"Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani" (Aramaic: אלי, אלי, למה שבקתני, transliterated: Eli, Eli, ləmā šəḇaqtanī), meaning, in Aramaic, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?", is one of the sayings of Jesus on the cross, according to Matthew 27:46 and also Mark 15:34.
It is considered to be a reference to the opening words of Psalm 22 of the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament, which are, in Hebrew: אֵלִ֣י אֵ֖לִי לָמָ֣ה עֲזַבְתָּ֑נִי "Eli, Eli, lama azavtani", also meaning "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me".
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Eli, Eli, lama Sabachthani
Transcription
Biblical narrative
Matthew 27:46
- Around the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, saying "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Mark 15:34
- And at the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, for what have you forsaken me?"
Linguistic analysis
This phrase, one of the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross, is given in these two versions. The version used in the Gospel of Matthew is transliterated in Greek as Ἠλί, Ἠλί, λεμὰ σαβαχθανί. The version presented in the Gospel of Mark is Ἐλωΐ, Ἐλωΐ, λαμὰ σαβαχθανί. The differences between the two are the use, in Mark, of elōi rather than ēli, and of lama rather than lema.
Overall, both versions can be said to be in Aramaic, rather than in Hebrew, because of the verb שבק (šbq) "abandon", which exists only in Aramaic.[1][2] The Biblical Hebrew counterpart to this word, עזב ('zb) is seen in the second line of the Old Testament's Psalm 22, which the saying appears to quote. Thus, Jesus is not quoting the canonical Hebrew version (ēlī ēlī lāmā 'azabtānī), attributed in some Jewish interpretations to King David himself, but rather the version in an Aramaic Targum (translation of the Bible). Surviving Aramaic Targums do use the verb šbq in their translations of the Psalm 22.[3]
The word used in the Gospel of Mark for "my god", Ἐλωΐ, corresponds to the Aramaic form אלהי, elāhī. The one used in Matthew, Ἠλί, fits in better with the אלי of the original Hebrew Psalm, as has been pointed out in the literature; however, it may also be Aramaic because this form is attested abundantly in Aramaic as well.[2][4]
In the next verse, in both accounts, some who hear Jesus' cry imagine that he is calling for help from Elijah (Ēlīyā in Aramaic).
Almost all ancient Greek manuscripts show signs of trying to normalize the two slightly different versions of Jesus's saying, presented in Mark and Matthew. For instance, the peculiar Codex Bezae renders both versions with ηλι ηλι λαμα ζαφθανι (ēli ēli lama zaphthani). The Alexandrian, Western and Caesarean textual families all reflect harmonization of the texts between Matthew and Mark. Only the Byzantine textual tradition preserves a distinction.
The Aramaic word form šəḇaqtanī is based on the verb šǝḇaq/šāḇaq, 'to allow, to permit, to forgive, and to forsake', with the perfect tense ending -t (2nd person singular: 'you'), and the object suffix -anī (1st person singular: 'me').
The most likely rendition of the phrase in its original Aramaic, as said by Jesus, would have been "אלי, אלי, למה שבקתני", transliterated as Eli, Eli, ləmā šəḇaqtanī.
In Hebrew, the saying would be "אֵלִי אֵלִי, לָמָה עֲזַבְתָּנִי" (ēlī ēlī, lāmā 'azabtānī in Biblical Hebrew, eli eli lama azavtani in Modern Hebrew pronunciation), while the Syriac-Aramaic phrase according to the Peshitta would be Syriac: ܐܝܠܝ ܐܝܠܝ ܠܡܐ ܫܒܩܬܢܝ, romanized: ʔēl ʔēl lǝmā šǝḇaqtān (Matthew 27:46) or Syriac: ܐܠܗܝ ܐܠܗܝ ܠܡܢܐ ܫܒܩܬܢܝ, romanized: ʾalāh ʾalāh lǝmānā šǝḇaqtān (Mark 15:34).
Interpretations
This saying is taken by some as an abandonment of the Son by the Father. Another interpretation holds that at the moment when Jesus took upon himself the sins of humanity, the Father had to turn away from the Son because the Father is "of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong" (ESV).[5] Other theologians understand the cry as that of one who was truly human and who felt forsaken. Put to death by his foes, very largely deserted by his friends, he may have also felt deserted by God.[6]
Others see these words in the context of Psalm 22 and suggest that Jesus recited these words, perhaps even the whole psalm, "that he might show himself to be the very Being to whom the words refer; so that the Jewish scribes and people might examine and see the cause why he would not descend from the cross; namely, because this very psalm showed that it was appointed that he should suffer these things."[7]
References
- ^ Greenspahn, Frederick E. 2003. An introduction to Aramaic. P.25
- ^ a b Davies, William D. and Dale C. Allison. 1997. Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew. Volume III. P.624
- ^ The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Archived 2010-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
- Targum Psalms 22 Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion
- ^ Williams P.J. 2004. The linguistic background to Jesus' Dereliction Cry. The New Testament in its first century setting (ed. Williams P.J., Andre D. Clarke et al.) p. 7-8.
- ^ "Habakkuk 1:13". Bible Hub. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ Conner, W. T. (1954). The Cross in the New Testament. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press. p. 34. OCLC 2882455.
- ^ "Pulpit Commentary – Mark 15:34". Bible Hub. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
This page was last edited on 30 December 2023, at 16:51