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Luke 24 describes two men in bright, shining clothing at the empty tomb, using language similar to 2 Maccabees where two similarly dressed figures appear. Both reflect Jewish traditions that describe angelic figures.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
2 Maccabees 3:26
Deuterocanon
24 But when he was already present there with his guards near the treasury, the Sovereign of spirits and of all authority caused a great manifestation, so that all who had presumed to come with him, stricken with dismay at the power of God, fainted in terror. 25 For they saw a horse with a frightening rider, adorned with beautiful trappings, and he rushed fiercely and struck at Heliodorus with his forefeet. It seemed like he who sat on the horse had complete armor of gold. 26 Two others also appeared to him, young men notable in their strength, and beautiful in their glory, and splendid in their apparel, who stood by him on either side, and scourged him unceasingly, inflicting on him many severe stripes. 27 When he had fallen suddenly to the ground, and great darkness had come over him, his guards picked him up and put him on a stretcher, 28 and carried him—this man who had just now entered with a great retinue and all his guard into that treasury, himself now brought to utter helplessness, manifestly made to recognize the sovereignty of God.
Date: 160–63 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Luke 24:4
New Testament
1 Now on the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women went to the tomb, taking the aromatic spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood beside them in dazzling attire. 5 The women were terribly frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has been raised! Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”
Date: 75–85 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... It is strange and even anachronistic to argue that Jesus or his apostles endorsed any biblical canon. In what follows, I will use the terms “canonical” and “noncanonical” to identify literature that did and did not eventually find a place in the current Hebrew Bible or Protestant Old Testament, but I am fully aware that these are anachronistic designations later imposed on the ancient religious texts that informed early Christianity. Such designations admittedly are imposed back on the religious writings that had no such designations in the time of Jesus. I use them in what follows for the sake of identifying the literature that now comprises the church’s Bible and the literature that was not later accepted as canonical literature in the churches. ... The following examples show other parallels in word and thought ... (2 Maccabees 3:26 with Luke 24:4; Tobit 12:15 with Luke 1:19; Tobit 14:5 with Mark 1:15 and Luke 21:14; Sirach 9:8 with Matthew 5:28; Sirach 10:14 with Luke 1:52; Sirach 11:19 with Luke 12:19-20 ...) ..."
Lee Martin McDonald, Before There Was a Bible: Authorities in Early Christianity (London: T&T Clark, 2023), 71–72.
* 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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