Luke 20 31

Luke 20:31 kjv

And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died.

Luke 20:31 nkjv

Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.

Luke 20:31 niv

and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children.

Luke 20:31 esv

and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died.

Luke 20:31 nlt

Then the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them, who died without children.

Luke 20 verses

Luke 20 31 Meaning

Luke 20:31 continues the Sadducees' elaborate hypothetical scenario presented to Jesus concerning levirate marriage and the resurrection. It meticulously describes the sequence where the third brother, and subsequently all seven brothers, marry the same woman after their predecessor's death, consistently failing to produce any offspring. The verse emphasizes that each brother, like those before him, also died childless, and ultimately, the woman herself died too. This precise detailing of multiple successive, unfulfilled levirate marriages serves to set up the Sadducees' intended theological dilemma about "whose wife" she would be in the resurrection, operating under the flawed assumption that earthly marital customs would persist in the afterlife.

Luke 20 31 Context

The immediate setting for Luke 20:31 is Jesus' ministry in the Temple courts, where He faced various challenges to His authority and teachings. Preceding this verse, Jesus encounters religious leaders who question His authority (Lk 20:1-8) and then delivers the parable of the wicked tenants, implicitly referencing their rejection of God's Son (Lk 20:9-19). Following this, a joint effort by the scribes and chief priests to trap Him politically fails with the "render to Caesar" question (Lk 20:20-26). Luke 20:27 introduces the Sadducees, a distinct Jewish sect known for denying the resurrection of the dead, as well as the existence of angels and spirits (Acts 23:8). Their specific objective in approaching Jesus was not to learn but to ridicule the concept of resurrection by presenting an elaborate, legally permissible, but practically impossible, hypothetical scenario based on the levirate marriage law (Deut 25:5-10). Their question aimed to show that belief in resurrection would lead to absurd social complexities, particularly regarding marriage. Verse 31 describes the specific unfolding of this hypothetical case, emphasizing the systematic failure to produce offspring, building the "problem" for Jesus to resolve within their limited, earthly understanding of life after death. Historically, the Sadducees were politically influential, priestly aristocrats who rejected interpretations beyond the literal Pentateuch, differentiating themselves significantly from the Pharisees who believed in the resurrection. Their interaction with Jesus represents a clear theological polemic against the burgeoning belief in a personal resurrection of the dead, central to Jesus' teaching.

Luke 20 31 Word analysis

• And: (Greek: kai) A common conjunction, it links the action of the third brother to the previous ones and introduces the cumulative statement about the seven.
• the third: (Greek: ho tritos) Refers to the brother sequentially number three in the Sadducees' fabricated chain. This precision underscores the deliberate build-up of their dilemma.
• took her: (Greek: elaben autēn) The verb lambanō (elaben), while generally meaning "to take," specifically signifies "married her" in this marital context. It maintains the pattern of sequential marriages under the levirate law.
• and in like manner: (Greek: hōsautōs) An adverb meaning "similarly," "likewise," or "in the same way." It serves as a concise rhetorical device, extending the same outcome (marriage, no children, death) to the remaining brothers without needing to enumerate each one, highlighting the identical and compounding misfortune.
• the seven also: (Greek: hoi hepta kai) Refers collectively to all the brothers (including the first and second mentioned previously, though the structure emphasizes the continuation after the third). The "also" (kai) underlines that every single one met the same fate. This numerical emphasis contributes to the Sadducees' perceived unresolvable problem.
• and they left no children: (Greek: kai ouk aphēkan tekna)
  • left no: (Greek: ouk aphēkan) Composed of ouk (negative particle, "not") and aphēkan (from aphiēmi, "to leave behind"). This crucial detail emphasizes the consistent failure to fulfill the primary purpose of the levirate law, which was to raise an heir for the deceased brother.
  • children: (Greek: tekna) Meaning "offspring" or "descendants." The absence of children for all seven brothers directly creates the perceived difficulty of "whose wife" the woman would be in the resurrection, as the levirate purpose for marriage remained unfulfilled.
• and died: (Greek: kai apethanon) From apothnēskō, meaning "to die." This phrase completes the unfortunate cycle for each brother, sequentially removing all seven, and creating a scenario with numerous deceased husbands for one woman, prior to her own death.
• Last of all: (Greek: hysterōn de pantōn) A temporal phrase signifying "after all these things," "finally," or "last of them all." It marks the culmination of the scenario, indicating that all the preceding events concerning the brothers have occurred before the woman's ultimate fate.
• the woman died also: (Greek: apethanen kai hē gynē) This statement confirms the woman's own mortality and demise, closing the narrative of the Sadducees' setup. The "also" (kai) draws her into the chain of deaths, ensuring she, too, would be part of the "resurrection" if it were true.

Luke 20 31 Bonus section

• The Sadducees' specific phrasing in Luke 20:31 emphasizes their logical (to them) extension of levirate law into the afterlife, failing to grasp that God's power and the nature of eternity transcend temporal laws.
• The chosen scenario—seven brothers, all dying childless—was intended to make belief in resurrection seem maximally convoluted and absurd. The more husbands a woman had, the more complicated the "problem" seemed under their earthly presuppositions.
• This account not only refutes the Sadducees' false understanding of the resurrection but also subtly teaches about the limitations of interpreting spiritual realities through purely material or earthly frameworks.
• The interaction demonstrates Jesus' authority to correctly interpret even the Mosaic Law, going beyond the literal interpretation favored by the Sadducees to reveal its spiritual implications and limitations within the scope of God's broader plan for salvation and eternity.

Luke 20 31 Commentary

Luke 20:31 forms the crux of the Sadducees' challenge to Jesus regarding the resurrection. This verse describes the continuation and culmination of their fictional scenario, wherein seven brothers, in succession, marry the same childless widow, with each brother similarly dying without siring an heir for the deceased. The deliberate repetition of "they left no children, and died" is critical, as it underscores the complete failure to achieve the very purpose of levirate marriage according to Deuteronomic law (to raise up a child for the deceased's name). For the Sadducees, this multi-layered predicament, seemingly designed to exhaust all possibilities, presented a theological absurdum. They reasoned that if there truly were a resurrection, an earthly institution like marriage would continue, leading to an intractable problem of marital possession in the afterlife. Their argument reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the resurrection, as they project temporal, procreative functions onto an eternal, spiritual existence. Jesus' subsequent response dismantles their premise not by solving the earthly puzzle within their terms, but by correcting their faulty theology: resurrected life is radically different, characterized by an angelic-like, non-procreative state, where earthly marriages are no longer relevant. This short verse efficiently builds the 'problem' for Jesus to brilliantly transcend.