Psalm 22:16 and "Pierce"

Psalm 22 is not Prophecy

Christians claim Psalm 22 is a prophecy about Jesus. It starts "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"; Jesus' last words on the cross - so the gospels tell us - and goes on to describe the crucifixion.

However, an alternative scenario is that when Jesus was crucified, none of the disciples were around to see what happened, so they made it up, based on Psalm 22 (and other sources in the Old Testament). After all, why would Jesus, apart of the trinity, lament being abandoned by said trinity? In this scenario, Psalm 22 is a prayer by King David, worried about the surrounding nations, who were all threatening to overrun his nation.

Some verses that Christians are obliged to ignore:

Psalm 22:2My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.

Jesus was on the cross just a few hours, not a day and a night. More likely this is about the nation of Israel, under threat from its neighbours for many days.

Psalm 22:6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.

And yet the gospels say Jesus was welcomed to Jerusalem by cheering crowds. More likely this is about the nation of Israel, hounded by all its neighbours.

Psalm 22:11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.

Sure if Jesus was saying this on the cross, the trouble was already there! More likely this is about the nation of Israel, fearful that they might attack any day.

Psalm 22:20 Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.

Jesus had no fear of the sword! More likely this is about the nation of Israel, fearing sword-weilding warriors in battle.

Verse 16

Particularly contentious in verse 16, which in Christian Bibles is translated:

Psalm 22:16 Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.

It is the word "pierce" that is disputed, with many non-Christians saying this is a deliberate mistranslation to make the verse seem to indicate crucifixion, when actually it does not.

I am sure Psalm is about David, not Jesus, and that the gospel accounts are based on Psalm 22, rather than Psalm 22 prophesising the crucifixion. However, trying to find the correct translation for "pierce" is not easy, as anyone interested enough to present an argument on the internet is deeply seated in one camp or the other...

Like a Lion

Hebrew Bibles translate the word as "lion" or "like a lion", for example like this:

Dogs are all around me, a pack of villains closes in on me like a lion [at] my hands and feet.

Compare to a couple of other Psalms. These are also King David praying to God, asking for help while the nations around him threaten. Both liken the surrounding nations to a lion about to pounce.

Psalm 15:1 Hear me, Lord, my plea is just; listen to my cry.
Hear my prayer— it does not rise from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right.
...
11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me, with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion hungry for prey, like a fierce lion crouching in cover.

And:

Psalm 35:I Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take up shield and armor; arise and come to my aid.
....
17 How long, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from these lions.

And indeed, earlier in Psalm 22

12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me.

It makes sense and it fits the context. But texts only date from the Medieval period or later, and it is not impossible these have been altered to make the text less like a prophecy of Jesus, which would undoubtedly be attractive to Judaism.

Dig

Older texts and translations use "dig", so has the text say the Psalmist's hands and feet were dug. It is hard to see what was meant by that, but presumably it did mean something to them at the time.

Bind or Shivelled or pick/pluck

This are other translations proposed, but not generally accepted.

Ancient Sources

Septuagint

The LXX seems to support "pierced", but can the Greek word also mean "dug"? Not something I am able to determine either way, but is suggested in some places.

Furthermore, when were the Psalms translated? It is not clear, but could be as later as second century after Jesus - only the first five books of the OT were originally translated.

Dead Sea Scrolls

The Psalm is on a couple of scrolls, but this word is not clear enough to discern reliably.

Church Fathers

The verse is not quoted in any survive text by the early church fathers, which suggests it was not "pierce" in the earliest versions of the gospel - or was not understood as that.

Gospels

Come to that, why is Psalm 22:16 itself not quoted in the gospels? Or even alluded to? Only John describes Jesus as pierced, and that seems to refer to the spear, not the nails.

In fact, according to here, Psalm 22 is quoted seven times in the NT, six of them in reference to the crucifixion, but not verse 16. And that is good evidence it was later tha the word came to be translated as "pierce".

"Pierce" in Hebrew

The word "pierce" appears other times in the OT. Here is a brief selection.

Exodus 21:6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.

וְרָצַ֨ע (wə-rā-ṣa‘)

Numbers 24:8 “God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. They devour hostile nations and break their bones in pieces; with their arrows they pierce them.

יִמְחָֽץ׃ (yim-ḥāṣ)

Psalm 38:2 Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me.

נִ֣חֲתוּ (ni-ḥă-ṯū)

Psalm 45:5 Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet.

Err, not actually in the Hebrew.

So the ancient Hebrews had quite a choice of words to use for pierce, and the word in Psalm 22:16, כָּ֝אֲרִ֗י (kā-’ă-rî), is not one of them. Strong's concordance indicates the word means:

II. [כוּר] verb meaning dubious, perhaps bore, or dig, or hew (DlProl. 121 compare Assyrian kâru, fell trees (DlHWB 324)) — only
I. כָּרָה verb dig (Late Hebrew id.; Aramaic כְּרָא, Ethiopic Arabic (with and especially Dozyii. 461); Syriac is be short, cut off (i.e. rounded off ?), Arabic ball; ᵑ7. כְּרֵי heap DalmGr. 109; Syriac Mishna כרי id.; Assyrian karê large vessels for holding corn, etc., DlHWB 353, compare kirû (dubious) WklTel Am. Vocab.; BaZMG 1887, 615 conjectures be round as orig √ meaning, and compare Arabic the leg is round); —

Conclusion

It is all a bit of a mess, and we cannot say for sure, but my feeling is that the original text said dug, and that held some meaning for the original author.

It looks like both Christians subverted the text for their own ends, and then later Jews did the same.

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