Talitha Koum

Biblical Text

Talitha koum appears in Mark 5:41. The King James Version renders the verse: "And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise."

The narrative unfolds as follows. Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, asks Jesus to heal his dying daughter. While Jesus is on his way to the house, the woman with the issue of blood is healed. Meanwhile, word arrives that the daughter has died. Jesus takes only Peter, James (son of Zebedee), John, and the child's parents into the room, where he speaks these words. The twelve-year-old girl immediately gets up and walks. Jesus charges them to tell no one what has happened and directs that she be given something to eat (Mark 5:21–43). The same event is also recorded in Matthew 9 and Luke 8. Only Mark, however, preserves the Aramaic words themselves; Luke 8:54 conveys only their meaning: "Maid, arise."

The Words and Their Background

The phrase is a transliteration into Greek letters of Aramaic, a Semitic language closely related to Old Testament Hebrew that was the everyday language of Judea in the time of Jesus. Talitha is an affectionate term for a young girl, and koum is an imperative meaning "arise." Greek manuscripts transmit two forms of the verb: koum and koumi (the latter reflected in the KJV's "cumi").

Mark's Gospel preserves several other Aramaic expressions in their original form, including "Ephphatha" (7:34), "Corban" (7:11), "Abba" (14:36), and "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani" (15:34). In each case Mark explains the meaning. Scholars regard this as a courtesy to Gentile readers unfamiliar with Aramaic, and some also see it as evidence of an effort to preserve the actual sound of Jesus' words. For further details, see Languages of the Bible.

Significance in the Wider Bible

Along with the raising of Lazarus and the raising of the widow's son at Nain (Luke 7:11–17), this event is one of the Gospel accounts of Jesus raising the dead. In Acts 9:40, Peter says to the dead Tabitha, "Tabitha, arise"; because the wording closely resembles this event, many interpreters read the two passages side by side.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• "Sleeping": Jesus says, "the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth" (Mark 5:39). Most interpreters read this as a figure of speech likening death to sleep. The same figure appears in John 11:11, where the death of Lazarus is described as sleep. Luke 8:53 likewise records that the people knew the girl was dead. A minority view, however, holds that the girl had not actually died.
• Resuscitation and resurrection: Many theologians understand the girl's return to life as a "resuscitation," a return to her former body, and distinguish it from Jesus' resurrection, in which he rose in a body that would never die again.
• Not an incantation: Because the original words have been preserved, the phrase is sometimes treated as an incantation with special power. Interpreters generally hold, however, that the source of power lies not in the words themselves but in the one who speaks them.
• Relation to divine healing today: Pentecostal and charismatic traditions sometimes read this passage as a basis for divine healing continuing today. Those closer to cessationism, by contrast, tend to understand it as a unique sign revealing Jesus' messiahship. For further details, see Cessationism and Continuationism.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, talitha koum is widely known as a phrase symbolizing Jesus' word that raises up the discouraged. It frequently appears in sermon titles and devotional writings.