a. What lexical-syntactical factors would you consider as you attempt to answer this question? In Matthew 9:18, the Greek word used for "dead" was "teleutao", and this word means to finish, bring to an end, or to close. The ruler probably thought that his daughter was either dead or very near death, but he clearly believed that Jesus could heal her. In Matthew 9:23-24, when Jesus said that the girl was not dead, he used the Greek word "apothnesko", which means to die a natural death or to perish from something. Jesus told the crowd that had gathered that the girl had not experienced natural death or perished from something else. The ruler said that his daughter was coming to an end (teleutao) while Jesus explicitly said that she was not dead (apothnesko). Neither individual confirmed for certain that the girl had actually died.

b. What factors suggest that she was dead? Evaluate the strength of these factors. In Matthew 9:18, the Greek word used for "dead" was "teleutao", and this word means to finish, bring to an end, or to close. The ruler probably thought that his daughter was either dead or very near death. In Matthew 9:23, the crowd that had gathered were professional mourners, so they also probably thought that the girl was either dead or very near death.

c. What factors suggest that she was comatose rather than dead? Evaluate the strength of these factors. Matthew 9:23-24 says, "When Jesus entered the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, he said, 'Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.' But they laughed at him." When Jesus said that the girl was not dead, he used the Greek word "apothnesko", which means to die a natural death or to perish from something. Jesus told the crowd that had gathered that the girl had not experienced natural death or perished from anything else.

d. Do you think she was comatose or dead? Use of the Greek words "teleutao" and "apothnesko" imply that the girl was comatose instead of dead. Other uses of "teleutao" in the New Testament show that this word is usually associated with the topic of death but not always with an actual death. Other uses of "apothnesko" in the New Testament show that this word is almost always associated with actual death. So, the ruler used a lesser term to raise the issue of death to Jesus, but Jesus told the crowd that the girl had not actually died.