The Aramaic clause maran atha
(v. 22b) obviously comes to us from
the Aramaic-speaking Christian community, probably in Jerusalem. If we read it
as maran atha, which is possible, it
would mean “our Lord has come.” Read as marana
tha, which seems more likely, it is a prayer: “Come, Lord.” This latter
interpretation is supported by what is probably a Greek translation of the
clause in Rev. 22:20: “Come, Lord Jesus.” Didache 10.6 also supports the view
that this was an early eschatological prayer for the Lord to return. There is
no evidence for the view that it was used as an invocation of Christ over the
Eucharist during the NT era. In the Didache it is found among the prayers at
the close of the Eucharist. (Ben Witherington III, Conflict and
Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians [Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1995], 323)
