Matthew 22 24

Matthew 22:24 kjv

Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

Matthew 22:24 nkjv

saying: "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

Matthew 22:24 niv

"Teacher," they said, "Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.

Matthew 22:24 esv

saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.'

Matthew 22:24 nlt

"Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother's name.'

Matthew 22 verses

Matthew 22 24 Meaning

Matthew 22:24 records the Sadducees' opening statement to Jesus, citing Moses' law concerning Levirate marriage. They present the divine command from the Law: if a man dies without children, his brother is obligated to marry the widow and produce offspring to continue the deceased brother's lineage. This verse sets the stage for their detailed, complex hypothetical question intended to expose what they saw as the absurdity of resurrection, a doctrine they rejected.

Matthew 22 24 Context

Matthew 22:24 is part of a series of confrontations between Jesus and various Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem during the final week before His crucifixion. Following Jesus' powerful parables and parrying the Pharisees' question about tribute, the Sadducees step forward. Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees were a prominent priestly and aristocratic party who held political power, primarily recognizing only the Torah (the first five books of Moses) as authoritative Scripture, rejecting many Pharisaic traditions and, crucially, disbelieving in the resurrection of the dead, angels, or an afterlife. Their challenge in Matthew 22:23-33, initiated by this verse, is a deliberate attempt to present a dilemma from Moses' own Law that, they believed, would prove the concept of resurrection absurd. By quoting the Levirate marriage law (Deut 25:5-10), which commands a man to marry his childless deceased brother's widow to raise up an heir for the deceased, they sought to corner Jesus with a hypothetical scenario of a woman married to seven brothers in succession, all dying childless, thereby making the question of "whose wife will she be in the resurrection?" seem illogical.

Matthew 22 24 Word analysis

• "Teacher" (Διδάσκαλε, Didaskale): This Greek term for "teacher" or "master" is a respectful form of address. While it often acknowledged Jesus' authority, here, it's used by the Sadducees in a perfunctory manner to cloak their deceptive intent. They are setting a trap, not genuinely seeking instruction.
• "Moses" (Μωϋσῆς, Mōysēs): For the Sadducees, Moses represented the highest scriptural authority, as they considered only the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses) to be divine revelation. Their argument is framed around what "Moses said" to appeal to universally accepted Jewish law.
• "said" (εἶπεν, eipen): Indicates a direct quotation from a revered authority. It signifies that the Sadducees' premise for their question is firmly rooted in the Law.
• "If a man dies" (ἐάν τις ἀποθάνῃ, ean tis apothanē): This clause establishes the specific prerequisite condition for the Levirate law to come into effect—the death of the brother. It highlights the focus on mortality and lineage within the Sadducees' worldview.
• "having no children" (μὴ ἔχων τέκνα, mē echōn tekna): This is a critical qualifying condition of the Levirate law. The purpose was to ensure the continuation of the deceased man's name and inheritance, particularly a male heir. "Children" (τέκνα, tekna) typically implies male offspring for inheritance in this context.
• "his brother" (ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ, ho adelphos autou): Designates the specific individual bound by this legal obligation. This highlights the familial responsibility embedded in the Mosaic Law.
• "must marry" (ἐπιγαμβρεύσει, epigambreusei): This Greek verb specifically means "to perform the duty of a levir" (brother-in-law) by marrying the widow. It conveys a strong obligation, a legal and moral imperative rather than a mere option. It is tied directly to the Mosaic command, underlining the weight of the Sadducees' reference.
• "the widow" (τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, tēn gynaika autou - literally "his wife" but contextually referring to the deceased brother's "widow"): The specific subject of the marital duty. Her vulnerability and need for a legal heir and protection were a driving force behind the Levirate law.
• "and raise up offspring" (καὶ ἀναστήσει σπέρμα, kai anastēsei sperma): This phrase describes the fundamental purpose and outcome of the Levirate marriage. "Offspring" (σπέρμα, sperma) literally means "seed," referring to the progeny. The verb "raise up" (ἀναστήσει, anastēsei) is significant as it carries the same root as "resurrection" (ἀνάστασις, anastasis), creating an ironic linguistic connection to the very concept the Sadducees denied, yet here they use a related term to describe raising up physical descendants. The purpose was to continue the deceased brother's name and ensure his property line did not die out.
• "for his brother" (τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ, tō adelphō autou): This final part of the phrase clarifies the ultimate beneficiary and intent of the Levirate offspring—they are legally attributed to the deceased brother, ensuring his lineage continues posthumously. This legal fiction underlines the Law's emphasis on family and legacy.

• "Teacher, Moses said": This opening phrase signals a solemn and authoritative appeal. The Sadducees frame their argument by invoking the ultimate source of their accepted Law, challenging Jesus to reconcile His teachings with what they present as an undeniable command from Moses himself.
• "'If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow'": This specific quotation precisely outlines the conditions and the binding duty of the Levirate law (Deut 25:5). This foundation is crucial to the Sadducees' trap, as they will build their hypothetical scenario upon these precise requirements, expecting it to lead to a logical contradiction if the resurrection were true.
• "and raise up offspring for his brother'": This defines the explicit divine purpose behind the command of Levirate marriage. The progeny resulting from such a union were legally considered to be the deceased's descendants, not the living brother's, thus preserving the name and inheritance of the one who had died childless. The Sadducees implicitly highlight this purpose to underscore their point about continuity and identity, aiming to show its supposed incongruity with a resurrected state.

Matthew 22 24 Bonus section

The specific legal scenario described in this verse (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) was also known as Yibbum in Hebrew, highlighting its established place within Jewish legal tradition. The purpose extended beyond mere continuity of a name; it also served to preserve a man's tribal land inheritance and to provide social and economic security for the childless widow within the family structure. The Sadducees' meticulous quotation of the law indicated their legalistic approach, yet their selective embrace of Scripture and their rationalistic worldview led them to misunderstand God's transcendence and the glorious transformation awaiting those in the resurrection. They could not conceive of a heavenly reality where human relationships, particularly marital ones, might exist in a perfected or transformed state that transcends earthly constructs, thereby attempting to constrain divine possibilities within their finite human understanding.

Matthew 22 24 Commentary

Matthew 22:24 serves as the precise legal citation by which the Sadducees initiate their frontal assault on Jesus and the concept of resurrection. By directly quoting the Levirate marriage law from Deuteronomy 25:5, they establish their argument on what they consider undeniable divine command—the Pentateuch being their sole recognized Scripture. The Sadducees, staunch in their disbelief of any afterlife, an immortal soul, or spiritual entities like angels, used this law not to affirm its principle but to construct a meticulously crafted hypothetical situation. Their goal was to create an absurd scenario involving multiple brothers, a single wife, and their respective deaths, to demonstrate what they perceived as the logical inconsistencies and practical impossibility of a resurrected state, especially regarding marital relationships. They were effectively trying to box Jesus into a corner: either deny the clear Mosaic law, or affirm it and face a seemingly unsolvable marital conundrum in the resurrection. However, their reliance solely on this single legal principle from Moses, divorced from God's broader redemptive plan and His power, fundamentally misrepresented both the true nature of God and the glory of the resurrection state.