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The reference in 1 Corinthians 15 to baptism for the dead is difficult to interpret, but Paul's reasoning is similar to 2 Maccabees 12, where Judas Maccabeus takes an offering for fallen soldiers and says it only makes sense given their resurrection.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
2 Maccabees 12:44
Deuterocanon
41 All therefore, blessing the ways of the Lord, the righteous Judge, who makes manifest the things that are hidden, 42 turned themselves to supplication, praying that the sin committed might be wholly blotted out. The noble Judas exhorted the multitude to keep themselves from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. 43 When he had made a collection man by man to the sum of two thousand drachmas of silver, he sent to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice for sin, doing very well and honorably in this, in that he took thought for the resurrection. 44 For if he wasn’t expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would be superfluous and idle to pray for the dead. 45 But if he was looking forward to an honorable memorial of gratitude laid up for those who die in godliness, then the thought was holy and godly. Therefore he made the atoning sacrifice for those who had died, that they might be released from their sin.
Date: 160–63 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
1 Corinthians 15:29
New Testament
21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. 22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; then when Christ comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he has brought to an end all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be eliminated is death. 27 For he has put everything in subjection under his feet. But when it says “everything” has been put in subjection, it is clear that this does not include the one who put everything in subjection to him. 28 And when all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all. 29 Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, then why are they baptized for them? 30 Why too are we in danger every hour?
Date: 55–57 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... No early source directly links this final purification of the deceased with the resurrection. Yet, because belief in the resurrection became increasingly wide-spread among Jews in the Second Temple, one may reasonably suppose that acts honoring the dead, including purifying them for burial, were understood to be related to resurrection. That would certainly agree with the Maccabean literature then in circulation that highlighted Jewish hero Judah Maccabee's belief in the resurrection, and his actions to ensure the atonement of dead companions (2 Maccabees 12:43–45) ... Jews of the Second Temple certainly did perform a purification washing for the benefit of their deceased. There is good reason to suppose that many Jews associated the practice with the resurrection, and this conforms well with Paul's remark in 1 Cor. 15:29. Conversely, the Greek denial of resurrection seems to preclude Paul's remark from any association with Greek funerary washings ..."
Hanoch Ben Keshet, “1 Cor. 15:29 and Taharat Hamet: Purification of the Dead as Proof of Resurrection?” Kesher, A Journal of Messianic Judaism (2015): 1–19.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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