Matius 9:20-21
Konteks9:20 But 1 a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage 2 for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge 3 of his cloak. 4 9:21 For she kept saying to herself, 5 “If only I touch his cloak, I will be healed.” 6
Matius 14:36
Konteks14:36 They begged him if 7 they could only touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
[9:20] 1 tn Grk “And behold a woman.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
[9:20] 2 sn Suffering from a hemorrhage. The woman was most likely suffering from a vaginal hemorrhage which would make her ritually unclean.
[9:20] 3 sn The edge of his cloak refers to the kraspedon, the blue tassel on the garment that symbolized a Jewish man’s obedience to the law (cf. Num 15:37-41). The woman thus touched the very part of Jesus’ clothing that indicated his ritual purity.
[9:20] 4 tn Grk “garment,” but here ἱμάτιον (Jimation) denotes the outer garment in particular.
[9:21] 5 tn The imperfect verb is here taken iteratively, for the context suggests that the woman was trying to find the courage to touch Jesus’ cloak.
[9:21] sn In this pericope the author uses a term for being healed (Grk “saved”) that would have spiritual significance to his readers. It may be a double entendre (cf. parallel in Mark 5:28 which uses the same term), since elsewhere he uses verbs that simply mean “heal”: If only the reader would “touch” Jesus, he too would be “saved.”