Jairus’s Daughter Raised from Death
Messengers report that Jairus’s daughter has died, but Jesus tells him not to fear and to believe. Taking Peter, James, John, and the girl’s parents into the room, Jesus takes her hand and says in Aramaic, “Talitha cumi,” which Mark translates for his readers. She rises and walks, and Jesus tells them to give her something to eat.
Where this fits in the story: earlier prophets such as Elijah and Elisha were involved in the restoration of dead children, but they prayed and acted as servants of God. Mark portrays Jesus issuing the command directly. The scene therefore both resembles Israel’s prophetic miracle tradition and intensifies the identity question.