Text -- Matthew 9:20 (NET)

9:20 But a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Mat 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).

² sn Suffering from a hemorrhage. The woman was most likely suffering from a vaginal hemorrhage which would make her ritually unclean.

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.

⁴ tn Grk “garment,” but here ἱμάτιον (Jimation) denotes the outer garment in particular.