The Meaning of Luke 20:28 Explained

Luke 20:28

KJV: Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

YLT: saying, 'Teacher, Moses wrote to us, If any one's brother may die, having a wife, and he may die childless -- that his brother may take the wife, and may raise up seed to his brother.

Darby: demanded of him saying, Teacher, Moses wrote to us, If any one's brother, who has a wife, die, and he die childless, his brother shall take the wife and raise up seed to his brother.

ASV: and they asked him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that if a man's brother die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Saying,  Master,  Moses  wrote  unto us,  If  any man's  brother  die,  having  a wife,  and  he  die  without children,  that  his  brother  should take  his wife,  and  raise up  seed  unto his  brother. 

What does Luke 20:28 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Sadducees" commitment to the Old Testament was evident in their approach to Jesus. They began by quoting Deuteronomy 25:5 (cf. Genesis 38:8). The practice in question was levirate marriage. [1]

Context Summary

Luke 20:27-40 - The God Of The Living
Here our Lord answers the materialism of His time. He speaks with the note of absolute certainty concerning the unseen, Hebrews 11:27. Its inhabitants do not die or marry, nor are they subject to the conditions of our earthly life. These are the children of the resurrection. What an inspiring title! May it be applied to us as in Colossians 3:1-4? Too many are "the sons of this age," Luke 20:34, r.v., margin! They adopt this transient earth as their foster parent! We cannot belong to both, though some, like Bunyan's waterman, row in one direction, while they look in another.
How wonderful to find a proof of immortality in that passage about the bush, Exodus 3:6! The fact that Jehovah said, "I am the God of Abraham," proved that the patriarch was in existence somewhere at that moment. Those whom we describe as dead are living people who have died. Death is but a passage, a step. There is no break in the chain of existence. Yonder and here all live unto God, Romans 14:8. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 20

1  Jesus confirms his authority by a question of John's baptism
9  The parable of the vineyard
19  Of giving tribute to Caesar
27  He instructs the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection
41  How Jesus is the Son of David
45  He warns his disciples to beware of the scribes

What do the individual words in Luke 20:28 mean?

saying Teacher Moses wrote to us if anyone’s brother should die having a wife and he childless is that should take the of him the wife should raise up seed to the brother
λέγοντες Διδάσκαλε Μωϋσῆς ἔγραψεν ἡμῖν ἐάν τινος ἀδελφὸς ἀποθάνῃ ἔχων γυναῖκα καὶ οὗτος ἄτεκνος ἵνα λάβῃ αὐτοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ

λέγοντες  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
Διδάσκαλε  Teacher 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root: διδάσκαλος  
Sense: a teacher. 2 in the NT one who teaches concerning the things of God, and the duties of man.
Μωϋσῆς  Moses 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Μωσεύς 
Sense: the legislator of the Jewish people and in a certain sense the founder of the Jewish religion.
ἔγραψεν  wrote 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γράφω 
Sense: to write, with reference to the form of the letters.
ἡμῖν  to  us 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 1st Person Plural
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
τινος  anyone’s 
Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: τὶς  
Sense: a certain, a certain one.
ἀδελφὸς  brother 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀδελφός  
Sense: a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother.
ἀποθάνῃ  should  die 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀποθνῄσκω  
Sense: to die.
γυναῖκα  a  wife 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: γυνή  
Sense: a woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow.
ἄτεκνος  childless 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἄτεκνος  
Sense: without offspring, childless.
ἵνα  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ἵνα  
Sense: that, in order that, so that.
λάβῃ  should  take 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λαμβάνω  
Sense: to take.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
γυναῖκα  wife 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: γυνή  
Sense: a woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow.
ἐξαναστήσῃ  should  raise  up 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐξανίστημι  
Sense: to make to rise up, to rise up, to produce.
σπέρμα  seed 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: σπέρμα  
Sense: from which a plant germinates.
τῷ  to  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἀδελφῷ  brother 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀδελφός  
Sense: a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother.