"Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani" is a quote in Aramaic -- meaning "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me" -- attributed in the New Testament to Jesus as he was crucified. In English translation, these words also comprise the beginning of the Twenty-Second Psalm.
The late Aramaic Bible researcher George Lamsa claimed that the traditional "forsaken" interpretation is a mistake in the Aramaic scribing -- which was transferred to later transcriptions. Lamsa claimed that the mis-translation was natural, and that "the correct translation from Aramaic should be "Eli, Eli, lemana shabakthani" or "My God, my God, for this I was spared?" (Or "...for such a purpose was I spared!") which is to say, according to Lamsa, "this is my destiny." [1]
Among most Christians the former interpretation is still believed to be correct, and the newer Lamsa interpretation is considered by some as heresy.
