What is the emphasis in the Aramaic of our Lord’s cry on the cross?

This text is from a letter written by David Gooding in 1990.

You ask about the emphasis in the Aramaic of our Lord's cry upon the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34).

The first thing I ought to say is that I am not sufficiently qualified in Aramaic to give an authoritative verdict. The Lord's words are, of course, translated both by Matthew and Mark into Greek; but in the Greek text before me, neither the Aramaic nor the Greek is exactly the same in the two Gospels.

In particular, the order of the words in the Greek is different. In Matthew 'me' comes before the verb; but in Mark, after the verb. In Mark 'me' is attached as an enclitic to the verb, and that suggests that it does not have any special emphasis. In Matthew 'me' comes before the verb and could be read as indicating some emphasis; but once more the form of the word is 'me' and not eme, which is the form that one would have expected if it were intended to carry heavy emphasis. Now, of course, we cannot necessarily argue from the Greek as to what word in the Aramaic carried emphasis; but as far as Matthew and Mark's translations convey the meaning of the original to their readers, they certainly do not go out of their way to place the emphasis on 'me'.

In a Greek sentence, of course, which is constructed in a way that no word has particular emphasis, it is right and possible for the reader to place emphasis on each and every word. You will find the writer to the Hebrews does this kind of thing in his exposition of Psalm 95 in Hebrews 3 and 4. He dwells successively on each word of the text he quotes.

More than this, however, I cannot helpfully say. You should consult the experts in Aramaic.

Ever truly yours in Christ,