Does Psalms 22 Describe the Crucifixion Scenario?

"Steve" 

Does Psalms 22 Describe the Crucifixion Scenario?


I. Introduction


A casual reading of Psalms 22, either in the Hebrew or in an accurate
translation from the Hebrew, is not likely to raise many eyebrows or
draw much attention as having some special and unique significance to
Christianity. It is only when reading a Christian rendering, such as
that in the King James Version (KJV), that one begins to see why
Christians commonly refer to this psalm as the Crucifixion Psalm.



This, in and of itself, is of no consequence to Judaism per se.
However, when Christian missionaries attempt to use this psalm to
evangelize Jews and claim this to be a prophetic work that foretells
the death on the cross of Jesus, a response, in terms of a clear and
accurate Jewish perspective, is required.



In this tract the Christian perspective on Psalms 22 is contrasted
with the Jewish perspective by analyzing the Hebrew text of several
key verses. This analysis will demonstrate that, when read and
interpreted in the correct context, this psalm describes a historic
account rather than the messianic prophecy that is claimed by
Christian apologists and missionaries.



II. Review and Comparison of English Translations of
Psalms 22


Table II-1 contains verse-by-verse English renditions of Psalms 22 –
the KJV translation on the left, and a Jewish translation on the
right. Note that the respective verse numbers are out of
synchronization since, in Christian Bibles, the introductory verse,
the superscription, is not numbered separately as a verse.
Consequently, the notation of verse numbers will indicate the verse
number in the Hebrew Bible followed by the corresponding verse number
in Christian Bible enclosed in square brackets. The KJV rendition
also shows references to several key passages in the New Testament,
where the respective portions of this psalm are cross-referenced.
These references were taken from the New American Standard Bible
(NASB).



Table II-1 – English translations of Psalms 22



Psalms 22

vs.
King James Version
vs.
Jewish Translation from Hebrew

1
[To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.] My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [why art thou so] far from
helping me, [and from] the words of my roaring?(1)
1
For the conductor, on the Ayeleth HaShakhar, a Psalm of David.

2
My G-d, my G-d, why have You forsaken me? [You are] so far from my
salvation, from the words of my loud moaning?

2
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the
night season, and am not silent.
3
My G-d, I call out in the daytime, and You do not reply; and at nigh
I do not keep silent.

3
But thou [art] holy, [O thou] that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
4
But You are holy, You await the praises of Israel.

4
Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver
them.
5
Our ancestors trusted in You; they trusted, and You rescued them.

5
They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and
were not confounded.
6
They cried out to You, and they escaped; they trusted in You, and
they were not shamed.

6
But I [am] a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of
the people.
7
But I am a worm, and not a man; a reproach of man and despised by
the people.

7
All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they
shake the head, [saying],
8
All those who see me will mock me; they will open their lip, they
will shake their head, [saying],

8
He trusted on the LORD [that] he would deliver him: let him deliver
him, seeing he delighted in him.
9
He should cast his trust upon the L-rd so that He will rescue him;
He will save him because he delights in Him.

9
But thou [art] he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me
hope [when I was] upon my mother's breasts.
10
For You took me out of the womb; You made me secure upon my mother's
breasts.

10
I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou [art] my God from my
mother's belly.
11
Upon You, I was cast from the womb; from my mother's belly, You are
my G-d.

11
Be not far from me; for trouble [is] near; for [there is] none to
help.
12
Do not distance Yourself from me, for distress is near; for there is
none to help.

12
Many bulls have compassed me: strong [bulls] of Bashan have beset me
round.
13
Great bulls have surrounded me; the mighty ones of Bashan surrounded
me.

13
They gaped upon me [with] their mouths, [as] a ravening and a
roaring lion.
14
They opened wide their mouths at me, [like] a ravening and a roaring
lion.

14
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my
heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15
I was spilled like water, and all my bones were separated; my heart
was like wax, melting within my innards.

15
My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to
my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16
My strength became dried out like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves
to my palate; and You set me down in the dust of death.

16
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed
me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
17
For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers encompassed me;
like a lion [they are at] my hands and my feet.

17
I may tell all my bones: they look [and] stare upon me.
18
I can count all my bones. They look and stare at me.

18
They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.(2)
19
They divide my garments among themselves, and cast lots for my
raiment.

19
But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to
help me.
20
But You, O L-rd, do not distance Yourself; my strength, hasten to my
help.

20
Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
21
Save my soul from the sword; my only one from the grip of the dog.

21
Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns
of the unicorns.
22
Save me from the lion's mouth; for You have answered my call from
the horns of the wild oxen.

22
I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the
congregation will I praise thee.(3)
23
I will declare Your Name to my brothers; in the midst of the
congregation will I praise You.

23
Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify
him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24
You who fear the L-rd, praise Him; all the seed of Jacob, honor Him;
and fear Him, all the seed of Israel.

24
For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the
afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried
unto him, he heard.
25
For He has neither despised nor loathed the suffering of the poor;
neither has He hidden His countenance from him; and when he cried to
Him, He hearkened.

25
My praise [shall be] of thee in the great congregation: I will pay
my vows before them that fear him.
26
Because of You is my praise in the great congregation; I will pay my
vows in the presence of those who fear Him.

26
The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that
seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
27
The humble shall eat and be sated; they shall praise the L-rd, those
who seek Him; may your heart live forever!

27
All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and
all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
28
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the L-rd, and
all the families of the nations shall prostrate themselves before You.

28
For the kingdom [is] the LORD'S: and he [is] the governor among the
nations.
29
For the kingship is the L-rd's; and He rules over the nations.

29
All [they that be] fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they
that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep
alive his own soul.
30
They shall eat all the best of the earth and prostrate themselves;
before him shall kneel all those who descend to the dust, and He will
not quicken his soul.

30
A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a
generation.
31
The seed that worships Him shall be the L-rd's, as told to the next
generations.

31
They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people
that shall be born, that he hath done [this].
32
They shall come and declare His righteousness to a newborn people,
for He has done [this].


1. Matthew 27:46(KJV) - And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a
loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli,

lama sabachthani? that is to
say, My God, my God, why hast thou

forsaken me?

Mark 15:34(KJV) - And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud
voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama

sabachthani? which is, being
interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou

forsaken me?

2. Matthew 27:35(KJV) - And they crucified him, and parted his
garments, casting lots: that it

might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophet, They parted my

garments among them, and upon
my vesture did they cast lots.

John 19:23-24(KJV) - (23) Then the soldiers, when they had
crucified Jesus, took his

garments, and made four parts,
to every soldier a part; and also [his]

coat: now the coat was without
seam, woven from the top throughout.

(24) They said therefore among
themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast

lots for it, whose it shall
be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which

saith, They parted my raiment
among them, and for my vesture they did

cast lots. These things
therefore the soldiers did.

3. Hebrews 2:12(KJV) - Saying, I will declare thy name unto my
brethren, in the midst of the

church will I sing praise unto
thee.



III. Christian and Jewish Interpretations of Psalms 22


A. The Christian Interpretation



Only an overview of the Christian perspective is presented here.
Standard Christian sources, commentaries by Matthew Henry and
Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown, provide more detailed verse-by-verse
Christian interpretations of Psalms 22, which are beyond the scope of
this essay.



The Church has long regarded Psalms 22 as a prophetic messianic psalm
that describes the agony of the Passion (Ps 22:2[1]), the Crucifixion
(Ps 22:17[16]), and Resurrection (Ps 22:23[22]) of Jesus, the Messiah
of Christianity. These passages are "quoted" in the New Testament
as "evidence" of the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies
allegedly contained in this psalm. Perhaps the most notable "quote"
from this psalm found in the New Testament is its opening verse, one
that is used by the authors of the Gospels of Matthew (Mt 27:46) and
Mark (Mk 15:34) as the passionate statement of the crucified Jesus
and his last words as he was dying on the cross. In the Gospels of
Matthew (Mt 27:35) and John (Jn 19:24), verse 19[18] is "quoted" in
the "Crucifixion narrative"; while the author of the Book of Hebrews
(He 2:12) "quotes" Psalms 22:23[22] to explain why Jesus needed to
suffer for humanity.



These passages will be revisited later on in the analysis segment.
It is interesting to note that one of the most important verses in
this psalm, from the Christian perspective – Psalms 22:17[16], is not
cited by any of the New Testament authors. Their silence on this
verse may suggest that this verse may have not had the same form as
that found in most Christian translations.



B. The Jewish Interpretation



As was done with the Christian perspective, this will be a summary of
the Jewish interpretation. A detailed analysis & commentary, on a
verse-by-verse basis, is beyond the scope of this presentation.



The Jewish perspective rests in the context as well as on the
consistency of the themes described throughout the psalm with the
rest of the Hebrew Bible. A reading (in the original Hebrew or in a
correct translation) of this psalm reveals that King David is its
author and the one speaking throughout as he describes his own pain,
anguish, and longing as he remained a fugitive from his enemies - the
opening verse explicitly names King David as the author.
Consequently, this is a historical psalm rather than a messianic
one. The author does not consider himself someone who can provide
salvation, and certainly not one who is divine! Rather, he calls
himself a worm (Ps 22:7[6]) whose only salvation can come from G-d.



King David is talking about the powerful empires that have constantly
tried to conquer his kingdom Israel and take his mantle of royalty
for themselves. He utilizes a series of metaphorical references to
what he endured (Ps 22:12-22[11-21]); this is similar to Isaiah's use
of a series of metaphorical references to what King Hezekiah
experienced during his illness (Is 38:12-14). King David
consistently uses an animal motif to describe his adversaries -
notice the repeated references to the lion, dogs, and bulls/bison.
Such metaphors are not unique to this psalm, and similar metaphors
are used by King David on many other occasions (e.g., Ps 17:11,12,
35:17, 59:2-7,15).


The overall theme of Psalms 22 – the entire psalm – is the plight of
the Jew who, speaking as an individual, prays for an end to Israel's
long exile from its land and Temple.



IV. The Christian Perspective on Psalms 22 vis-א-vis the
Hebrew Text


A comparison of the Christian and Jewish perspectives on Psalms 22
makes it quite evident that both cannot be valid simultaneously. The
question is, "Which of the two is the one that is consistent with the
Hebrew Scriptures (and history)?"



Let us start our investigation by considering the verses
being "quoted" in the New Testament. The respective renditions of
each verse are taken from the complete psalm given in Sec. II above,
and are augmented by the corresponding Hebrew text.



A. Psalms 22:2[1]


vs.
King James Version
vs.
Jewish Translation from Hebrew
Hebrew Text




1
[To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.] My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [why art thou so] far from
helping me, [and from] the words of my roaring?
1
For the conductor, on the Ayeleth HaShakhar, a Psalm of David.



2
My G-d, my G-d, why have You forsaken me? [You are] so far from my
salvation, from the words of my loud moaning?






As noted, this verse is cited in both the Gospel of Matthew and the
Gospel of Mark as follows:



Matthew 27:46(KJV) - And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud
voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me?



Mark 15:34(KJV) – And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud
voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being
interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?



Now, let us compare these two verses – first against each other and,
then, against the Hebrew text, and finally also against the context
of the complete verse.



The variations between the two Gospels' renditions are rather minor,
with perhaps – Eli vs. Eloi – showing the most variance. This is,
however, only a superficial problem since,



§ some of the old manuscripts have either Eli or Eloi or a
mix in both sources and,



§ this is a transliterated word from the Hebrew (or Aramaic),
and transliteration is not an exact science.



Now, let us compare the transliterated phrase in these two citations –
"… Eli/Eloi, Eli/Eloi, lama sabachthani …" with the Hebrew text.
The Hebrew text reads, (Eli, Eli, lama azavtani). The question here
is, "Does sabachtani have the same meaning as (azavtani)?". The
root of (azavtani) is (azav), [he] abandoned/forsook/left.
However, the word sabachtani exists neither in Hebrew nor in
Aramaic. There are two possibilities here:



§ The closest Hebrew/Aramaic term to sabachtani would be
(zevakhtani), which is not used in the Hebrew Bible, the root of
which is (zavakh), [he] sacrificed/slaughtered [a sacrificial
animal], which would render this phrase as My G-d, My G-d, why have
you slaughtered me?. Clearly, the two terms and, therefore, the
phrases, are not equivalent. So, one could speculate that the usage
of sabachtani in the two Gospels had the intent of portraying the
scene of the Passion as a sacrificial offering.



§ The Targum Yonathan (one of several ancient translations of
the Hebrew Bible into the Aramaic vernacular) has (Eli, Eli, metul
mah shevaqtani). (metul mah) is probably interchangeable with
(lama), why. (shevaqtani) comes from the Aramaic root verb
(shevaq), [he] left/forsook. Now, since Greek does not have the sh
sound, the Hebrew/Aramaic (shin) is usually transliterated as s.
Moreover, the use of ch for the (qof) is possible, since Greek had
lost the actual alphabetic cognate for the (qof) – the koppa, not
the K (kappa) – centuries earlier, and the letter C (chi) was used
here instead.



Within this perspective, then, one could conclude that, even though
the Greek original may not be precise or consistent in its
transliterated form of Aramaic, the Aramaic (shevaqtani) became
sabachtani when transliterated in the Greek text.



When one accepts the latter perspective, the conclusion drawn from
the former view does not necessarily survive.



But placing this verse into the mouth of a dying Jesus creates more
theological difficulties for the Christian perspective. For example,
we find in the Psalms the following statement by King David:



Ps 37:25(KJV) - I have been young, and [now] am old; yet have I not
seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.



This would then imply that, since Jesus complained to G-d about being
forsaken, he was not righteous, i.e., he was not without sin.



Yet another problem is the conflict between this verse, which
indicates that Jesus had things to say during the Passion, and the
common claim by Christian apologists and missionaries that, according
to Isaiah 53, in which the Suffering Servant is alleged to be Jesus,
Jesus was silent:



Is 53:7(KJV) - He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open
his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep
before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.



Some additional questions that demand answers here would be:



§ Why would Jesus, whom Christianity considers part of its
godhead, be complaining that " … G-d is so far from helping me?"



§ How could G-d (the Father), the first person of the
Trinity, not hear the cries of G-d (the Son), the second Person of
the Trinity?



§ To whom is this god complaining?



§ How can G-d not understand his own predicament?



Finally, even the four Gospels do not agree on the last words of the
dying Jesus on the cross. We have already seen above the quotes from
the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Here are the corresponding quotes
from the Gospels of Luke and John:



Luke 23:46 - And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said,
Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he
gave up the ghost.



John 19:30 - When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said,
It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.



In summary, as has been demonstrated above, attributing this verse to
the dying Jesus on the cross is problematic in many respects, to say
the least.



What is the correct context of this verse? The speaker, King David,
is bemoaning that G-d is not listening to him day and night, and
questions his feelings of abandonment when enumerating the times that
G-d had listened and intervened for his ancestors.



Psalms 22:19[18]


vs.
King James Version
vs.
Jewish Translation from Hebrew
Hebrew Text




18
They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
19
They divide my garments among themselves, and cast lots for my
raiment.






According to the Gospel of John, this verse contains a prophecy that
was fulfilled when Jesus was on the cross.



John 19:23-24 – (23) Then the soldiers, when they had crucified
Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a
part; and also [his] coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from
the top throughout. (24) They said therefore among themselves, Let
us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the
scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment
among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things
therefore the soldiers did.



Now, how is the verse viewed within the context of the Hebrew Bible?
Looking at the previous verse, Psalms 22:18[17], it is evident that
the person whose clothes are being divided takes count of his bones
while those who are taking his garments look on and gloat. Clearly,
this man is starving – so skinny that his bones can be seen and
counted. This is still King David speaking, as he does throughout
the psalm, and uses the taking and dividing of his garments as a
metaphorical reference to the desires of his enemies to take away his
mantle of royalty and make it theirs.



Psalms 22:23[22]


vs.
King James Version
vs.
Jewish Translation from Hebrew
Hebrew Text




22
I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the
congregation will I praise thee.
23
I will declare Your Name to my brothers; in the midst of the
congregation will I praise You.






This verse is "quoted" by the author of Hebrews 2:12 in order to
explain why Jesus needed to suffer for humanity. However, recall
that the one who speaks here is the same person who speaks throughout
the psalm, including Psalms 22:7[6], where he calls himself a worm.
Is Jesus calling himself a worm? Yet, we find the worm reference
elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible (KJV rendition given here to eliminate
a possible claim of tampering):



Isaiah 41:14(KJV) - Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel;
I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of
Israel.



So, the Jewish people are likened to a worm, and the comparison here
indicates that David was writing about the plight of the Jew - he was
writing about his own people.



The theme in Psalms 22:23[22], praising G-d's name for being so good
and benevolent, is expressed by King David quite often in his other
psalms (e.g., Ps 9:3, 54:8, 61:9, 69:31).



Psalms 22:17[16]


vs.
King James Version
vs.
Jewish Translation from Hebrew
Hebrew Text




16
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed
me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
17
For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers encompassed me;
like a lion [they are at] my hands and my feet.






This is, perhaps, one of the most frequently "quoted" verses from the
Christian Old Testament by Christian apologists and missionaries, who
claim that the crucifixion of Jesus was foretold. Yet, as was noted
above in the summary of the Christian perspective, this apparently
important verse in the Christian apologists' and missionaries'
portfolio is never referenced in the New Testament. We will take a
close look at this verse, since it serves as a good example of
possible revisionism of the Hebrew Bible by the Church.


The key word in this verse, (ka'ari), like a lion, is highlighted
When the two translations above are compared, the major discrepancy
occurs at the translation of this term – the typical Jewish
translation has like a lion, while the KJV (typical of most Christian
translations) renders it they pierced. The question is, "Which
rendition is the correct one?"

To help answer this question, it is worthwhile to do a short word
study on the Hebrew word (ka'ari), and see how the KJV renders all
other instances of it in the Hebrew Bible. For simplicity, let us
consider only those instances where the identical form appears, i.e.,
excluding conjugation of the root noun (ari) in the singular and
plural, and combinations with various prepositions other than that
which occurs here [the (ka-) here is the Hebrew preposition
equivalent to like/as]. There are three other instances of (ka'ari)
present in the Hebrew Bible in addition to that found in Psalms 22:17
[16], and all instances are shown in Table IV.D-1 below along with
their respective KJV translations. There is also a single instance
of the term (vecha'ari), which is the equivalent of (ka'ari) with
the preposition (ve-), and, in front of it to make it, and like a
lion. This term is included in Table IV.D-1 for completeness since
it contains the original term (ka'ari), though it is not critical
for illustrating the point to be made here:

Table IV.D-1 – Comparisons of KJV renditions of (ka'ari) in the
Hebrew Bible



Reference
KJV Rendition
Commnet

Numbers 23:24
(vecha'ari), and … as a young lion
Correct

Numbers 24:9
(ka'ari), like a lion
Correct

Isaiah 38:13
(ka'ari), like a lion
Correct

Ezekiel 22:25
(ka'ari), like a lion
Correct

Psalms 22:17[16]
(ka'ari), they pierced
Incorrect




According to the above information, it appears that the KJV
translators had some special reason to render the term (ka'ari) at
Psalms 22:17[16] differently from the way they translated it in the
other cases. The question is: "Why did the KJV translate the Hebrew
term (ka'ari) as like a lion in all places except for Psalms 22:17
[16], where they translated it as they pierced?" In order to come up
with some answers, let us examine the relevant Hebrew terminology.



The Hebrew word (ari), lion, is related to another Hebrew word for
lion, (aryeh). There are several Hebrew verbs used in the Hebrew
Bible to describe an act of piercing: (daqar; e.g., Zech 12:10),
(khadar; e.g., Ezek 21:19), (naqav; e.g., Hab 3:14), (palakh;
e.g., Job 16:13), and (ratza; e.g., Exod 21:6). It does not take
any knowledge of Hebrew to recognize that none of these root verbs
even remotely resembles the term (ka'ari).



Could there be another linguistic explanation? Two fragments
containing this verse, Psalms 22:17[16], were discovered among the
Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS). In the first fragment, 4QPs-f, found at
Qumran (known as the Qumran MS), the word in question is not
preserved. In the second fragment, HHev/Se 4 (Ps), found at Nahal
Hever (known as the Bar Kochba MS), the word is preserved. (It
should be noted that the Nahal Hever papyri are dated as late as the
2nd century C.E. according to DSS scholars and researchers; e.g. G.
Vermes, An Introduction to the Complete Dead Sea Scrolls, p. 29.)
The fragment HHev/Se 4 (Ps) shows the letters (kaf), (aleph),
(resh), and what appears to be a somewhat elongated (yod), which
some perceive to be the letter (vav). Thus, the reading of this
word would be either (ka'ari) or (ka'aru), respectively. Although
the latter of these two renditions of the term has been the focus of
much controversy and discussion, it is a fact that no root verb
exists which contains the letter (aleph) in it, conjugated in this
fashion (3rd-person, plural masculine gender, past tense), with the
meaning of they pierced, as most Christian translations render it.
Without the letter (aleph), and using for the moment the argument
that the last letter [the elongated (yod)] is a (vav), the word
would be (karu), for which he Hebrew root verb is (karah), [he] dug
[in dirt], as in digging a ditch (e.g., Ps 57:7); in other words,
(karu) has the meaning [they] dug [in dirt]. It must also be noted
that this verb is never used, either literally or metaphorically, in
the context of piercing in any of the 15 instances it appears in the
Hebrew Bible.



What could cause such a variation between the two terms – (ka'ari)
and (ka'aru), i.e., the letter (yod) being elongated to resemble
the letter (vav)? Perhaps the most plausible explanation,
considering the linguistic analysis above, is that this discrepancy
is simply a case of scribal variation (or error), since the word
(ka'aru) does not exist in the Hebrew language.



Another possibility, one that has been alleged by Christian
apologists and missionaries, is textual revisionism by the Masorites,
who added vowels and melodic trope marks to the Hebrew Bible around
the 9th-10th century C.E., i.e., the claim is that the Masorites
changed the original (ka'aru) to the current (ka'ari) in order to
remove any resemblance to a crucifixion scenario. Given the strict
prohibitions in the Hebrew Bible concerning any tampering with its
text (e.g., Deut 4:2, Pr 30:6), and the fact that the term (ka'aru)
does not exist in the Hebrew language, this is a rather preposterous
and unlikely occurrence.



With the above scenario ruled out, another scenario becomes
plausible. Given the late dating of the Nahal Hever fragment, the
discrepancy could be the result of exactly the reverse of the
previous claim. Namely, this could be the result of an attempt by
2nd century C.E. (early) Christians to edit the original (ka'ari) to
read (ka'aru) to make it resemble the term (karu), they dug. This
would have accomplished the effect of aligning the word with the
events of the early 1st century C.E. It is also interesting to note
that in the LXX (the Christian translation into Greek of the Hebrew
Bible), where this is Psalms 21:17, the reading is ωρυξ=
αν (oruksan),
which stems from ορύσσω (orusso), to di=
g, as in dig a trench.
Liddell & Scott (Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, An Intermediate
Greek-English Lexicon) do not list a meaning of pierce for this word,
and the identical usages occur only in early Christian renditions
(Arndt and Gingrich, Lexicon of the Greek Testament). This LXX
reading could possibly stem from a presumed, though non-existent,
Hebrew reading (which makes no sense in context) of (karu) [i.e.,
without the (aleph) - not the reading (ka'aru)]. As noted above,
the Hebrew word (karu) means [they] dug [in dirt], and it is never
used in the Hebrew Bible with the context of piercing.



A final clue is found within the New Testament itself. The New
Testament authors are silent on Psalms 22:17[16], a verse so central
to Christianity in the description of the crucifixion itself. Given
its significance to the Church, the question is, "Why is the New
Testament silent on this verse?".



One possible answer could be that none of the authors of the four
Gospels, all of which provide a narrative of the crucifixion, was
familiar with this verse. That answer is not likely, however, since
all of them referenced other parts of this psalm. Another
possibility could be that none of the authors saw this verse as being
significant enough, or even relevant, to their respective crucifixion
narratives. But this answer would be inconsistent with the important
role this verse has in the Christian perspective. Perhaps the most
likely answer is that the common Christian rendition they pierced
came after the New Testament was written, i.e., the authors of the
New Testament were unaware of this future revision of Psalms 22:17
[16], where the Church attempted to create a better fit with the
crucifixion narrative. There was no need to mistranslate the term
(ka'ari) in Numbers 23:24, 24:9, Isaiah 38:13, and Ezekiel 22:25,
since these passages, unlike Psalms 22:17[16], had no Christological
value to the Church – they could not help improve the fit into the
Hebrew Bible of any component of Christian theology.



This is a serious charge to make. However, given the hard evidence
of tampering by the Church with other passages from the Hebrew Bible,
it certainly is a plausible scenario for the disparity between the
two renditions of this particular verse.



V. Summary



Given all of the above information, is it possible to derive a
plausible explanation for the significant difference between the
Jewish and standard Christian perspectives? The linguistic and
thematic analyses demonstrate the validity of the Jewish perspective
on Psalms 22. The Christian perspective appears to have been created
with hindsight, i.e., knowing what the narratives in the New
Testament have described, Psalms 22, perhaps enhanced with a little
bit of editing, was close enough to be claimed as a template for the
prophetic description of the crucifixion that would take place a
millennium after these words were recorded.



Whereas the Christian perspective Psalms 22 may be acceptable to
Christians, as it is also based on passages from their New Testament,
this scenario conflicts with the text of the Hebrew Bible and,
therefore, is unacceptable within Judaism.


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