Bystanders can be “onlookers” or “people who were near.”

According to the Old Testament (2 Kgs 2.9-12), Elijah was taken up alive into heaven, and it was common belief among the Jews that he might come to help them in time of need. In Hebrew his name sounds very similar to the cry “Eli” (verse 46), though it is not similar in sound to “Eloi” (Mark 15.34).

Some translators render calling Elijah as “calling on Elijah for help.” In addition, it often helps readers who do not know who Elijah was, to say “the prophet Elijah.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .