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1 Corinthians 15:39

New Testament Epistle (Pauline) ASV (1901)

What does 1 Corinthians 15:39 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one [flesh] of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one [flesh] of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes.
1 Corinthians 15:39 — American Standard Version

Context — 1 Corinthians 15

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
36Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die:
37and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind;
38but God giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own.
39All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one [flesh] of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes.
40There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the [glory] of the terrestrial is another.
41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory.
42So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
← 1 Corinthians 15:381 Corinthians 15:40 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“All flesh is not the same flesh, etc.] Or “equal”, as the Syriac version renders it; though all flesh is flesh, as to the nature and substance of it; agrees in its original, being by generation; and is supported by food, and is alike frail and mortal; all flesh is grass, rises out of it, or is maintained by it, or withers like that, yet not of equal worth, value, and excellency: “but” there is “one” kind “of flesh of men”; which is superior to, and more excellent than any other; being animated by a rational soul, and is set in the first place; so we read of çya rçb, “the flesh of man”, for mankind, (<181210>Job 12:10) (see <023032>Exodus 30:32). Another flesh of beasts; as sheep and oxen,…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Illustrations of the suitability of bodies, however various, to their species: the flesh of the several species of animals; bodies celestial and terrestrial; the various kinds of light in the sun, moon, and stars, respectively. flesh--animal organism [DE WETTE]. He implies by the word that our resurrection bodies shall be in some sense really flesh, not mere phantoms of air [ESTIUS]. So some of the oldest creeds expressed it, "I believe in the resurrection of the flesh." Compare as to Jesus' own resurrection body, Luk 24:39; Joh 20:27; to which ours shall be made like, and therefore shall be flesh, but not of animal organism (Phi 3:21) and liable to corruption. But Co1 15:50 below implies,…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“All flesh is not the same flesh - This verse and the following are designed to answer the question 1 Corinthians 15:35, “with what bodies do they come?” And the argument here is, that there are many kinds of bodies; that all are not alike; that while they are bodies, yet they partake of different qualities, forms, and properties; and that, therefore, it is not absurd to suppose that God may transform the human body into a different form, and cause it to be raised up with somewhat different properties in the future world. Why, the argument is, why should it be regarded as impossible? Why is it to be held that the human body may not undergo a transformation, or that it will be absurd to…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“All flesh - As if he had said, Even earthy bodies differ from earthy, and heavenly bodies from heavenly. What wonder then, if heavenly bodies differ from earthy? or the bodies which rise from those that lay in the grave? 1 Corinthians 15:40”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Gen 1:20-26 1 Corinthians 15:41”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification