Crucifixion in Antiquity: An Inquiry into the Background and Significance of the New Testament Terminology of Crucifixion

Description

Gunnar Samuelsson investigates the philological aspects of how ancient Greek, Latin and Hebrew/Aramaic texts depict crucifixions. A survey of the texts shows that there has been too narrow a view of the "crucifixion" terminology. The various terms do not only refer to "crucify" and "cross." They are used much more diversely. Hence, most of the crucifixion accounts that scholars cite in the ancient literature have to be rejected, leaving only a few. Preface ......................................................................................................... VII Contents ...................................................................................................... XI Abbreviations ......................................................................................... XXI 1 Ancient Sources .................................................................................. XXI 2 Papyri and Non-Literary Sources .................................................XXVI 3 Early Jewish Literature ................................................................. XXVII 4 Modern Works .............................................................................XXVIII 5 General ............................................................................................. XXXI 6 Signs ................................................................................................XXXII Chapter One – Introduction ................................................................... 1 1 The Purpose of the Study .............................................................................. 1 2 The Scholarly Discussion .............................................................................. 2 2.1 Predecessors ........................................................................................... 2 2.2 Intermediate Studies ........................................................................... 11 2.3 Main Contributors .............................................................................. 14 2.4 Recent Studies ..................................................................................... 22 3 Basic Problems and Method ....................................................................... 24 3.1 The Terminology ................................................................................ 25 3.2 The Definition ..................................................................................... 26 3.3 The Basic Questions of the Investigation ......................................... 29 3.4 Considerations of Theory .................................................................. 30 3.4.1 Philology ..................................................................................... 31 3.4.2 Semantics .................................................................................... 32 4 Content of the Book .................................................................................... 35 Chapter Two – Greek Literature ........................................................ 37 1 The Archaic Era .......................................................................................... 37 1.1 Homer .................................................................................................. 37 1.2 Aesop .................................................................................................... 40 1.3 Conclusion – The Archaic Era ........................................................... 41 2 Historians of the Classical Era ................................................................... 41 2.1 Herodotus ............................................................................................ 41 2.1.1 Herodotus’ Use of ¢nastauroàn ............................................ 42 2.1.2 Herodotus’ Use of ¢naskolop…zein ........................................ 48 2.1.3 Herodotus’ Use of Nail Terminology ..................................... 52 2.1.4 Conclusion – Herodotus and Crucifixion ............................... 55 2.2 Thucydides .......................................................................................... 59 2.3 Ctesias .................................................................................................. 61 2.4 Xenophon ............................................................................................ 63 2.5 Conclusion – Historians of the Classical Era .................................. 63 3 Philosophical Literature of the Classical Era ............................................ 65 3.1 Plato ...................................................................................................... 65 3.2 Aristotle .............................................................................................. 67 3.3 Conclusion – Philosophical Literature of the Classical Era ............ 67 4 Tragedy, Comedy and Orators of the Classical Era ................................ 67 4.1 Aeschylus ............................................................................................. 67 4.2 Sophocles ............................................................................................. 69 4.3 Euripides .............................................................................................. 70 4.4 Demosthenes ....................................................................................... 72 4.5 Conclusion – Tragedy, Comedy and Orators of the Classical Era .............................................................................. 73 5 Greek Historians of the Hellenistic Era .................................................... 73 5.1 Polybius ............................................................................................... 73 5.1.1 Undefined Suspension Punishments in Polybius ................... 73 5.1.2 Post-Mortem Suspension in Polybius ...................................... 75 5.1.3 Ante-Mortem Suspension in Polybius ..................................... 76 3.1.4 Conclusion – Polybius and Crucifixion .................................. 77 5.2 Diodorus Siculus ................................................................................. 78 5.2.1 Undefined Suspensions in Diodorus Siculus ........................... 78 5.2.2 Post-Mortem Suspensions in Diodorus Siculus ...................... 80 5.2.3 Possible Impaling Accounts in Diodorus Siculus ................... 81 5.2.4 Possible Ante-Mortem Suspensions in Diodorus Siculus ...... 82 5.2.5 Suspension by Nailing in Diodorus Siculus ............................ 84 5.2.6 Conclusion – Diodorus Siculus and Crucifixion .................... 86 5.3 Conclusion – Historians of the Hellenistic Era ............................... 88 6 Papyrus and Fragmentary Texts of the Hellenistic Era ........................... 88 6.1 Papyrus Hellenica ............................................................................... 88 6.2 Alexis ................................................................................................... 89 6.3 Conclusion – Papyrus and Fragmentary Texts of the Hellenistic Era .......................................................................... 89 7 Historians of the Roman Era ..................................................................... 90 7.1 Strabo ................................................................................................... 90 7.1.1 Suspension Texts in Strabo ....................................................... 90 7.1.2 Conclusion – Strabo and Crucifixion ...................................... 93 7.2 Dionysius of Halicarnassus ................................................................ 93 7.3 Flavius Josephus .................................................................................. 95 7.3.1 Texts Without Indications of the Suspension Form ............... 95 7.3.2 Texts With Indications of the Suspension Form ................... 100 7.3.3 Conclusion – Josephus and Crucifixion ................................ 109 7.4 Plutarch .............................................................................................. 111 7.4.1 Undefined Suspensions in Plutarch ........................................ 112 7.4.2 Suspension Accounts With Additional Information ............ 114 7.4.3 Nailing Accounts in Plutarch ................................................. 118 7.4.4 Plutarch’s Use of staurÒj ....................................................... 120 7.4.5 Conclusion – Plutarch and Crucifixion ................................. 123 7.5 Appian ................................................................................................ 125 7.5.1 Appian’s Use of stauroàn and staurÒj ............................... 125 7.5.2 Appian’s Use of kremannÚnai ................................................ 126 7.5.3 Conclusions – Appian and Crucifixion ................................. 129 7.6 Conclusion – Historians of the Roman Era ................................... 130 8 Philosophical and Poetical Authors of the Roman Era .......................... 131 8.1 Philo Judaeus ..................................................................................... 131 8.1.1 Undefined Suspensions in Philo ............................................. 131 8.1.2 Suspensions by Nailing in Philo ............................................. 135 8.1.3 Ante-Mortem Suspensions in Philo ....................................... 136 8.1.4 Conclusion – Philo and Crucifixion ...................................... 137 8.2 Chariton ............................................................................................. 138 8.2.1 The Suspension of Theron ...................................................... 138 8.2.2 The Suspension of Chaereas and His Cellmates ................... 139 8.2.3 A Recapitulation of the Suspensions ...................................... 140 8.2.4 Chariton’s Use of staurÒj ...................................................... 141 8.2.5 Conclusion – Chariton and Crucifixion ................................ 142 8.3 Conclusion – Philosophical and Poetical Literature of the Roman Era ............................................................................. 142 9 Conclusion – The Greek Literature ......................................................... 143 9.1 The Terminology .............................................................................. 143 9.1.1 The Verbs .................................................................................. 143 9.1.2 The Nouns ................................................................................ 146 9.1.3 The Terminological Problem .................................................. 147 9.2 The Punishment ................................................................................ 147 Chapter Three – Latin Literature ...................................................... 151 1 Historians ................................................................................................... 151 1.1 Gaius Iulius Caesar ........................................................................... 151 1.2 Gaius Sallustius Crispus ................................................................... 152 1.3 Titus Livius ........................................................................................ 154 1.3.1 The Case Against Horatius ..................................................... 154 1.3.2 Livy’s Use of crux .................................................................... 156 1.3.3 Conclusion – Livy .................................................................... 159 1.4 Valerius Maximus .............................................................................. 159 1.4.1 Conclusion – Valerius Maximus ............................................. 161 1.5 Cornelius Tacitus .............................................................................. 161 1.5.1 Tacitus’ Use of Assumed Crucifixion Terminology ............. 162 1.5.2 Conclusion – Tacitus ............................................................... 167 1.6 Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus ............................................................ 167 1.6.1 Suetonius Use of crux and Accompanying Verbs ................. 167 1.6.2 The Ancient Custom ............................................................... 169 1.6.3 Conclusion – Suetonius ........................................................... 170 1.7 Clodius Licinius ................................................................................ 170 2 Playwrights ................................................................................................ 171 2.1 Titus Maccius Plautus ....................................................................... 171 2.1.1 Conclusion – Plautus ............................................................... 175 2.2 Publius Terentius Afer ...................................................................... 175 3 Rhetorical and Philosophical Texts .......................................................... 176 3.1 Marcus Tullius Cicero ...................................................................... 176 3.1.1 Cicero’s Oration Against Gaius Verres ................................. 176 3.1.2 Cicero’s Defense of Rabirius .................................................. 182 3.1.3 Conclusion – Cicero ................................................................ 183 3.2 Lucius Annaeus Seneca (the Elder) ................................................. 184 3.3 Lucius Annaeus Seneca (the Younger) ............................................ 186 3.3.1 Conclusion – Seneca the Younger .......................................... 191 3.4 Gaius Plinius Secundus ..................................................................... 192 3.5 Marcus Fabius Quintilianus ............................................................. 194 3.6 Quintus Curtius Rufus ..................................................................... 194 4 Poetry ......................................................................................................... 195 4.1 Gaius Valerius Catullus .................................................................... 196 4.2 Quintus Horatius Flaccus ................................................................ 196 4.3 Publius Ovidius Naso ....................................................................... 197 4.4 Marcus Valerius Martialis ................................................................. 198 4.5 Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis ................................................................. 198 5 Inscription .................................................................................................. 199 6 Conclusion – The Latin Literature .......................................................... 201 6.1 The Terminology .............................................................................. 202 6.2 The Punishment ................................................................................ 205 Chapter Four – The Old Testament and Early Jewish Literature .................................................................... 209 1 The Old Testament ................................................................................... 211 1.1 Genesis ............................................................................................... 211 1.2 Numeri ............................................................................................... 213 1.3 Deuteronomy .................................................................................... 216 1.4 Joshua ................................................................................................. 217 1.5 The Books of Samuel ........................................................................ 219 1.6 Ezra .................................................................................................... 223 1.7 Esther ................................................................................................. 224 1.8 Lamentation ....................................................................................... 227 2 The Deuterocanonical Texts ..................................................................... 228 3 The Dead Sea Scrolls ................................................................................. 228 4 The Apocryphal Old Testament ............................................................... 231 5 Conclusion – Old Testament and Early Jewish Literature ................... 233 5.1 The Terminology .............................................................................. 233 5.2 The Punishment ................................................................................ 235 Chapter Five – The New Testament ................................................ 237 1 The Gospels ................................................................................................ 238 1.1 Jesus Foretells His Passion ............................................................... 238 1.2 To Carry One’s Own Cross ............................................................ 240 1.3 A People’s Call for Execution .......................................................... 242 1.4 The Road to Golgotha ...................................................................... 243 1.5 The Execution ................................................................................... 246 1.6 The Criminals .................................................................................... 248 1.7 The Mocking of Jesus ....................................................................... 249 1.8 The Death of Jesus ............................................................................ 250 2 Acts ............................................................................................................. 251 3 The Epistles Attributed to Paul ................................................................ 252 4 The Epistles Not Attributed To Paul ....................................................... 255 5 Revelation .................................................................................................. 257 6 Conclusion – The New Testament ........................................................... 257 Chapter Six – Discussion with Reference Literature and Scholars .................................................................... 261 1 Discussion One – The Definition of Crucifixion .................................... 261 1.1 An Execution ..................................................................................... 262 1.2 In the Strict Sense, an Execution ...................................................... 263 1.3 Not Necessarily an Execution ......................................................... 264 1.4 Uncertainty, but Nevertheless a Crucifixion ................................. 265 1.5 A Better Way: A Suspension Among Others ................................. 267 1.6 Conclusion – The Definition of Crucifixion .................................. 270 2 Discussion Two – The Terminology of Crucifixion ................................ 271 2.1 The Greek Terminology ................................................................... 271 2.1.1 ¢nastauroàn and ¢naskolop…zein ........................................ 271 2.1.2 stauroàn ................................................................................... 274 2.1.3 staurÒj ..................................................................................... 276 2.1.4 kremannÚnai ............................................................................. 279 2.2 The Latin Terminology .................................................................... 280 2.3 The Hebrew-Aramaic Terminology ............................................... 281 2.4 Conclusion – The Terminology of Crucifixion ............................. 282 2.4.1 Verbs of the staur-Stem ......................................................... 283 2.4.2 ¢naskolop…zein ........................................................................ 283 2.4.3 staurÒj ..................................................................................... 284 2.4.4 kremannÚnai ............................................................................. 285 2.4.5 crux ............................................................................................ 286 2.4.6 patibulum .................................................................................. 286 2.4.7 The Hebrew-Aramaic Terminology ...................................... 287 2.4.8 The Terminology of Crucifixion ............................................ 287 3 Discussion Three – The Description of Crucifixion ................................ 287 3.1 The Scholarly Contributions ........................................................... 287 3.2 Evaluation of the Scholarly Contributions ..................................... 293 3.3 A Description of Crucifixion ........................................................... 296 4 Test Case I – The Archaeological Challenge .......................................... 297 5 Test Case II – Challenging the Basic Theory ......................................... 298 6 Test Case III - An Illustration of the Outcome ..................................... 301 6.1 Martin Hengel and Anna Maria Schwemer .................................... 301 6.2 Ethelbert Stauffer .............................................................................. 302 6.3 Joseph Blinzler .................................................................................. 302 6.4 Paul Winter ........................................................................................ 302 6.5 Johannes Schneider ........................................................................... 303 6.6 Gerald O’Collins ............................................................................... 303 6.7 Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan ................................... 303 6.8 Vassilos Tzaferis ................................................................................ 304 6.9 Eerdman’s Dictionary of the Bible .................................................. 304 6.10 The Tyndale Bible Dictionary ....................................................... 305 6.11 The Oxford Classical Dictionary .................................................. 305 6.12 The Encyclopædia Britannica ........................................................ 305 6.13 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 306 Chapter Seven – Conclusion ............................................................... 309 1. Answers to the Basic Questions of the Investigation ............................. 309 2. Conclusion ................................................................................................ 312 Epilogue ..................................................................................................... 315 Bibliography ............................................................................................. 317 1 Primary Sources (Texts and Translations) ......................................... 317 2 Reference Works .................................................................................. 326 3 Secondary Literature ............................................................................ 329 4 Internet .................................................................................................. 338 5 Reviews ................................................................................................. 338 Index of Ancient Sources ..................................................................... 339 1 Greek Literature ................................................................................... 339 2 Latin Literature .................................................................................... 346 3 Papyri and Non-Literary Sources ...................................................... 351 4 Old Testament ...................................................................................... 351 5 Old Testament Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha and Septuagint .......... 353 6 Targums ................................................................................................ 353 7 Early Jewish Literature ........................................................................ 354 8 New Testament .................................................................................... 354 9 Patristic Sources ................................................................................... 356 Index of Modern Authors ................................................................... 357 Index of Subject ....................................................................................... 361 1 English Terms ....................................................................................... 361 2 Greek Terms ......................................................................................... 362 3 Hebrew/Aramaic Terms ...................................................................... 363 4 Latin Terms .......................................................................................... 363