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Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 recounts this hebraic phrase being said by Jesus:

Matthew, TR | Ηλι ηλι λαμ? σαβαχθανι
Matthew, YLT | 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?'

Mark, TR | Ελωι ελωι λαμμ? σαβαχθανι
Mark, YLT | 'Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabachthani?'

Which both are transliterations of a phrase from Psalm 22:1(22:2):

WLC | ??? ??? ??? ??????? ???? ????????? ????? ???????
translit | eli eli lamah azavtani

Question:

  • Why hebraic verb 'azavtani' was consistently transliterated into Greek as 'savahtani' by NT writers in this two cases?

1 Answer 1

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This is quite uncomplicated.

  • What Jesus said as recorded in Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34 is in Chaldean/Aramaic
  • The language of Ps 22:1 is in Hebrew.

Note the terse comment of Meyer on Matt 27:46 -

σαβαχθαν? Chald.: ????????????? = the Heb. ????????????.

Now, because Aramaic/Chaldean is a related language to Hebrew (both are semitic) means that there is some resemblance in some words. Nevertheless, they are different languages like German and English - some words are the same but still different.

Benson is more explanatory:

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani — These words are quoted from the first verse of the twenty-second Psalm. (where see the note,) but it is to be observed, that they are not the very words of the Hebrew original; but are in what is called Syro-Chaldaic, at that time the language of the country, and the dialect which our Lord seems always to have used. Mark expresses the two first words rather differently, namely; Eloi, Eloi, which comes nearer to the Syriac. Some think our Lord, in his agony, repeated the words twice, with some little variation, saying at one time, Eloi, and the other, Eli. “This,” says Dr. Doddridge, “is possible, and if it were otherwise, I doubt not but Mark has given us the word exactly, and Matthew a kind of contraction of it.”

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  • Thank you, much appreciated.
    – RaySolva
    Commented Jul 27 at 4:08

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