What Does Mark 5:41 Mean in the King James?
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 analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The command translated “arise” is the same Greek raising-word used for “he is risen,” spoken here as a direct call to the girl.
THE MEANING
The hand is already holding hers when the voice addresses her; the call to rise comes before she can answer. This verse speaks now wherever stillness feels final: its command carries the force of awakening and being raised from death. The unreachable does not have to produce its own first movement.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that life must show movement before it can be met: the hand holds hers before the command comes.
THE ROOT
ἔγειρε
égeire
GROWS FROM
ἐγείρω
to wake, rouse, or raise up
“arise” in this verse is égeire. The Greek command ἔγειρε translates the Aramaic call in “Talitha cumi,” and its verb family also names being raised from death. The call to this girl carries the same raising-word used for resurrection.
ALSO GROWS
ēgerthē: he was raised; he is risen
ἠγέρθη
This is the form used in Mark 16:6 to announce Jesus’ resurrection, linking the command to rise with the announcement of one who has risen.
egeiretai: is raised
ἐγείρεται
In 1 Corinthians 15:42 this form describes the body being raised in incorruption, carrying the same root into the language of resurrection.
κρατήσας
kratēsas
GROWS FROM
κρατέω
to grasp, take hold of, or hold fast
“took” in this verse is kratēsas. The Greek word means taking hold, not merely making a passing touch. The raising command arrives with the girl’s hand already firmly held, joining physical contact to the spoken call.
ALSO GROWS
kratountes: holding fast
κρατοῦντες
Mark 7:3 uses this same verb family for holding fast to a tradition; here the holding is bodily and immediate.
ekratēsan: they seized; they took hold of
ἐκράτησαν
Mark 14:46 uses this form for taking hold of Jesus, showing the grasping force present in the hand held here.
THE PATTERN
A word addresses the dead directly and calls them into rising.
Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.THE THREAD
And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.The Greek word rendered “he is risen” belongs to the same verb family as the command “arise” spoken to the girl. The word beside her bed is the same raising-word that names the empty tomb.
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