Matius 9:20-22

9:20 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  9:22 But when Jesus turned and saw her he said, “Have courage, daughter! Your faith has made you well.” ⁷  And the woman was healed ⁸  from that hour.

[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]  ⁶ tn Grk “saved.”

[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.”

[9:22]  ⁷ tn Or “has delivered you”; Grk “has saved you.” This should not be understood as an expression for full salvation in the immediate context; it refers only to the woman’s healing.

[9:22]  ⁸ tn Grk “saved.”