Buckhannon, WV; December 11th, 2025

When Jesus cried ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama shabaqtani,’ he wasn’t expressing abandonment (as some may try to suggest), because the Hebrew word (azavtani) and the Aramaic word (shabaqtani) mean ‘to hand over, permit, or allow; it does not mean to reject; the Greek (also) conveys this as an ongoing action, ‘why are you allowing me to be handed over to this suffering right now?’ In the 1^st-century Jewish world, it was customary to invoke an entire psalm by quoting the first line, so when Jesus began Psalm 22, scripture-literate Jews that heard and understood would have recognized that Jesus was identifying himself with that Psalm: the righteous sufferer whose agony, vindication, and worldwide victory the Psalm proclaims.

 Now, Psalm 22 ends with God answering, rescuing, and bringing the nations to worship, and this (in context) is where Jesus drops the mic by saying ‘tetelestai; he has done it’ (modern English translations usually say ‘it is finished’), Jesus was saying, in that moment, that God had (literally, through Jesus) just accomplished the salvation described in Psalm 22. This wasn’t coincidence, this was scripture folding back on scripture: he opens the psalm, lives the psalm, and then completes it; he claims the final line.

  Over 2000 years ago, Jesus the Christ suffered and died on a cross, died and was buried, rose again on the 3^rd day and ascended into heaven, and he is coming back for his Church; and he has offered this free gift of salvation, that was provided through him by God, to everyone who will accept him.

    It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past, or what you did just a second ago: the free gift is offered to you, the reader of these words; all Jesus asks of us is to start and remain in the process of repenting, and start and remain in the process of picking up our cross and following him: he doesn’t demand flawlessness, he asks, simply for obedience.

   If you aren’t saved today, it’s very easy to become saved: all you have to do is accept what’s already been offered: salvation through Christ.

                                      God Bless You All

At the Appalachian Post, all Faith & Life analysis follows a strict Sola Scriptura method grounded in the earliest manuscript evidence, the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages, and the historical context in which each passage was written. We allow Scripture to interpret Scripture, avoid denominational bias, and base every conclusion solely on what the biblical text itself says as preserved in sources such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint Greek, and early New Testament manuscripts. Our aim is to present God’s Word faithfully, using original-language grammar, historical background, and manuscript accuracy, without personal opinion or modern cultural interpretation, so readers encounter Scripture as it was given, preserved, and understood by the earliest believers.

Primary translation rendering generated using the Hebrew Masoretic Text (BHS), the Greek New Testament critical text (NA28/UBS5), and Appalachian Post’s continuous-action original-language translation standard. No modern English translation used.

PRIMARY LINGUISTIC SOURCES

Hebrew (Psalm 22)

• Brown–Driver–Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (BDB)
• HALOT — The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Koehler–Baumgartner)
• Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar (GKC)
• The Hebrew Masoretic Text (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia / BHS)
• Waltke–O’Connor: An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

Aramaic (Jesus’ cry “shabaqtani”)

• The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon (CAL)
• Jastrow’s Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi, and Midrashic Literature
• Sokoloff’s Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic
• Peshitta Syriac New Testament — critical edition
• Targumic Aramaic textual witnesses (Targum Onkelos, Targum Jonathan for lexical parallels)

Koine Greek (Gospel text, “tetelestai”)

• BDAG — Bauer, Danker, Arndt, Gingrich Greek Lexicon
• LSJ — Liddell, Scott, Jones Greek-English Lexicon
• NA28 — Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament Critical Edition
• SBLGNT — Society of Biblical Literature Greek New Testament
• Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics (for tense/aspect of τετέλεσται)

HISTORICAL & CULTURAL SOURCES (Psalm Invocation Tradition)

Jewish practice of invoking entire psalms by quoting the first line

• Mishnah Berakhot (esp. ch. 5) — practice of invoking passages by their opening words
• Talmud Bavli, Berakhot 9b — use of first lines to invoke whole sections
• Dead Sea Scrolls (Psalm manuscripts: 11QPs-a, etc.) — evidence of psalm usage and liturgical citation by incipit
• Philo of Alexandria (e.g., De Specialibus Legibus) — citations by opening line
• Josephus, Antiquities & War — examples of Scripture invoked by incipit
• Second Temple liturgical patterns documented in the Jerusalem Temple liturgy traditions

This is why Jews immediately recognized Psalm 22 when the first line was spoken.

CRUCIFIXION PHYSIOLOGY SOURCES (why Jesus’ speech was slurred / hard to understand)

Medical + historical documentation on crucifixion effects

• Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ” (Edwards et al., 1986)
• F. Zugibe, The Crucifixion of Jesus: A Forensic Inquiry
• Roman historical sources: Seneca, De Ira; Plautus; Cicero, In Verrem
• Hengel, Crucifixion in the Ancient World and the Folly of the Message of the Cross
• Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History (records of Roman crucifixion practices)

These show:

• dehydration
• hypovolemic shock
• asphyxiation
• blood pooling in throat
• difficulty forming words
  …all causing mishearing.

LINGUISTIC CONFUSION SOURCES (Eloi vs. Elijah)

Semitic phonetic overlap documentation

• Fitzmyer, A Wandering Aramean: Collected Aramaic Essays
• Muraoka, Classical Syriac for Hebrew Speakers
• Sokoloff, Dictionary of Christian Palestinian Aramaic
• Segal, Grammar of Mishnaic Hebrew
  These document how:
• ’Eloi (My God)
  and
• Eliyah / Elijah
  are easily confused in noisy environments.

TEXTUAL SOURCES FOR “HE HAS DONE IT” → “IT IS FINISHED” CONNECTION

Hebrew → Greek concept sources for completion language

• The Hebrew Masoretic Text (Psalm 22:31: כִּי עָשָׂה / ki asah)
• Septuagint usage of τελέω (teleō) and τετέλεσται (tetelestai)
• BDAG entries for τελέω / τετέλεσται
• LSJ semantic domain for accomplishment / completion

This is the linguistic backbone for understanding that
Jesus finishes Psalm 22 with “tetelestai,” the Greek conceptual equivalent of “He has done it.”