Crucifixion in Antiquity: An Inquiry into the Background and Significance of the New Testament Terminology of Crucifixion (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen Zum Neun Testament)

Gunnar Samuelsson investigates the philological aspects of how ancient Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts, including the New Testament, depict the practice of punishment by crucifixion. A survey of the ancient text material shows that there has been a too narrow a view of the "crucifixion" terminology. The various terms are not simply used in the sense of "crucify" and "cross," if by "crucifixion" one means the punishment that Jesus was subjected to according to the main Christian traditions. The terminology is used much more diversely. Almost none of it can be elucidated beyond verbs referring vaguely to some form(s) of suspension, and nouns referring to tools used in such suspension. As a result, most of the crucifixion accounts that scholars cite in the ancient literature have to be rejected, leaving only a few. The New Testament is not spared from this terminological ambiguity. The accounts of the death of Jesus are strikingly sparse. Their chief contribution is usage of the unclear terminology in question. Over-interpretation, and probably even pure imagination, have afflicted nearly every dictionary that deals with the terms related to crucifixion as well as scholarly depictions of what happened on Calvary. The immense knowledge of the punishment of crucifixion in general, and the execution of Jesus in particular, cannot be supported by the studied texts. Cover 1 Dedication 6 Preface 8 Contents 12 Abbreviations 20 1. Ancient Sources 20 2. Papyri and Non-Literary Sources 26 3. Early Jewish Literature 27 4. Modern Works 27 5. General 30 6. Signs 31 Chapter One – Introduction 32 1. The Purpose of the Study 32 2. The Scholarly Discussion 33 2.1. Predecessors 33 2.2. Intermediate Studies 42 2.3. Main Contributors 45 2.4. Recent Studies 53 3. Basic Problems and Method 55 3.1. The Terminology 56 3.2. The Definition 57 3.3. The Basic Questions of the Investigation 60 3.4. Considerations of Theory 61 3.4.1. Philology 62 3.4.2. Semantics 63 4. Content of the Book 66 Chapter Two – Greek Literature 68 1. The Archaic Era 68 1.1. Homer 68 1.2. Aesop 71 1.3. Conclusion – The Archaic Era 72 2. Historians of the Classical Era 72 2.1. Herodotus 72 2.1.1. Herodotus' Use of ανασταυρουν 73 2.1.2. Herodotus’ Use of άνασκoλoπίζειν 79 2.1.3. Herodotus’ Use of Nail Terminology 83 2.1.4. Conclusion – Herodotus and Crucifixion 86 2.2. Thucydides 90 2.3. Ctesias 92 2.4. Xenophon 94 2.5. Conclusion – Historians of the Classical Era 94 3. Philosophical Literature of the Classical Era 96 3.1. Plato 96 3.2. Aristotle 98 3.3. Conclusion – Philosophical Literature of the Classical Era 98 4. Tragedy, Comedy and Orators of the Classical Era 98 4.1. Aeschylus 98 4.2. Sophocles 100 4.3. Euripides 101 4.4. Demosthenes 103 4.5. Conclusion – Tragedy, Comedy and Orators of the Classical Era 104 5. Greek Historians of the Hellenistic Era 104 5.1. Polybius 104 5.1.1. Undefined Suspension Punishments in Polybius 104 5.1.2. Post-Mortem Suspension in Polybius 106 5.1.3. Ante-Mortem Suspension in Polybius 107 5.1.4. Conclusion – Polybius and Crucifixion 108 5.2. Diodorus Siculus 109 5.2.1. Undefined Suspensions in Diodorus Siculus 109 5.2.2. Post-Mortem Suspensions in Diodorus Siculus 111 5.2.3. Possible Impaling Accounts in Diodorus Siculus 112 5.2.4. Possible Ante-Mortem Suspensions in Diodorus Siculus 113 5.2.5. Suspension by Nailing in Diodorus Siculus 115 5.2.6. Conclusion – Diodorus Siculus and Crucifixion 117 5.3. Conclusion – Historians of the Hellenistic Era 119 6. Papyrus and Fragmentary Texts of the Hellenistic Era 119 6.1. Papyrus Hellenica 119 6.2. Alexis 120 6.3. Conclusion – Papyrus and Fragmentary Texts of the Hellenistic Era 120 7. Historians of the Roman Era 121 7.1. Strabo 121 7.1.1. Suspension Texts in Strabo 121 7.1.2. Conclusion – Strabo and Crucifixion 123 7.2. Dionysius of Halicarnassus 124 7.3. Flavius Josephus 126 7.3.1. Texts Without Indications of the Suspension Form 126 7.3.2. Texts With Indications of the Suspension Form 131 7.3.3. Conclusion – Josephus and Crucifixion 140 7.4. Plutarch 142 7.4.1. Undefined Suspensions in Plutarch 143 7.4.2. Suspension Accounts With Additional Information 145 7.4.3. Nailing Accounts in Plutarch 149 7.4.4. Plutarch’s Use of σταυρός 151 7.4.5. Conclusion – Plutarch and Crucifixion 154 7.5. Appian 156 7.5.1. Appian's Use of σταυρουν and σταυρός 156 7.5.2. Appian’s Use of κρεμαννύναι 157 7.5.3. Conclusions – Appian and Crucifixion 160 7.6. Conclusion – Historians of the Roman Era 161 8. Philosophical and Poetical Authors of the Roman Era 162 8.1. Philo Judaeus 162 8.1.1. Undefined Suspensions in Philo 162 8.1.2. Suspensions by Nailing in Philo 166 8.1.3. Ante-Mortem Suspensions in Philo 167 8.1.4. Conclusion – Philo and Crucifixion 168 8.2. Chariton 169 8.2.1. The Suspension of Theron 169 8.2.2. The Suspension of Chaereas and His Cellmates 170 8.2.3. A Recapitulation of the Suspensions 171 8.2.4. Chariton’s Use of σταυρός 172 8.2.5. Conclusion – Chariton and Crucifixion 173 8.3. Conclusion – Philosophical and Poetical Literature of the Roman Era 173 9. Conclusion – The Greek Literature 174 9.1. The Terminology 174 9.1.1. The Verbs 174 9.1.2. The Nouns 177 9.1.3. The Terminological Problem 178 9.2. The Punishment 178 Chapter Three – Latin Literature 182 1. Historians 182 1.1. Gaius Iulius Caesar 182 1.2. Gaius Sallustius Crispus 183 1.3. Titus Livius 185 1.3.1. The Case Against Horatius 185 1.3.2. Livy’s Use of crux 187 1.3.3. Conclusion – Livy 190 1.4. Valerius Maximus 190 1.4.1. Conclusion – Valerius Maximus 192 1.5. Cornelius Tacitus 192 1.5.1. Tacitus’ Use of Assumed Crucifixion Terminology 193 1.5.2. Conclusion – Tacitus 198 1.6. Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus 198 1.6.1. Suetonius Use of crux and Accompanying Verbs 198 1.6.2. The Ancient Custom 200 1.6.3. Conclusion – Suetonius 201 1.7. Clodius Licinius 201 2. Playwrights 202 2.1. Titus Maccius Plautus 202 2.1.1. Conclusion – Plautus 206 2.2. Publius Terentius Afer 206 3. Rhetorical and Philosophical Texts 207 3.1. Marcus Tullius Cicero 207 3.1.1. Cicero’s Oration Against Gaius Verres 207 3.1.2. Cicero’s Defense of Rabirius 213 3.1.3. Conclusion – Cicero 214 3.2. Lucius Annaeus Seneca (the Elder) 215 3.3. Lucius Annaeus Seneca (the Younger) 217 3.3.1. Conclusion – Seneca the Younger 222 3.4. Gaius Plinius Secundus 223 3.5. Marcus Fabius Quintilianus 225 3.6. Quintus Curtius Rufus 225 4. Poetry 226 4.1. Gaius Valerius Catullus 227 4.2. Quintus Horatius Flaccus 227 4.3. Publius Ovidius Naso 228 4.4. Marcus Valerius Martialis 229 4.5. Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis 229 5. Inscription 230 6. Conclusion – The Latin Literature 232 6.1. The Terminology 233 6.2. The Punishment 236 Chapter Four – The Old Testament and Early Jewish Literature 240 1. The Old Testament 242 1.1. Genesis 242 1.2. Numeri 244 1.3. Deuteronomy 247 1.4. Joshua 248 1.5. The Books of Samuel 250 1.6. Ezra 254 1.7. Esther 255 1.8. Lamentation 258 2. The Deuterocanonical Texts 259 3. The Dead Sea Scrolls 259 4. The Apocryphal Old Testament 262 5. Conclusion – Old Testament and Early Jewish Literature 264 5.1. The Terminology 264 5.2. The Punishment 266 Chapter Five – The New Testament 268 1. The Gospels 269 1.1. Jesus Foretells His Passion 269 1.2. To Carry One’s Own Cross 271 1.3. A People’s Call for Execution 273 1.4. The Road to Golgotha 274 1.5. The Execution 277 1.6. The Criminals 279 1.7. The Mocking of Jesus 280 1.8. The Death of Jesus 281 2. Acts 282 3. The Epistles Attributed to Paul 283 4. The Epistles Not Attributed To Paul 286 5. Revelation 288 6. Conclusion – The New Testament 288 Chapter Six – Discussion with Reference Literature and Scholars 292 1. Discussion One – The Definition of Crucifixion 292 1.1. An Execution 293 1.2. In the Strict Sense, an Execution 294 1.3. Not Necessarily an Execution 295 1.4. Uncertainty, but Nevertheless a Crucifixion 296 1.5. A Better Way: A Suspension Among Others 298 1.6. Conclusion – The Definition of Crucifixion 301 2. Discussion Two – The Terminology of Crucifixion 302 2.1. The Greek Terminology 302 2.1.1. ανασταυρουν and ανασκολοπίζειν 302 2.1.2. σταυρουν 305 2.1.3. σταυρός 307 2.1.4. κρεμαννύαι 310 2.2. The Latin Terminology 311 2.3. The Hebrew-Aramaic Terminology 312 2.4. Conclusion – The Terminology of Crucifixion 313 2.4.1. Verbs of the σταυρ-Stem 314 2.4.2. άνασκoλoπίζειν 314 2.4.3. σταυρός 315 2.4.4. κρεμαννύναι 316 2.4.5. crux 317 2.4.6. patibulum 317 2.4.7. The Hebrew-Aramaic Terminology 318 2.4.8. The Terminology of Crucifixion 318 3. Discussion Three – The Description of Crucifixion 318 3.1. The Scholarly Contributions 318 3.2. Evaluation of the Scholarly Contributions 324 3.3. A Description of Crucifixion 327 4. Test Case I – The Archaeological Challenge 328 5. Test Case II – Challenging the Basic Theory 329 Chapter Seven – Conclusion 334 1. Answers to the Basic Questions of the Investigation 334 2. Conclusion 337 Epilogue 340 Bibliography 342 1. Primary Sources (Texts and Translations) 342 2. Reference Works 351 3. Secondary Literature 354 4. Internet 362 Index of Ancient Sources 364 1. Greek Literature 364 2. Latin Literature 371 3. Papyri and Non-Literary Sources 376 4. Old Testament 376 5. Old Testament Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha and Septuagint 378 6. Targums 378 7. Early Jewish Literature 379 8. New Testament 379 9. Patristic Sources 381 Index of Modern Authors 382 Index of Subject 386 1. English Terms 386 2. Greek Terms 387 3. Hebrew/Aramaic Terms 388 4. Latin Terms 388 Gunnar Samuelsson Questions Our Textual Basis For Our Knowledge About The Death Of Jesus. As A Matter Of Fact, The New Testament Texts Offer Only A Brief Description Of The Punishment That Has Influenced A Whole World.