Tobit 3:8

Deuterocanon

7 On the same day, at Ecbatana in Media, it also happened that Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, was reproached by one of her father's maids. 8 For she had been married to seven husbands, and the wicked demon Asmodeus had killed each of them before they had been with her as is customary for wives. So the maid said to her, "You are the one who kills your husbands! See, you have already been married to seven husbands and have not borne the name of a single one of them. 9 Why do you beat us? Because your husbands are dead? Go with them! May we never see a son or daughter of yours!" 10 On that day she was grieved in spirit and wept. When she had gone up to her father's upper room, she intended to hang herself. But she thought it over and said, "Never shall they reproach my father, saying to him, "You had only one beloved daughter but she hanged herself because of her distress.' And I shall bring my father in his old age down in sorrow to Hades. It is better for me not to hang myself, but to pray the Lord that I may die and not listen to these reproaches anymore."

Mark 12:20

New Testament

18 Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) also came to him and asked him, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man must marry the widow and father children for his brother.’ 20 There were seven brothers. The first one married, and when he died he had no children. 21 The second married her and died without any children, and likewise the third. 22 None of the seven had children. Finally, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you deceived for this reason because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

 Notes and References

"... to sum up so far, the concern of the Sadducees' case study for brothers and Levirate marriage is exactly the same concern as that of the book of Tobit. In fact, since the loss of the seven 'brothers' in the context of Levirate practice is central to Tobit's story, an allusion to them would be an ideal way to evoke the entire message of the book. Is this what the Sadducees were doing? ... It has become clear, then; that the stories of the seven brothers in the book of Tobit and the Sadducees' case study are much closer than at first sight. The suggestion of Pesch and Lane has been fruitfully pursued to a conclusion: the Sadducees are quite probably primarily referring to the book of Tobit ..."

Bolt, Peter G. What Were the Sadducees Reading? An Enquiry into the Literary Background of Mark 12:18-23 (pp. 369-394) Tyndale Bulletin, 1994

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