Did Jesus die on a cross? July 9, 2010 6:26 PM MST Facebook Twitter Pinterest Linkedin Google Plus crux simplex, from a 16th century woodcut crux simplex, from a 16th century woodcut Justus Lipsius Good Morning America reported this week on a thesis by Swedish theologian Gunnar Samuelsson in which he claims there is no historical support for the notion that Jesus died on a cross. If this is true, what effect should it have on Christians? There is no distinct punishment called crucifixion, no distinct punishment device called a crucifix anywhere mentioned in any of the ancient texts including the Gospels, he told ABCNews. For his thesis, Crucifixion in Antiquity: An Inquiry into the Background of the New Testament Terminology of Crucifixion, Samuelson analyzed thousands of ancient texts to compare their wording with the wording of the gospel accounts and what he found is that there is simply no proof that Jesus was nailed to a cross. There are two Greek words in question: stauros (stow-rose or stav-rose) and xylon (ksee-lon). Peter seems to favor xylon. For example, in his speech recorded at Acts 5:30 Peter says, The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a [xylon]. Some bibles translate that as cross and some as tree. Which is correct? Genesis 40:19 talks about the execution of an Egyptian, his body being hung on a tree. When the passage was translated into the Greek Septuagint version, the translators used a form of the word xylon. Jeromes Latin Vulgate says the baker was to be hanged on a cruce, a form of the word crux. In English, some bibles say the baker was hanged on a cross, but the primary definition of crux is tree, not cross. Further, there is no historical evidence that the Egyptians crucified people, There is, however, historical evidence that they displayed the dead bodies of people with whom they were displeased by hanging them on trees or impaling them on poles. Joshua 10:24 relates an account of Joshua winning a victory over 5 kings, and says he put their dead bodies on display. Again, the translators of the Greek Septuagint used the word xylon. Jerome translated it stipites - posts or poles - in his latin Vulgate. Are we to believe Joshua hung the bodies of the 5 kings on crosses, 1500 years before Jesus was executed? Or is it more likely he followed an Egyptian practice with which he was familiar? Esther 5:14 refers to Haman preparing a stake 75 feet high on which to hang Mordecai. The Greek translates it xylon, the Latin trabem (beam). What purpose would have been served by a crossbeam 75 feet in the air? What about stauros? The gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, use stauros about 10 times with reference to Jesus executional implement. The remainder of the Bible uses it another dozen times. Several reputable Greek dictionaries advise that the definition of stauros is a stake or pole. For example, Vines Expository Dictionary of Greek Words says of stauros: Primarily, an upright pale or stake. On such malefactors were nailed for execution. Paul Schmidts The History of Jesus says stauros means every upright standing pale or tree trunk.” The Greek-English Lexicon of Liddell and Scott gives the first definition of stauros as an upright stake or pole. In spite of this, you would be hard pressed to find an English bible that doesnt translate stauros as cross when referring to Jesus execution. (I looked at over a dozen online, and the only one that didnt translate stauros as cross was the Jehovahs Witnesses New World Translation.) One of the most telling points in Samuelssons research is this: he points out that in the ancient literature, the word stauros is used with reference to hanging fruit or animal carcasses up to dry. Its rather silly to think of fruit being crucified. The fact of Jesus execution is far more important than the implement on which he died. The fact that translators allowed their preconceptions to sway them to translate stauros as cross instead of stake or pole has to make one wonder about the accuracy of the rest of their translations. And a serious Christian should also wonder where the cross idea came from. If, as Alexander Hislop suggested, it originated as the symbol for the god Tammuz, it is certainly inappropriate for Christians. Even if it didnt, isnt wearing a little gold copy of someones murder weapon on a chain around your neck a little gruesome? Please feel free to leave a comment. Comments containing derogatory language or links to other sites will be deleted. If you would like to be notified when I post a new article, click on the Subscribe button, above.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 23:24:58 +0000
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