Mark 12:20 Meaning and Explanation
“Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The scenario begins: there were seven brothers; the first married, died, and left no children.
What Does Mark 12:20 Mean?
The Sadducees spin their hypothetical with lawyerly precision. The first brother marries and dies childless; under the levirate law his widow passes to the next brother. The number seven promises that the puzzle will run to absurd lengths.
The story is fiction crafted to embarrass faith. There is a kind of cleverness that builds elaborate scenarios in order to escape a plain hope, and it usually reveals more about the builder than about the truth. Yet the grief inside the hypothetical is real to many: a marriage cut short, no child to carry it forward. Jesus will answer the scoffers, but his answer will also speak comfort over every such loss.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mark 12:20
What does Mark 12:20 mean?
The scenario begins: there were seven brothers; the first married, died, and left no children.