Was Matthew only clarifying what Jesus said on the Cross?
Question:
In Was Matthew originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic? you stated:
This verse is one of several in Matthew which shows that Matthew was originally written in Greek. You see, if it was written in Hebrew or Aramaic as has been recently popular to claim, there would be no need to explain Hebrew or Aramaic phrases.
"And about the ninth hour Yahushua cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My Elohim, my Elohim, why hast thou forsaken me?"
Couldn't it be that the reason the explanation was given also is to not create confusion. since some thought he was calling on Elijah. this verse clears up that confusion and tells us he was calling on his Elohim.
Answer:
"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"" (Matthew 27:46).
The Greek says:
peri (about) de (and) ten (the) ennaten (ninth) horan (hour) aneboesen (cried out) ho Iesous (Jesus) phone (with a voice) megale (loud) legon (saying) Eli Eli lama sabachthani tour (that) estin (is) Thee (God) mou (my) Thee (God) mou (my) hinati (why) me (me) enkatelipes (you forsook?)
The quotation you gave doesn't consistently translate Greek into English. Instead, Hebrew transliterations are substituted for the English names of Jesus and God using the King James Version as its base text. If this was supposed to be a clarification of the Hebrew why are both the first and second statements not in the same language? Why hasn't this been directly translated from a Hebrew copy of Matthew? Of course, all that exists are Hebrew translations of the original Greek version of Matthew. But it doesn't help your point to use an edited version of the Kings James Version for "proof."
In the original Greek, Hebrew words were transliterated into the Greek alphabet and then a Greek translation of the Hebrew was given. This was not a clarification of Hebrew to Hebrew. Greek is clearly the language in which this was written. Nor is this the only example of the translation of a Hebrew phrase or place name being translated into Greek for the reader of Matthew. Therefore, the argument does not match the facts, nor is it being consistently applied across the book.
