the test. Their heresy was this: they believed neither in a resurrection of the dead, nor in the existence of an immaterial spirit, nor in angels, and …
4 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
Having presented the law, they propose the case: now there were with us seven brethren, and the first, having married a wife, died, and not having issue, left his wife to his brother, etc. It is possible that such a case actually occurred, or that …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Now there were with us seven brethren,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
This passage describes a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and the Sadducees. These unhappy men, who said that there was “no resurrection” attempted, like the Pharisees and Herodians, to perplex our Lord with hard questions. Like them, they hoped “to entangle him in his talk” and to injure his reputation among the people. Like them, they were completely baffled. Let us observe in the first place, that absurd skeptical objections to Bible truths are ancient things.
This passage describes a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and the Sadducees. These unhappy men, who said that there was “no resurrection” attempted, like the Pharisees and Herodians, to perplex our Lord with hard questions. Like them, they hoped “to entangle him in his talk” and to injure his reputation among the people. Like them, they were completely baffled. Let us observe in the first place, that absurd skeptical objections to Bible truths are ancient things. The Sadducees wished to show the absurdity of the doctrine of the resurrection and the life to come; they therefore came to our Lord with a story which was probably invented for the occasion. They told him that a certain woman had married seven brothers in succession, who had all died and left no children. They then asked, “whose wife” this woman would be in the next world, when all rose again. The object of the question was plain and transparent. They meant, in reality, to bring the whole doctrine of a resurrection into contempt; they meant to insinuate that there must needs be confusion, and strife and unseemly disorder if after death men and women were to live again. It must never surprise us if we meet with like objections against the doctrines of Scripture, and especially against those doctrines which concern another world. There never probably will be wanting unreasonable men who will intrude into things unseen and make imaginary difficulties their excuse for unbelief. Supposed cases are one of the favorite strongholds in which an unbelieving mind loves to entrench itself. Such a mind will often set up a shadow of its own imagining, and fight with it as if it was a truth; such a mind will often refuse to look at the overwhelming mass of plain evidence by which Christianity is supported, and will fasten down on some one single difficulty which it fancies is unanswerable.
How the passage was read
On Matthew 22:23-46On Matthew 22:23-46
The Sadducees' riddle, the greatest commandment, and David's son
The Sadducees, the priestly party that denied the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:8), build their riddle on levirate marriage: the Torah's command that a man marry his brother's childless widow (Deuteronomy 25:5-10, the law behind Ruth; the Mishnah's tractate Yevamot regulates its cases). Seven brothers, one widow: “in the resurrection whose wife shall she be?” Jesus answers them from the Torah alone, the canon they granted: “I AM the God of Abraham” (Exodus 3:6), the living God of living men. Note where the parties stand: the Pharisees affirmed the resurrection so strongly that the Mishnah excludes from the world to come anyone who says the resurrection is not from the Torah (Sanhedrin 10:1). On this doctrine the Pharisaic tradition and Christian confession stand together against the Sadducees.
The lawyer's question that follows, “which is the great commandment?”, belongs to a genuine rabbinic genre: the search for a kelal gadol, a great governing principle. Hillel, asked to teach the whole Torah while a challenger stood on one foot, answered “what is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow; that is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary; go and learn” (Shabbat 31a); Rabbi Akiva later called “love your neighbor as yourself” the all-embracing principle of the Torah (Sifra on Leviticus 19:18). Jesus' first answer IS the Shema, the confession every observant Jew prays morning and evening (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), joined to Leviticus 19:18. The materials are the tradition's own; what is His alone is the authority with which He joins and ranks them, and the counter-question He then asks from Psalm 110: whose son is the Messiah?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1 (the resurrection as core doctrine) · Shabbat 31a (Babylonian Talmud, Hillel on one foot) · Sifra, Kedoshim 4:12 (Akiva's great principle) · Mishnah Yevamot 1:1 (the levirate tractate)
The words behind it
22 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἦσαν | esan | There were | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| δὲ | de | now | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| παρ᾽ | par᾽ | among | G3844 → | 192 times |
| ἡμῖν | hemin | us | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ἑπτὰ | hepta | seven | G2033 → | 86 times |
| ἀδελφοί. | adelphoi | brothers. | G80 → | 343 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πρῶτος | protos | first | G4413 → | 152 times |
| γήμας | gemas | having married | G1060 → | 28 times |
| ἐτελεύτησεν, | eteleutesen | died, | G5053 → | 11 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| μὴ | me | not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| ἔχων | echon | having | G2192 → | 707 times |
| σπέρμα | sperma | seed | G4690 → | 43 times |
| ἀφῆκεν | apheken | he left | G863 → | 143 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γυναῖκα | gunaika | wife | G1135 → | 211 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | of him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| τῷ | to | to the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀδελφῷ | adelpho | brother | G80 → | 343 times |
| αὐτοῦ· | autou | of him; | G846 → | 5565 times |
ἦσανThere were
esanG1510 →2333 times
δὲnow
deG1161 →2765 times
παρ᾽among
par᾽G3844 →192 times
ἡμῖνus
heminG3165 →1936 times
ἑπτὰseven
heptaG2033 →86 times
ἀδελφοί.brothers.
adelphoiG80 →343 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
πρῶτοςfirst
protosG4413 →152 times
γήμαςhaving married
gemasG1060 →28 times
ἐτελεύτησεν,died,
eteleutesenG5053 →11 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
μὴnot
meG3361 →1066 times
ἔχωνhaving
echonG2192 →707 times
σπέρμαseed
spermaG4690 →43 times
ἀφῆκενhe left
aphekenG863 →143 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
γυναῖκαwife
gunaikaG1135 →211 times
αὐτοῦof him
autouG846 →5565 times
τῷto the
toG3588 →19766 times
ἀδελφῷbrother
adelphoG80 →343 times
αὐτοῦ·of him;
autouG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 9:27Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
- Ecclesiastes 12:7
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
- Acts 17:31
For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
- 2 Samuel 14:14
For surely we will die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises ways that the banished one…
- 2 Corinthians 5:10
Where this verse is studied
About Matthew
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 70; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae on Matthew; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.