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OET (OET-LV) Teacher, Mōsaʸs/(Mosheh) wrote to_us, that if A_brother of_anyone may_die_off, and may_leave a_wife and may_ not _leave children, that the brother of_him may_take the wife, and may_raise_up seed for_the brother of_him.
OET (OET-RV) “Teacher, Mosheh wrote that if a man’s married brother should die before his wife without having any children, then his brother should marry her to produce descendants in his brother’s name.
The Jewish leaders continued to challenge Jesus. In this section some Sadducees asked Jesus a question to try to show that the things he taught were wrong. Like the Pharisees, the Sadducees were a group of Jewish leaders with certain religious beliefs. Many of the Sadducees were priests. They did not believe that God would cause anyone who had died to live again.
Jesus believed and taught that God does cause people who have died to live again. The Sadducees tried to use this belief to trick Jesus in 12:18–27. They told a story to ridicule these beliefs that Jesus taught. The story was not true, but they used it to ask a question. They thought that if a person believed that people who died could live again, there was no sensible answer to the question.
The Sadducees based their story on the Jewish custom that is described in Deuteronomy 25:5–6. This Scripture teaches that if a woman did not have any children by her husband before he died, his brother was required to marry her. Their first child would have the name of his dead brother and would be his heir.This custom was called the levirate. Jewish people considered the first son that the widow bore after marrying the brother of her dead husband to be the son of her dead husband, not the son of the man who was now her husband. This meant that this son and his descendants would carry on the dead man’s family and family name through future generations. Any sons born after this to the woman and her living husband would carry on the name of the living husband for future generations. In that way, the dead man’s family and family name could continue through future generations. Since the Scripture taught this custom, the Sadducees believed that they could prove from Scripture that Jesus was wrong.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The question about the resurrection
The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection (ESV)
Do people rise from the dead?
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 22:23–33 and Luke 20:27–40.
In this paragraph the Sadducees explained a Jewish custom. Then they told a story and used it to ask Jesus a question about life after death. They hoped that the question would be too difficult for Jesus to answer. They planned to ridicule the idea of life after death.
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that
They said, “Teacher, there is a law that Moses gave to us(incl) in the Scriptures that
They said, “Sir Teacher, Moses wrote a/this law for us(incl) Jews. He said that
Teacher: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Teacher was a polite title for a Jewish religious leader. It does not mean “school teacher.” See how you translated this word in 4:38c and 12:14a.
Moses wrote for us that: This phrase introduces a specific law that God gave the Jews. Moses wrote this law for them in Deuteronomy 25:5–10. The word us here includes Jesus, because he also was a Jew.
In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit that what Moses wrote was a law. It may also be necessary to clarify that the phrase for us refers to the Jews in general. It does not refer only to the Sadducees of Jesus’ time. Here is one way to clarify these things:
Our(incl) law that Moses wrote says
Moses wrote this law for us Jews:
Moses: Moses was one of the greatest leaders of the Jews. He lived long before Jesus was born. He wrote God’s laws for the Jews. That is why the first five books of the Old Testament are often called “the Law of Moses.”
if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children,
if a man’s married brother dies without having any children,
this is what a man must do for his married brother who dies before fathering a child.
if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children: This clause describes a situation that might happen. A married man might die without having any children. Moses wrote a law that would apply to the wife and the man’s brother in this situation.
the man is to marry his brother’s widow
that man must marry the widow
He must marry the widow
the man is to marry his brother’s widow: The phrase the man here refers to a man whose brother died. The passage in Deuteronomy does not indicate whether one brother was older or younger than the other. If there were several brothers and one died, it is reasonable to assume that the oldest of the remaining brothers should marry the widow. But this is not clear in Moses’ writings.
his brother’s widow: A widow is a woman whose husband has died. If she remarries, she is no longer a widow.
and raise up offspring for him.
and have a son/descendant who will preserve that dead brother’s name.
and have a child who will be considered the dead man’s child.
and father an heir for his dead brother.
and raise up offspring for him: The Greek word that the BSB translates as offspring is literally “seed.” Here it refers to a son and his descendants. When the brother and the widow had their first son, that son would inherit the dead brother’s name and land. In this way the dead brother would also have descendants and his family could continue.
You may want to make explicit in your translation that only the first child would be considered the child of the dead brother. For example:
Their first son would then be thought of as the son of the dead brother. (CEV)If the living brother had other children by his brother’s widow, those children would be considered as children of the living brother.
It may be helpful in your translation to have a footnote to briefly explain this custom. For example:
In ancient Israel there was a custom that if a man married and then died childless, one of his brothers should marry his widow. The first son that the widow bore in her new marriage would be considered the son of her dead husband. This son would act as the heir to the name and property of the first husband. The details of this custom are in Deuteronomy 25:5–10.
for him: The pronoun him refers to the dead brother. Here are some other ways to translate the phrase for him:
who will carry on the brother’s name (NLT)
who will be considered the dead man’s child
who will be his brother’s heir
Note 1 topic: writing-quotations
Μωϋσῆς ἔγραψεν ἡμῖν
Moses wrote ˱to˲_us
Here, the Sadducees introduce a summary of a section of an important text, in this case, the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy (see [Deuteronomy 25:5–6](../deu/25/05.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase that indicates that the Sadducees are summarizing an important text. Alternate translation: [Moses wrote to us in the book of Deuteronomy] or [Moses declared to us in the Law]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations
ἔγραψεν ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἐάν τινος ἀδελφὸς ἀποθάνῃ, καὶ καταλίπῃ γυναῖκα καὶ μὴ ἀφῇ τέκνον, ἵνα λάβῃ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα, καὶ ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ
wrote ˱to˲_us ¬that if (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διδάσκαλε Μωϋσῆς ἔγραψεν ἡμῖν ὅτι ἐάν τινός Ἀδελφός ἀποθάνῃ καί καταλίπῃ γυναῖκα καί μή ἀφῇ τέκνα ἵνα λάβῃ ὁ ἀδελφός αὐτοῦ τήν γυναῖκα καί ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ)
It may be more natural in your language to have a direct quotation here. Alternate translation: [wrote to us, ‘If someone’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife but does not leave a child, his brother should take the wife and raise up seed for his brother.’]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive
ἔγραψεν ἡμῖν
wrote ˱to˲_us
Here, the word us would be inclusive, if your language marks that distinction. The Sadducees mean “us Jews,” and they are speaking to Jesus, who is also a Jew.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / hypo
ὅτι ἐάν τινος ἀδελφὸς ἀποθάνῃ, καὶ καταλίπῃ γυναῖκα καὶ μὴ ἀφῇ τέκνον, ἵνα λάβῃ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ
¬that if (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διδάσκαλε Μωϋσῆς ἔγραψεν ἡμῖν ὅτι ἐάν τινός Ἀδελφός ἀποθάνῃ καί καταλίπῃ γυναῖκα καί μή ἀφῇ τέκνα ἵνα λάβῃ ὁ ἀδελφός αὐτοῦ τήν γυναῖκα καί ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ)
Here Moses uses an imaginary situation to show what should happen when that kind of situation actually happens. Use a natural method in your language for introducing an imaginary situation. Alternate translation: [to suppose that someone’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife but does not leave a child. In that situation, his brother should take]
τινος ἀδελφὸς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διδάσκαλε Μωϋσῆς ἔγραψεν ἡμῖν ὅτι ἐάν τινός Ἀδελφός ἀποθάνῃ καί καταλίπῃ γυναῖκα καί μή ἀφῇ τέκνα ἵνα λάβῃ ὁ ἀδελφός αὐτοῦ τήν γυναῖκα καί ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ)
Alternate translation: [someone with a brother]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἵνα λάβῃ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα, καὶ ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ
that ˓may˒_take the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διδάσκαλε Μωϋσῆς ἔγραψεν ἡμῖν ὅτι ἐάν τινός Ἀδελφός ἀποθάνῃ καί καταλίπῃ γυναῖκα καί μή ἀφῇ τέκνα ἵνα λάβῃ ὁ ἀδελφός αὐτοῦ τήν γυναῖκα καί ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ)
Here Moses required that, when a man’s brother died without having any children even though he was married, the man had to marry his brother’s widow. The first child that they had would be considered offspring of the man’s deceased brother. That way, the deceased brother’s family line could continue. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit in your translation, or you could include some of this information in a footnote. Alternate translation: [his brother should marry the widow and raise up seed with her. The first child will continue the dead man’s family line]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἵνα λάβῃ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα
that ˓may˒_take the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διδάσκαλε Μωϋσῆς ἔγραψεν ἡμῖν ὅτι ἐάν τινός Ἀδελφός ἀποθάνῃ καί καταλίπῃ γυναῖκα καί μή ἀφῇ τέκνα ἵνα λάβῃ ὁ ἀδελφός αὐτοῦ τήν γυναῖκα καί ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ)
Here, the phrase take the wife means that the man should marry his brother’s widow. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [that man should marry his brother’s widow] or [he should marry his dead brother’s wife]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἐξαναστήσῃ σπέρμα
˓may˒_raise_up seed
Here, the author of the quotation is speaking of having a child as if it were raising up seed. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [produce offspring]
12:19 The Sadducees based their views only on the books of Moses.
• Like the Pharisees (12:14), they addressed Jesus as Teacher. The Sadducees were fond of debating with religious teachers (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.1.4).
OET (OET-LV) Teacher, Mōsaʸs/(Mosheh) wrote to_us, that if A_brother of_anyone may_die_off, and may_leave a_wife and may_ not _leave children, that the brother of_him may_take the wife, and may_raise_up seed for_the brother of_him.
OET (OET-RV) “Teacher, Mosheh wrote that if a man’s married brother should die before his wife without having any children, then his brother should marry her to produce descendants in his brother’s name.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.