12:26a

See the General Comment on 12:26a–d in 12:26d for a suggestion about how to reorder these parts of the verse.

But concerning the dead rising: The phrase But concerning the dead rising introduces the second part of what Jesus said to the Sadducees. The Berean Standard Bible indicates this by using the word But and a comma after the word rising. Here Jesus began to prove from the Scriptures that God causes dead people to live again.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

As for the resurrection of the dead (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Now I will talk about whether dead people will live again

the dead rising: The phrase the dead rising refers to dead people living again after they die. In some languages it may be necessary to say who will cause the dead to live again. If that is true in your language, you should say “God.” For example:

God raising people who have died
-or-
God causing people who have died to live again

12:26b

have you not read about the burning bush in the Book of Moses…?: This clause is the beginning of a rhetorical question. Jesus used this clause in two ways:

(a) to rebuke the Sadducees because they should have understood that God raises dead people to life. Jesus knew that the Sadducees had read this story, but their actions showed that they did not understand what it implied.

(b) to remind them about what God said to Moses at the burning bush.

There are at least two ways to translate this clause:

• As a rhetorical question, as in the Berean Standard Bible.

• As a statement. For example:

You speak as if you have never read in the book of Moses…

Use whichever form is most natural to express this passage in your language.

about the burning bush: The phrase the burning bush refers to the story in Exodus 3:6 about the bush that was on fire but did not burn up. Here are some other ways to translate this:

in the passage about the bush (God’s Word)
-or-
what is written about the burning bush

bush: The word bush here refers to a shrub, a plant smaller than a tree. The word refers here to only one plant. It does not refer a large area of uninhabited land.

the Book of Moses: The Book of Moses refers to the writings of Moses in the Old Testament. Jesus was referring specifically to the story in Exodus chapter 3.

12:26c

how God told him: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as how God said to him introduce what God told Moses in the Scripture passage concerning the burning bush. The word how does not indicate the way God spoke to Moses.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

where God said… (God’s Word)
-or-
it says that God told Moses… (New Century Version)
-or-
There it is written that God said to Moses… (Good News Bible)

12:26d

I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob: In this verse God identified himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These three men had died long before Moses was born. But when God spoke to Moses, he indicated that he was still their God. This implied that he still related to them and that they still existed. (In Hebrew thinking, God was the God of the whole person, both body and spirit. (Hendriksen pages 487–488). A person’s spirit belongs to God even after the person’s body has died. That implies a promise that God would some day raise that person’s body and cause it to live again.)

In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example:

Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died on earth, God told Moses, I am the God of your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (based on the TRT)

the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob: In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit in what sense God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is one who cares for them as their God, the God whom they worship and serve. God is faithful to them as his people. For example:

I am the God whom Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worship.
-or-
I am the God who cares for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
-or-
I am the God who is acknowledged by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Notice that the verbs in the examples above use present tense. This rightly implies that God was still caring for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that they were still worshiping him. Use an appropriate form in your language to indicate this. If you have translated the books of Exodus and Acts, consider how you translated this phrase in Exodus 3:6 and Acts 3:13.

General Comment on 12:26c–d

In some languages it may be natural to translate God’s words to Moses as indirect speech. For example:

In the passage where God speaks to Moses from the burning bush, God says that he is still the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

General Comment on 12:26a–d

In some languages it may be helpful to change the order of some information in this verse. For example, the verse below begins with a general statement. It says that what Moses wrote showed that dead people rise again. Then the verse gives the details of how what Moses wrote showed this. For example:

26bBut in the book that Moses wrote, he spoke of 26a dead people living again. 26cIn the passage about the burning bush, he quoted God. God said, 26d“I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

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