In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.

MARK 12:23KJV
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Mark 12:23 (KJV)

What does Mark 12:23 mean?

Mark 12:23 describes a question posed to Jesus about whose wife a woman will be in the resurrection, since seven brothers had all been married to her during their lifetimes. The question is meant to challenge the idea of resurrection by raising a complicated scenario about marriage after death.

In this scene, the Sadducees—who do not believe in resurrection—are speaking to Jesus in the temple. They present a hypothetical situation based on the law of levirate marriage, where a woman marries seven brothers in succession after each one dies. Their question is designed to test or trap Jesus, highlighting what they see as a logical problem with belief in resurrection.

The Greek behind Mark 12:23

  • ἀνάστασις (anastasis) — "resurrection": This word refers to the rising of the dead, a key point of debate between the Sadducees and other Jewish groups. The Sadducees' use of this term shows they are questioning the very idea of life after death.
  • γυνή (gynē) — "wife": The word for "wife" is repeated to emphasize the legal and relational issue at the heart of their question. It highlights the human concern about relationships continuing after resurrection.
  • ἔσονται (esontai) — "shall be": This verb points to the future state after resurrection, focusing the question on what happens after people rise from the dead.

Why Mark 12:23 matters

  • Mark 12:23 helps clarify the kind of questions and skepticism the Sadducees had about resurrection, showing how they tried to use the law to challenge Jesus.
  • The verse sets up Jesus’ response, which addresses misunderstandings about both resurrection and the nature of relationships in the life to come.
  • Understanding this verse in context helps readers see how debates about resurrection were central to Jewish thought at the time and how Jesus’ teaching differed from other groups.

Where else these words appear

“resurrection” Greek G386 · used in 40 verses

  • Matthew 22:23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
  • John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
  • Romans 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

“seven” Greek G2033 · used in 63 verses

  • Matthew 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
  • Luke 20:31 And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died.
  • Revelation 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

“rise” Greek G450 · used in 111 verses

  • Matthew 9:9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
  • Luke 11:8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
  • Acts 8:27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

“when” Greek G3752 · used in 118 verses

  • Matthew 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
  • Luke 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
  • John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.