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10 People Raised from the Dead in the Bible

Resurrections Occur in Both the Old and New Testaments

In the Bible, dead people return to life. This happens on ten occasions, with three resurrections occurring in the Old Testament and seven times in the New. Check out these stories of people supernaturally raised from the dead.

1. Son of a Widow in Zarephath

The first person the Bible records as raised from the dead is the son of a widow in Zarephath. Her boy gets sick, his illness gets worse, and he dies. The woman lashes out at Elijah, blaming him and God.

Elijah shoves aside her hurtful words. He goes to where the boy’s body lays, and he cries out to God. Three times he stretches himself over the dead body and asks God to return the child’s life. God does, and the boy’s mother affirms Elijah (1 King 17:17-24).

2. Shunammite Woman’s Son

Elijah’s successor, Elisha, also raises a boy from the dead. The boy labors in the field with his father and gets a headache. The pain intensifies, and at noon the boy dies. His mother, a Shunammite woman, searches for Elisha and tells him what happened.

He sends his servant Gehazi to go to lay Elisha’s staff on the boy to bring him back to life. Gehazi tries but is unsuccessful. When Elisha arrives, he prays to God and lays on top of the boy. The boy’s dead body begins to warm. Elisha paces the room a bit and tries again.

The boy sneezes seven times, and his eyes open. He’s alive (2 Kings 4:18–37).

3. An Unnamed Man

In one of the more bizarre resurrections, a dead man’s body is hastily thrown into Elisha’s tomb. When the dead body touches Elisha’s bones, it comes to life and stands up, very much alive (2 Kings 13:20–21).

These are the three resurrections that occur in the Old Testament, one from Elijah and two from Elisha, albeit the second one after Elisha’s death. Interestingly, when Elisha gets ready to succeed Elijah, Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.

God grants it, and we see it come to pass, with Elijah raising one person to life and Elisha resurrecting two (2 Kings 2:9–12).

4. Son of a Widow from Nain

In the New Testament, Jesus goes to the town of Nain. He sees a funeral possession and stops it. He tells the grieving mother, who is also a widow, to not cry. He commands the dead boy’s body to get up. The corpse sits up and talks (Luke 7:11–17).

5. Jairus’s Daughter

Another time, a synagogue leader, Jairus, begs Jesus to come to his house to heal his sick girl. Jesus agrees but another hurting person delays him along the way. Before he can get to Jairus’s house, the girl dies. Jesus tells Jairus to not worry and believe.

When Jesus arrives, he proclaims to the mourners gathered that she isn’t dead but merely sleeping. They mock him, knowing that she’s dead. Jesus takes her hand and tells her to get up. Life flows back into her body and she stands (Luke 8:40–56).

6. Lazarus

Lazarus is sick. His sisters, Mary and Martha, send for Jesus to come heal their ailing brother. Jesus doesn’t leave right away, and Lazarus dies.

By the time Jesus shows up, Lazarus has been dead and buried for four days. After interacting with the two mourning sisters, Jesus goes to the tomb were Lazarus’s body lays.

Jesus tells them to unseal the tomb, but the people object. They worry about the stench from Lazarus’s decaying body. But eventually they roll away the stone, unblocking the entrance to the tomb. Jesus commands Lazarus to come out. Lazarus does (John 11:1–44).

7. Many Holy People in Jerusalem

When Jesus dies, the curtain in the temple rips in half, the earth quakes, and tombs crack open. The bodies of many holy people buried in the cemetery come to life. They experience resurrection.

We don’t know their names or how many there are, but their reappearance would surely have astounded everyone (Matthew 27:50–53).

This mass resurrection symbolically shows Jesus’s victory over death, confirmed by many people rising from the dead. We see Jesus raising three specific people from the dead, along with many more who had lived holy lives.

8. Tabitha/Dorcas

In the early church, Peter also raises someone from the dead. Her name is Tabatha, also called Dorcas, and she lives in Joppa. When she dies the people in her hometown send for Peter.

When he arrives, he kneels and prays. Then he turns to the dead woman and tells her to get up. She opens her eyes, sees Peter, and sits up. Everyone is amazed (Acts 9:36–42).

9. Eutychus

Paul raises someone from the dead too, Eutychus. As Paul speaks to the people gathered, Eutychus, who sits in a window, falls asleep, and tumbles three stories to his death. Paul rushes down and throws his arms around the young man. He proclaims him alive. Then they celebrate (Acts 20:7–12).

10. Jesus

These are all amazing, eye-opening resurrections, but the most significant is Jesus’s resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:1–10, Mark 16:1–7, Luke 24:1–49, and John 20:1–29).

Jesus’s victory over death changes everything forever. By rising from the dead, he takes that power away from the devil and frees us from the grip of death (Hebrews 2:14–17).

Thank you, Jesus!

(Read about other biblical references about dead people coming alive.)

[Discover more about the Bible at ABibleADay.com: Bible FAQs, Bible Dictionary, Books of the Bible Overview, and Bible Reading Plans.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

5 replies on “10 People Raised from the Dead in the Bible”

I didn’t realise how many resurrections there were in the Bible. And yet, with so many eye-witnesses, so few seem to have been “impressed” by these miraculous events.

Glad I happened across web page. . Didn’t read it all. I also think a man was thought to be dead. When Jesus got to him he told him to rise up and walk.

I’ve been saved since 1994, and tried to live as God tells us to. I serve the Lord in many ways, and God has given me a strange mission of ‘reproof unto all men’. God has shown me many things that most do not know, and I am constantly learning more, and it is very hard to deal with, especially when the scriptures that guarantee us success and blessings do not match up with what is happening in our lives.I also have a problem with the miracles we are guaranteed are never seen in public. I know God is real, and I know I recd the Holy Ghost. I saw the great dragon, Satan, before my salvation, so there is no doubting that the gospel is true..but where are the miracles at? Why are our enemies weapons being ALLOWED TO PROSPER AGAINST US AND ALWAYS HAVE? I discovered 5 yrs ago that I have been injected w what is called NEURAL LACE, and have been a T.I. since 87. This horrific tech lets agents see and hear all we do, and even lets them take over tot. during sleep! I knew it would be in the shots before they were released and I was right. Dr Ricardo Delgado was one of the first to find it in the lshots. He mistakenly says it will go away, but Musk, who sells it says it is PERMANENT. These sick freaks have been torturing and killing my helpless little dogs, to torture and hurt ME and they HAVE. They just killed the FOURTH little doxy I had, and he was my last, greatly loved little boy and I miss him horribly! The filthy scum in our gvt are using our cell ph, speakers on pc’s and even the towers themselves to control, create disease, seizures, organ failure and even DEATH TO US AND OUR LOVED ONES AND PETS. I busted them red handed doing this! Yet I am to believe that NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST ME SHALL PROSPER!? These monsters experimented on us w some bioweapon of ‘mites from hell’ and forced us to put down another of my beloved doxies, after MONTHS of horrific TORTURE fr these things, and I was nearly killed by them as well, yet I am to believe that no pestilence will come nigh thy house?! Thesick freaks are now controlling ALL weather we have on earth..they have dug worldwide tunnel systems they told no one about . Y.T. Kelly Carver Worldwide Tunnels/Urgent Alert To All US Sheriffs..watch all my vids if u have time..and please pray for me. I need it. DO NOT sleep near your devices. Keep volumes low or even off, and know they are using FREQUENCIES to tweak the brain, causing infection, disease and death! Read article ‘scientists tweak the brain causing infection’. They are tweaking for WAY MORE than that! Also know the shots, masks, tests and swabs ALL have self assembling nano systems in them..all of them. Watch karen kingston, maria zeee/latypova interviews and know what they say are true. Also Trunews Tentacle Tuesday. See Stew Peter’s Died Suddenly and know the clots CANNOT FORM WITHOUT FREQUENCIES controlling them. And I think most of those are coming thru the Monarch Towers LLC. God bless..

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