What can be figured out about how “many” people were raised from the dead here?:
ESV Matthew 27:50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
This article aims to track down the “semantic range” of the word “many” (πολύς in the Greek, and polys when spelled with our Latin/English letters). That is: What is the range of all that it could mean, based on the what is known about the word from its use elsewhere? I’ll demonstrate in the article below these quick facts:
- πολύς / polys is a relative term, quite like our English word, “many”. That is to say, 10 people would be “many” to have in your kitchen, but not “many” to have in a stadium.
- The meaning of πολύς / polys seems to be reliant upon the context it’s used in, as if it means something like, “a lot for whatever we’re talking about”.
- πολύς / polys is a very common Koine Greek word. In its various forms, it was used over 300 times in the New Testament writings, and over 500 times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament writings. (See study links below.)
- What range of numbers was it used to describe? It was used to describe smaller numbers (such as “many” people in a house), and larger numbers, such as, for example: 1) a herd of 2,000 pigs, 2) the entire set of people for whom Jesus sacrificed himself; 3) the entire set of holy angels: ” “…ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands”. (At the end of this short article, I’ll display several dozen excerpts of its usage for your convenience, so that you can give the matter some deep consideration for yourself.)
Our Challenge
Had Matthew written that there were, say, 8 people brought back to life that day, there would be no need for this article at all, for there would be no mystery in the number itself. What would remain then would be the mysteries of “What was going on here?” and “Why was this resurrection event necessary?” and “What did this have to do with Jesus’ own resurrection on the same day?” Similarly, had Matthew told us that the number was 81,324 people (which number I just made up), we would also be relieved of needing to know the actual number, but would be faced with questions as to whether the number was significant: “Does the number 81,324 have some symbolic significance? Is it used elsewhere in the scriptures to mean something?” And with either number, the 8 or the 81,324, we’d be smart to wonder whether it had ever been prophesied about in advance.
But we didn’t get a number from Matthew; we got the very common word πολύς/polys/many. And that word is always used relative to the context. For this study, I read all 331 New Testament verses where it occurs, and about half of the 515 Old Testament verses where it occurs. (Go here and scroll down for the New Testament Verses. And go here and scroll down for the Old Testament Verses.)
Some Questions for Pondering and Study
These are the kinds of things I think we should be wondering when it comes to this passage and the way πολύς/polys/many is used here:
- If no actual number is given in Matthew 27:51-53, are there any other indications in this passage (or in others) as to the scope of the number raised?
- Are there any logical reasons to place boundaries on what the number might have been? For example, we can reason that it must have been more than one since:
1) Matthew writes in the plural, and since
2) πολύς/polys/many never refers to just one.
Or similarly, we could reason by simple logic that: the number of holy people raised could could not exceed the number of holy people that were dead at that time — whatever number that might have been. Is there more that could be deduced like this?
- Are there any allusions to this event in the rest of the New Testament writings? For example, might this be a case of that?: ESV Romans 8:29b …in order that he [Jesus] might be the firstborn among many brothers.
- Was this event ever prophesied in advance? And if it were, might the Ezekiel 37 “Dry Bones” prophecy be a case of that?
I argued in my 2021 article, Jesus’ Resurrection Day Was a Bigger Day than You May Realize!, that the Matthew 27 resurrection event makes sense as the literal fulfillment of the Ezekiel 37 Dry Bones prophecy. I still find this hypothesis compelling. And in discussing it with many over the last four years, I have been disappointed to see how few are willing to give the idea a fair hearing. Instead, many are quick to hand-wave it away in various ways, such as what follows:
Some Dubious Reasoning
I’ve been studying and discussing this mass resurrection for several years now, and have noted several ill-reasoned or non-reasoned assumptions that seem to be popular. I don’t intend to comment on what’s below, except to say that good logic does not demand these conclusions, however popular they may be:
- “This event must have been just an auxiliary miracle, generally adding heavenly witness to the miracle of Jesus’ own resurrection.”
- “This must have been just a few people who were raised, or the story would have been told by more than just Matthew.”
- “Those raised must have been the recently-deceased, as in the examples of those Jesus raised in the gospel accounts.”
- “This event cannot be the fulfillment of Ezekiel 37’s Dry Bones Prophecy because we all know that that is just an allegory for the spiritual reawakening of Israel.”
- “The mass resurrection of Matthew 27 cannot have been a literal fulfillment of the Dry Bones prophecy because: 1) If that had been fulfilled, the Bible writers would have told us this was the fulfillment. 2) Those “raised” in Ezekiel 37 were “an exceedingly great army”, and if the Matthew 27 event had been that large, we’d have been told about it specifically.
- Gotquestions.org agrees with me that the Matthew 27 event is the fulfillment of the Ezekiel 37 prophecy, but surprisingly goes on to say it was a “few” who were raised. This contradicts the use of πολύς/polys/many in Matthew 27, and it completely ignores the mention of “an exceedingly great army” in Ezekiel 37:10 and of “the whole house of Israel” in 37:11. Without making any argument in support of the “few” assertion, Gotquestions.org says (emphasis added):
“The raising of a few and not all of the saints shows that Jesus has power to resurrect, but also points forward to the second coming and judgment of Jesus Christ, which will include all those whose names are written in the Book Life by faith in the grace of God.”
Conclusion
So, how “many” were raised that day? I think I’ve demonstrated above (and below) that the “semantic range” of πολύς/polys/many does not rule out a very large number. So we’d have to ask ourselves: If we were standing in Jerusalem that day, looking across all the tombs in the city, and were to hear a prediction that “many” people would rise from those tombs in a few minutes, just what would we expect to see (provided we took the prediction to heart)? Would we think 3 to be a proper fulfillment of that? Or if it turned out to be 3,000, would we find that number inconsistent with πολύς/polys/many ?
I’m not suggesting that I know the number. I don’t even have one in mind. I’m content to go with “the whole house of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:10-11). I take this to mean all those whom God had considered faithful. (That is “spiritual Israel” as some call it, as opposed to those who were Jews merely physically.) But it takes some faith to think it this way, because “the whole house of Israel” was not entombed in Jerusalem; they were scattered across the nations on the Earth. And while the Matthew account only mentions those who were raised in Jerusalem, “the whole house of Israel” could possibly suggest that there was a mass resurrection among the faithful dead all across the Earth that day.
Can I prove that the Matthew 27 event is the same as the Ezekiel 37 event? No, but I think I make a strong case for it here, in my 2021 article: Jesus’ Resurrection Day was a Bigger Event than You May Realize. Sadly, however, so many believers seem to be trained to view the Bible as a collection of isolated incidents, only some of which are important to the overall story. They don’t tend to read with a view toward figuring out how each part of it fits into the whole, and what this might have to do with that. Rather, they endure the less obvious passages impatiently, in hopes of getting to something that is entertaining or otherwise useful as a stand-alone passage. So, while the Dry Bones prophecy makes for an entertaining Sunday School song, they don’t go looking for how that fits into the larger scheme of the Bible’s grand story.
What follows are some experts from where πολύς/polys/many is used (in its various word forms) in the Bible. In most instances, you’ll see a hyperlink for the verse details at BlueLetterBible.org. You’ll also see a Strong’s Number hyperlink just after the English word that was translated from the Greek.
New Testament
Matthew 27:52
καὶ πολλὰ σώματα τῶν κεκοιμημένων ἁγίων
and many bodies of the having-been-sleeping holy ones
(The form of the word above is polla (written in Latin/English letters), where the basic word itself is polys.
Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many G4183 there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:22 Many G4183 will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many G4183 wonderful works?
Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many G4183 shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 8:30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many G4183 swine feeding.
Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many G4183 prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Mat 19:30 But many G4183 that are first shall be last; and th
Mat 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. G4183e last shall be first.
Mat 22:14 For many G4183 are called, but few are chosen.
Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many G4183 for the remission of sins.
Mark 5:8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
Mar 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. G4183
Mar 14:24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. G4183
Mar 6:34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much G4183 people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. G4183
Mar 10:31 But many G4183 that are first shall be last; and the last first.
Mar 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. G4183
Mar 13:6 For many G4183 shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. G4183
Mar 14:24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. G4183
Luk 1:14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many G4183 shall rejoice at his birth.
Luk 1:16 And many G4183 of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
Luk 2:34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many G4183 in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
Luk 2:35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many G4183 hearts may be revealed.
Luk 13:24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, G4183 I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
Jhn 21:25 And there are also many G4183 other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
Act 4:4 Howbeit many G4183 of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
Rom 5:15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many G4183 be dead, much G4183 more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. G4183
Rom 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many G4183 were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many G4183 be made righteous.
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many G4183 brethren.
Rom 12:5 So we, being many, G4183 are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
1Co 4:15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many G4183 fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
1Co 8:5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, G4183 and lords many,) G4183
1Co 10:17 For we being many G4183 are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
1Co 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many. G4183
Phl 3:18 (For many G4183 walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Tit 1:10 For there are many G4183 unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; G4183 and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many G4183 be defiled;
2Pe 2:2 And many G4183 shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
Rev 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many G4183 angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
Old Testament
The following citations lack the Strong’s Numbers as BlueLetterBible does not provide them when showing excerpts from the Septuagint. In every instance, however, πολύς/polys is used in the Greek, in some form or another. And this is a good place to note that the word doesn’t only mean “many”, but also “much” and “large”. And it’s not always used as a an adjective, but is sometimes used as a noun.
Isa 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Isa 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Isa 8:15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
Isa 13:4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.
Isa 17:12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
Isa 17:13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
GNT Isaiah 40:26 Look up at the sky!
Who created the stars you see?
The one who leads them out like an army,
he knows how many there are
and calls each one by name!
His power is so great—
not one of them is ever missing!
Isa 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Isa 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Isa 66:16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
Jeremiah 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
Eze 26:7 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.
Eze 26:19 For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;
Eze 37:2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
Eze 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Eze 38:8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
Eze 38:9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
Eze 38:15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
Dan 8:26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Dan 11:33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
Daniel 12:1 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above;[a] and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. 4 But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
Daniel 12:9 He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.
Mic 4:3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Mic 5:7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
Zechariah 10:6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
7 Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,
and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.
8 “I will whistle for them and gather them in,
for I have redeemed them,
and they shall be as many as they were before.
9 Though I scattered them among the nations,
yet in far countries they shall remember me,
and with their children they shall live and return.
10 I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,
and gather them from Assyria,
and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
till there is no room for them.
