Jairus’s daughter

'Talitha koum'

Jesus takes the dead girl by the hand and says, in Aramaic, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” and she gets up.

The story

Jairus, a synagogue leader, begs for his 12-year-old daughter. On the way, news of her death arrives. Jesus goes on anyway, takes the girl by the hand and says “Talitha koum!”, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”

The meaning

For Jesus, death is like a sleep from which he wakes people. The human detail: he tells them to give the girl something to eat.

Did you know?

• “Talitha koum” is one of the few phrases preserved in Jesus’ original Aramaic. Mark 5:41

Where to read in the Bible

• Mark 5:21–43

Connections

• done by Jesus of Nazareth · stated in the text · Mark 5:41

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