Talitha Cumi

Talitha cumi (Aramaic טַלִּיתָא קוּמִי, "little girl, arise") are the words Jesus spoke when he raised the twelve-year-old daughter of Jairus from the dead (Mark 5:41). Mark preserves the Aramaic original alongside his Greek translation — "Damsel, I say unto thee, arise" — giving the reader direct access to Jesus' actual words. The diminutive talitha ("little girl" or "little lamb") expresses the tenderness of the moment. Immediately she rose and walked, causing astonishment among the witnesses (Mark 5:42–43). Jesus ordered that she be given food and that the miracle not be publicized. The preservation of these Aramaic words alongside "Ephphatha" (Mark 7:34) and "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani" (Mark 15:34) reflects Mark's eyewitness detail.