1 Corinthians 15:35
But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
Original Language Analysis
ἀλλ'
But
G235
ἀλλ'
But
Strong's:
G235
Word #:
1 of 11
properly, other things, i.e., (adverbially) contrariwise (in many relations)
ἐρεῖ
man will say
G2046
ἐρεῖ
man will say
Strong's:
G2046
Word #:
2 of 11
an alternate for g2036 in certain tenses; to utter, i.e., speak or say
Πῶς
How
G4459
Πῶς
How
Strong's:
G4459
Word #:
4 of 11
an interrogative particle of manner; in what way? (sometimes the question is indirect, how?); also as exclamation, how much!
ἐγείρονται
are
G1453
ἐγείρονται
are
Strong's:
G1453
Word #:
5 of 11
to waken (transitively or intransitively), i.e., rouse (literally, from sleep, from sitting or lying, from disease, from death; or figuratively, from
οἱ
G3588
οἱ
Strong's:
G3588
Word #:
6 of 11
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in english idiom)
ποίῳ
with what
G4169
ποίῳ
with what
Strong's:
G4169
Word #:
8 of 11
individualizing interrogative (of character) what sort of, or (of number) which one
Historical Context
Greek intellectual culture mocked bodily resurrection (Acts 17:32). Plato taught the body is the soul's prison; release from embodiment was salvation. Platonism's influence on Corinthian believers created this objection. They couldn't conceive how decayed corpses could be reconstituted. Paul doesn't mock the question but addresses it seriously with theological and analogical reasoning.
Questions for Reflection
- Why does Greek philosophical dualism find bodily resurrection repugnant—what does this reveal about biblical vs. Greek anthropology?
- How do modern objections to resurrection (scientific naturalism) parallel ancient Greek objections?
- What does the 'what body' question indicate about concerns over identity and continuity?
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Analysis & Commentary
But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? (Ἀλλὰ ἐρεῖ τις, Πῶς ἐγείρονται οἱ νεκροί;)—Paul anticipates the skeptic's objection: resurrection is mechanistically impossible. The verb egeirontai (ἐγείρονται, "are raised") uses passive voice—God raises the dead; they don't self-resurrect. The question pōs (πῶς, "how") demands mechanism, process, explanation.
And with what body do they come? (ποίῳ δὲ σώματι ἔρχονται;)—The second question addresses identity and continuity. If the body decays, decomposes, is eaten by animals or burns to ash, how can it be reconstituted? What about amputees? The obese and emaciated? Greek philosophy found bodily resurrection absurd—souls yes, bodies no. Paul will answer with agricultural analogy (vv. 36-49) demonstrating continuity-in-transformation.