Matthew 9:18

Is even now dead (arti eteleuthsen). Aorist tense with arti and so better, "just now died," "just dead" (Moffatt). Mark ( Mark 5:23 ) has it "at the point of death," Luke ( Luke 8:42 ) "lay a dying." It is not always easy even for physicians to tell when actual death has come. Jesus in Luke 9:24 pointedly said, "The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth," meaning that she did not die to stay dead.