The Greek noun egersis means a raising up, resurrection, or awakening — derived from the verb egeiro (to raise, arouse, wake). It appears in Matthew 27:53, describing the resurrection of the saints that occurred after Jesus' own resurrection.
The egersis of Matthew 27:52–53 — where 'many holy people who had died were raised to life' after Christ's resurrection — is one of the most mysterious and theologically rich events in the Gospels. It demonstrates that Jesus' resurrection is not an isolated event but the firstfruits of a general resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20). His rising triggered a preliminary resurrection of the saints as a sign. Egersis is also used in early Christian literature for the daily 'awakening' of the believer — the spiritual resurrection that baptism enacts (Romans 6:4; Ephesians 5:14). The resurrection of the body at the last day is the final egersis, the ultimate awakening.