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During a sermon I heard the pastor saying that there are 12 resurrections in the Bible.

Are there more than 12, less or exactly 12 resurrections in the Bible?

At the moment I can remember the following ones:

  1. The resurrection of the son of Zarephath's widow
  2. The resurrection of the son of the great Shunammite woman
  3. The man that comes to live touching the Elisha's bones
  4. Lazarus's resurrection
  5. The Jesus's resurrection
  6. The people that came to life when Jesus died.

I am sure that there are other resurrections. Which are them?

Ionică Bizău
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2 Answers2

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  1. Elijah resurrected the son of a widow in Zarephath (1 Kings 17:7-24).
  2. Elisha resurrected the son of the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:8-35).
  3. A dead man came back to life when he touches Elisha's bones (2 Kings 13:21).
  4. Jesus resurrected the widow's son at Nain (Luke 7:11-15).
  5. Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus, a Synagogue leader from the dead (Matthew 9:18-25, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40-56).
  6. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43-44).
  7. Many saints were resurrected at the death of Jesus Christ (Matthew 27:50-53).
  8. The resurrection of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:5-7).
  9. Peter raised a female disciple named Tabitha from the dead at Joppa (Acts 9:36-42).
  10. Paul raised Eutychus from the dead at Troas (Acts 20:6-12).
  11. Paul was revived from a near death condition. There is some possibility that Paul was actually dead for a short time (Acts 14:19-20).
  12. Abraham received back his one and only son Isaac, who was to be sacrificed on the altar. It is possible that Isaac was already dead in the heart of his father, Abraham. There is a strong connection between this story and the death and resurrection of Jesus. (Genesis 22).
elixenide
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Mawia
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  • Nice answer. But can you proof that there are no other resurrections in the Bible? – Ionică Bizău Dec 29 '13 at 13:18
  • Let me know if there are others. – Mawia Dec 29 '13 at 13:19
  • That's my question. :-) – Ionică Bizău Dec 29 '13 at 13:20
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    I had to improvise the last two points just to complete the number 12. He He :P – Mawia Dec 29 '13 at 13:26
  • Yeah. :-) Ok, accepting the answer. If someone will find out others he can post another answer. :-) – Ionică Bizău Dec 29 '13 at 13:29
  • Perhaps the pastor was also including the future resurrection of the saints when Jesus returns? – Steven Doggart Dec 29 '13 at 14:05
  • @ mawai you forgot the dry bones of Ezekie4l chapter 37, and there are two resurrection in the Revelation. By my count there are 13. – BYE Dec 29 '13 at 14:05
  • @イオニカビザウ See my comment to Mawai. – BYE Dec 29 '13 at 14:06
  • @StevenDoggart I guess he was talking about the resurrections that are written as stories that happened in the past. – Ionică Bizău Dec 29 '13 at 14:33
  • @CecilBeckum Yes, that's another interesting story. – Ionică Bizău Dec 29 '13 at 14:34
  • @CecilBeckum Ezekiel and the dry bones sounds more like a vision, not what actually happened. – Mawia Dec 29 '13 at 15:02
  • @ Mawai Perhaps that is the reason the pastor said 12, but the question as I understood it asked about resurrections in the Bible , but had no qualifiers as to real or imagined. that is why I quoted it. – BYE Dec 29 '13 at 15:26
  • There could be more depending how we define resurrections. For instance, one may think of resurrection as something that happens after death - which isn't the case for Elijah – The Freemason Dec 30 '13 at 02:01
  • 2 Samuel 18:9 - Absalom's mule? – The Freemason Dec 30 '13 at 02:06
  • Acts 1:2 - Theophilus? He was taken up... But maybe not as we think concerning resurrection – The Freemason Dec 30 '13 at 02:08
  • @mawia good list but to be correct..... Item 5 should really be omitted because the girl was in a trance or unconscious. Jesus said "she sleepeth." Matthew 9:24 as well as all the others quoted. So, my count is 9 recorded resurrections, and I also would like to know of any more. – Rosie May 18 '15 at 02:05
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    Many scholars believe that Jonah died and revived in that fish's belly. – LCIII Mar 21 '19 at 13:18
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    Counting Isaac is really pushing the point. Isaac did not ...how can I put this...actually die. – DJClayworth Mar 21 '19 at 17:56
  • I think it would be more accurate to say, give n this answer that there are 10 resurrections in the bible and 2 other events that look like resurrections. Notably 12, like 10 is a significant number – Abijah Mar 10 '21 at 20:44
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To add to @Mawia's list, consider Moses. He was seen on the Mount of Transfiguration by Peter and company. We know he died, yet here he is! The passage does not say whether Moses was merely a spirit or had a corporeal body, so this is ambiguous.

It might be asked whether it was really Moses and Elijah who were present or whether only their spectres were set before the disciples, just as often the prophets saw visions of absent things. Although there is much to be said on both sides, as they say, yet it seems more likely to me that they really were brought to that place. (John Calvin)

(Quoted from this article: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/the-transfiguration-of-jesus-christ/ )

Paul Chernoch
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    Jesus specifically called this a "vision" at Matt. 17:9. – agarza Mar 10 '21 at 18:00
  • I consulted 60 English translations. 38 call it a vision, while 22 have variants of "what you saw" or "what you have seen". The Greek word is orama. It can have either meaning, depending on context. – Paul Chernoch Mar 11 '21 at 15:13