Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar and Nevim Arith Hayomim:
Matthew 27:46: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying ‘Eli,Eli Lama Sabachthani?’ that is My God My God, why has thou forsaken me?”
This passage has been debated for 2,000 years and no one has come up a real definitive answer as to what Jesus was saying. Perhaps it is one of those mysteries that is sealed up until end times. All I know is that I if some of the brightest minds in 2,000 years could come up with no answer, I most certainly will not come up with one – and I haven’t.
Another question I can not answer is why Matthew transliterated this into the Greek as a Hebrew “Eli” and Mark transliterated this as Aramaic “Eloi.” Lama is Hebrew, Lema is Aramaic and is shown as that in both Gospels in the Greek, but translators will render it as lama (Hebrew) for whatever reason. Sabachtahani is clearly Aramaic and means forsaken or can also be rendered to allow, to permit, to forgive and/or to set free. John seems to paraphrase the Aramaic and simply rendered this as “I am thirsty” 19:28.
How do I know “I am thirsty” and “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” are both the same phrases? Just speculation, but with good reason. For one thing immediately after he said these words someone gave him the vinegar. Also, there seemed to be some confusion among the people as to what Jesus was saying. Some thought he was calling for “Elias.” This could have been understood as Elush which would have been a idiomatic expression from Numbers 33:14 where Israel left Elush which had water and went to Rephidim which had no water. Hence when a Jewish person of that day was thirsty they would often say: Elush, Elush why have you deserted me?” Which may explain why someone ran to give him a drink. They may have seen a double meaning in this in that some thought he was calling to Elijah to help him.
Another possibility is something buried deep within Jewish mysticism but was well practiced in that day. Mystical Jews would invoke Scripture passages to bring about healings, financial aid, deliverance etc. It is felt by some that this is where the Catholic idea of praying to saints or evoking a saint’s name will bring them special favors. Only difference is that the Jews were invoking these names in Hebrew and Hebrew is a whole lot different that Latin. For while they invoke a proper name, they are not calling on the person by that name but on God who embodies the meaning of that name. A popular Scripture portion that mystical Jews would invoke when in trouble was Exodus 6:6-7: “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out (Hosea), from under the burdens of the Egyptian, and I will deliver you (Hisal) from their bondage, I will redeem you (Ga’al) with an outstretched arm and with great judgments, Then I will take you (Laqach)…” Hence when in trouble a mystical Jew would utter the four proper names “Hosea, Hisal, Ga’al and Laqach.” To anyone listening it would sound like he was calling four individuals. However, what he is really doing is calling upon God using a specific name for God for the particular need that he has. “The God who brings me out, the God who delivers me, the God who redeems me, and the God who will take me.”
It is possible that some on the ground thought Jesus was invoking three names of God to rescue Him. They thought when he said “Eli’ he was saying, “Elijah” which would express “the God that I adore.” “Lama” would express “the God that I am.” and “sambachthani” the God who sets me free. Thus, when the one mockingly said: “Let’s see if Elijah will deliver him.” He was really saying: “Let’s see if God will deliver him.”
I suppose the people of that day were just as confused as we are today as to what Jesus was really saying on the cross. Was He calling upon God in despair over being abandoned, was He simply saying He was thirsty to fulfill Psalm 69:21, or did he just quote David in Psalms 22:1 again to fulfill Scripture. Was there really only six last words rather than seven and “My God” and “I thirst” were one and the same? Or was something else going on, something that is not yet revealed, but something that may be revealed in the last days to be used by last day saints to experience the glory of God in the midst of the greatest trials faced by humankind. Maybe deep within the vaults of ancient Jewish culture there lies a clue which will one day be revealed or possibly it will be revealed by the Holy Spirit. Or maybe in our last moments, as Jesus knew on the cross, sambachthani is to used not as “abandoned” but as “set free.”
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