Arise
Arise is the traditional English rendering of a group of Hebrew and Greek imperatives that call someone to get up, stand and act. In the Old Testament it is often the first word of a divine commission: God tells Abram, Joshua and Jonah to arise before he tells them where to go. In the prophets it becomes a summons to a humbled people, as when Zion is told, “Arise, shine, for your light has come” (Isaiah 60:1).
In the Gospels the same command takes on a new weight. On the lips of Jesus, “arise” is spoken to the dead, and the dead obey: the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:41) and the widow's son at Nain (Luke 7:14). The apostles repeat the word in Jesus' name (Acts 9:40), and Paul applies it to the spiritual awakening of believers (Ephesians 5:14). The biblical “arise” therefore runs from calling to resurrection, and in both cases it is God's word that gives the strength to obey.
1. Etymology and meaning
The main Hebrew verb is qûm (קוּם), “to rise, stand up, stand firm.” Its imperative forms are qûm (to a man) and qûmî (to a woman or a city personified as a woman, as in Isaiah 60:1, qûmî ’ôrî, “arise, shine”). The same root in its causative form means “to raise up” or “to establish,” and is used when God raises up judges or establishes his covenant. Very often qûm works as an introductory verb before another command: “arise, walk” (Genesis 13:17), “arise, go over” (Joshua 1:2), “arise, go” (Jonah 1:2). A related verb, ‘ûr, “to awake,” appears in the prophetic cries “Awake, awake” (Isaiah 51:9; 52:1).
In Greek, two verbs carry the idea. Egeirō means “to wake, raise”; its imperative egeire (“get up”) is used by Jesus in healings and raisings (Mark 2:11; 5:41), and its passive describes his own resurrection: “He has risen” (Matthew 28:6). Anistēmi means “to stand up, raise”; its imperative is anastēthi or anasta (Acts 9:40; Ephesians 5:14), and from it comes anastasis, the New Testament word for resurrection. In Mark 5:41 the evangelist preserves Jesus' Aramaic words, Talitha koum, from ṭalyĕtā’ (“little girl”) and qûm (“arise”); some manuscripts have koumi, the feminine form.
2. Historical context and biblical use
Arise and go: the call to obedience
In the life of Israel the command to arise marks turning points. After Lot separated from him, the LORD told Abram, “Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you” (Genesis 13:17). After the death of Moses, the word came to Joshua: “Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan” (Joshua 1:2). When the LORD sent Jonah, he said, “Arise, go to Nineveh” (Jonah 1:2); Jonah did rise, but to flee to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3), and only after the second call did he arise and go (Jonah 3:2-3). To the exhausted Elijah an angel said twice, “Arise and eat,” because the journey was too great for him (1 Kings 19:5-7).
Arise, O LORD: the prayer of the people
The same verb is used in the opposite direction, in prayer. When the ark set out in the wilderness, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered” (Numbers 10:35), and the psalmist asked, “Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place” (Psalm 132:8). Israel's “arise” to God is a plea that he act; God's “arise” to Israel is a command to trust and move.
Arise from the dust: prophetic hope
The prophets address Jerusalem as a woman sitting in the dust of humiliation: “Shake yourself from the dust and arise” (Isaiah 52:2). In Isaiah 60:1-3 she is told to arise and shine because the glory of the LORD has risen upon her, and nations will come to her light. The language of rising also expresses the hope of resurrection: “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise” (Isaiah 26:19; see also Daniel 12:2).
3. Key passages
Mark 5:35-43 (parallel Luke 8:49-56). Messengers tell Jairus that his daughter is dead. Jesus takes the child by the hand and says, “Talitha koum,” which Mark translates, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” Immediately the twelve-year-old gets up and walks. The tenderness of the word (“little girl”) is joined to divine authority (“I say to you”).
Luke 7:11-17. At the gate of Nain Jesus meets the funeral of a widow's only son. Moved with compassion, he touches the bier and says, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” The dead man sits up and begins to speak, and Jesus gives him to his mother. The crowd concludes that God has visited his people.
Acts 9:36-42. In Joppa, Tabitha (Dorcas), a disciple known for good works and charity, dies. Peter sends everyone out, kneels and prays, and then says, “Tabitha, arise.” She opens her eyes and sits up, and many believe in the Lord. Peter does not speak in his own authority; he prays first, and earlier in the chapter he had told Aeneas, “Jesus Christ heals you; rise” (Acts 9:34).
Ephesians 5:14. Paul quotes a saying, probably an early Christian hymn that echoes Isaiah 60:1: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Here the command is addressed to people who were dead in trespasses and sins and were made alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5), calling them to leave the works of darkness and walk as children of light.
4. Theological significance
First, the biblical “arise” shows that God's word gives what it commands. A dead girl cannot obey an order, yet she obeys Jesus' word, because the word itself carries life. This is the same pattern as creation, where God speaks and it is so. Salvation works the same way: the sinner, dead in sin, rises because Christ calls (Ephesians 2:4-5).
Second, the raisings performed by Jesus and his apostles are signs pointing forward. The girl, the young man and Tabitha returned to mortal life and would die again. They anticipate Jesus' own resurrection, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20), and the final day when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out (John 5:28-29). The Old Testament hope that God would raise his people (Hosea 6:2; Isaiah 26:19) finds its fulfillment in him.
Third, rising is always for a purpose. Abram rises to walk the land of promise, Joshua to cross the Jordan, Jonah to preach, Zion to shine for the nations, the believer to walk in the light. God does not lift his people up only to comfort them, but to send them.
5. Legacy and canonical references
The word appears at many decisive moments of the biblical story. The prodigal son says, “I will arise and go to my father,” and he arose and came (Luke 15:18-20). In Gethsemane Jesus tells his sleeping disciples, “Rise, let us be going” (Mark 14:42). The risen Christ tells the fallen Saul, “Rise and enter the city” (Acts 9:6), and Ananias tells him, “Rise and be baptized” (Acts 22:16). The beloved in the Song hears, “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away” (Song of Solomon 2:10). Paul reminds the Romans that “the hour has come for you to wake from sleep” (Romans 13:11).
The Aramaic Talitha koum is one of the few sayings of Jesus preserved in his own language, a sign of how deeply that moment marked the memory of the first disciples. In Christian worship and preaching, Isaiah 60:1 has long been read at Epiphany and Advent as a call to the church to reflect the light of Christ.
6. Application for today
Many believers hear God's “arise” at a time when they feel unable to stand: after a loss like Joshua, in exhaustion like Elijah, after running away like Jonah. Scripture teaches that the command comes with strength. The angel gave Elijah food before the journey; the Lord gave Jonah a second call. When God says “arise,” he also supplies what we need to obey.
The word is also an invitation to wake from spiritual drowsiness. Paul's call, “Awake, O sleeper,” is addressed to Christians who can grow comfortable with darkness. To arise is to return to prayer, to Scripture, to obedience, and to let Christ shine on us.
Finally, the “arise” spoken over a little girl in Capernaum is a promise for everyone who belongs to Christ. The same voice will one day call his people from the grave. Until then, each small act of faithful obedience is a rehearsal of that morning when we will rise to be with him forever.