Matthew 9:20-21

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 

[9:20]  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.”