“Touched the fringe of his cloak”
Matthew 9:20
Cultural referenceWell-supportedNarrator
Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak. (Matthew 9:20 BSB)
* Greek: kraspedon, the tzitzit tassel commanded in Numbers 15:38–39.
What it sounds like today
She grabbed the hem, the nearest bit of cloth.
The cultural key
The 'fringe' is the tzitzit: tassels with a blue cord that Numbers 15:38–39 commanded on every Israelite man's garment corners, as a wearable reminder of the commandments. Zechariah 8:23 pictures the nations grasping a Jew's garment-corner to reach God; Malachi 4:2 promises the sun of righteousness 'with healing in its wings,' and 'wings' (kanaph) is the same word as garment-corner. Her discharge made her ritually unclean; her touch should have transmitted uncleanness to him.
Recovered meaning
She reaches for the most commandment-laden point of his clothing, possibly acting on Malachi's promise, and once again purity flows backward: instead of him becoming unclean, she becomes whole.