ris3n's Apologetics Codex
1 Corinthians 15.4-6
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Passage

1 Corinthians 15.4-6

Book: 1 Corinthians · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

2. by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain. 3. For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4. and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures; 5. and that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve; 6. then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep;

  1. then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles; 8. and last of all, as to the child untimely born, he appeared to me also. (1 Corinthians 15:2-8, ASV)
WEB

2. by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

4. that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5. and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6. Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep.

  1. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8. and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. (1 Corinthians 15:2-8, WEB)
KJV

2. By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. keep: or, hold fast what: Gr. by what speech 3. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5. And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6. After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

  1. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. one: or, an abortive (1 Corinthians 15:2-8, KJV)
YLT

2. through which also ye are being saved, in what words I proclaimed good news to you, if ye hold fast, except ye did believe in vain, 3. for I delivered to you first, what also I did receive, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Writings,

4. and that he was buried, and that he hath risen on the third day, according to the Writings, 5. and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, 6. afterwards he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain till now, and certain also did fall asleep;

  1. afterwards he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8. And last of all, as to the untimely birth, he appeared also to me, (1 Corinthians 15:2-8, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the apostle, with Sosthenes named as co-sender (1:1)
  • Audience: The church at Corinth, which Paul had founded (Acts 18:1-11), writing in reply to reports and to a letter from them (1:11; 7:1)
  • Location: Ephesus, where Paul planned to stay "until Pentecost" (16:8)
  • Time period: C. AD 53-55, during Paul's long ministry in Ephesus on his third missionary journey (Acts 19)

Theological reading

"And that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures; and that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve; then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep."

A handed-down summary. Verse 3 introduces the list: "I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received." "Delivered" and "received" are the standard terms for passing on a fixed tradition. The summary is built from short clauses each beginning "that": Christ died, was buried, has been raised, and appeared. Paul says this is what all the apostles preach (15:11).

How early. Paul received the summary before he founded the church in Corinth, around AD 50. He visited Cephas in Jerusalem three years after his conversion and stayed fifteen days, and also saw "James the Lord's brother" (Galatians 1:18-19, ASV), the same two named in the appearance list (15:5, 7). Scholars across a wide range of views, including the skeptical New Testament scholar Gerd Lüdemann, date the tradition to within a few years of the crucifixion.

The details. "Hath been raised" (Strong's G1453) renders a Greek perfect tense: he was raised and remains raised. Burial followed by being raised implies that the body did not stay in the grave. "Cephas" (G2786) is the Aramaic name of Peter; Luke records the same first appearance, "The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon" (Luke 24:34, ASV). Of the five hundred, "the greater part remain until now," which amounts to an invitation to check with living witnesses.

The skeptical reply and the Christian answer. The Atheism vs the Christian God comparison cites this passage. Skeptics commonly grant that the disciples had experiences they took to be appearances of Jesus, and explain them as grief visions or hallucinations, or argue that the stories grew in the telling. Christians reply that the list includes a group appearance, that it was in circulation while witnesses were alive, and that it includes James, a skeptic before the resurrection, and Paul, a persecutor. See Resurrection of Jesus, Minimal Facts Argument and Paul the Apostle.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.