1 Corinthians 15:36
Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
Original Language Analysis
Ἄφρον
Thou fool
G878
Ἄφρον
Thou fool
Strong's:
G878
Word #:
1 of 9
properly, mindless, i.e., stupid, (by implication) ignorant, (specially) egotistic, (practically) rash, or (morally) unbelieving
ὃ
that which
G3739
ὃ
that which
Strong's:
G3739
Word #:
3 of 9
the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, that
ἐὰν
G1437
ἐὰν
Strong's:
G1437
Word #:
7 of 9
a conditional particle; in case that, provided, etc.; often used in connection with other particles to denote indefiniteness or uncertainty
Historical Context
Ancient agricultural societies intimately understood seed-death-harvest cycle. Paul uses common experience to explain mystery. Jesus used similar seed imagery (John 12:24: 'unless a grain of wheat falls into earth and dies, it remains alone'). The natural world testifies to resurrection logic: death-to-life transformation.
Questions for Reflection
- How does the seed analogy answer both continuity (same identity) and transformation (new form)?
- What does it mean that resurrection involves death—why is death necessary for resurrection life?
- How does observing natural cycles prepare us to accept supernatural resurrection?
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Analysis & Commentary
Thou fool (ἄφρον)—The word aphrōn (ἄφρων, "senseless, foolish") is harsh but not cruel. In Hebrew wisdom literature, the fool is morally and intellectually deficient, refusing God's truth (Psalm 14:1). Paul's rebuke targets willful blindness to observable natural analogies that answer the objection.
That which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die (σὺ ὃ σπείρεις, οὐ ζωοποιεῖται ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ)—Paul introduces agricultural metaphor. The verb zōopoieō (ζωοποιέω, "make alive, give life") appears throughout this chapter. A seed must apothanē (ἀποθάνῃ, "die")—lose its original form, decompose in soil—before germination. Death precedes life. Resurrection is not resuscitation (returning to old form) but transformation (new form arising from old). The seed analogy demonstrates continuity (same plant) and discontinuity (radically transformed) simultaneously.