Luke 20:31
“The third took her, and likewise the seven all left no children, and died.”
What does Luke 20:31 mean?
This verse is part of a question the Sadducees posed to Jesus about resurrection. They're describing a scenario where a woman married seven brothers in succession (as Jewish law required if a husband died childless), and each brother died without having children with her. The point of their setup is to create a puzzle: whose wife would she be in the afterlife? The detail about no children matters because it shows this situation was unusual and unfortunate. In that culture, having children was deeply important, both for family continuity and security in old age. By mentioning repeatedly that none of the brothers had children, the Sadducees are emphasizing how strange and complicated this case is, which makes their riddle seem even more impossible to answer.