Luke 20:30 (KJV)

What does Luke 20:30 mean?

Luke 20:30 describes how the second brother in a family married the same woman after the first brother died, but he also died without having any children. This verse is part of a story being told to illustrate a point about marriage and resurrection.

In this scene, Jesus is responding to a question from the Sadducees, a group of Jewish leaders who did not believe in resurrection. They present a scenario based on the custom of levirate marriage, where a man would marry his brother’s widow if the brother died childless. The verse shows the second brother’s attempt to fulfill this duty, but he too dies without leaving children, setting up the rest of the story.

The Greek behind Luke 20:30

• "childless" (ἄτεκνος, áteknos): This word means "without children" or "childless." Its use here emphasizes that the second brother, like the first, did not produce an heir, which is central to the Sadducees’ scenario about family duty and inheritance.
• "took" (ἔλαβεν, elaben): This verb means "took" or "received," and in this context, it refers to taking the woman as a wife according to the levirate marriage custom. It highlights the legal and familial responsibility being described.

Why Luke 20:30 matters

• Luke 20:30 clarifies the Sadducees’ story by showing that the levirate marriage was not fulfilled by the second brother either, which builds the tension in their question about resurrection.
• The verse helps the reader understand the cultural background of levirate marriage and why the issue of dying childless was significant in Jewish law and family life.
• This detail sets up the Sadducees’ challenge to Jesus about what happens in the resurrection, making the following verses more understandable.