ContradictionsReading order 314Bible context 2 min read
How many women came to the sepulchre?
The resurrection narratives identify different numbers and combinations of women associated with the tomb visit.
- Textual conflict
- Weak tension
- The alleged conflict needs substantial assumptions, such as treating an omission as a denial or figurative language as literal.
- Importance
- Foundational
- A central claim about origins, salvation, divine justice, or religious authority.
Different named witness lists are not exact attendance totals, and none says only the named women attended.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
John names Mary Magdalene at the tomb
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
John 20:1
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:John 20
Matthew names Mary Magdalene and another Mary
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
Matthew 28:1
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:Matthew 28