GUNNAR SAMUELSSON Crucifixion in Antiquity Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe 310 Mohr Siebeck Gunnar Samuelsson questions the 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. ISBN 978-3-16-150694-9 Mohr Siebeck Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament · 2. Reihe Herausgeber / Editor Jörg Frey (Zürich) Mitherausgeber / Associate Editors Friedrich Avemarie (Marburg) Markus Bockmuehl (Oxford) James A. Kelhoffer (Uppsala) Hans-Josef Klauck (Chicago, IL) 310 Gunnar Samuelsson Crucifixion in Antiquity An Inquiry into the Background and Significance of the New Testament Terminology of Crucifixion Mohr Siebeck GUNNAR SAMUELSSON, born 1966; 1992 Pastor and Missionary Degree; 1997 B.A. and M.Th. at the University of Gothenburg; 2000 Μ. Α.; 2010 ThD; Senior Lecturer in New Testament Studies at the Department of Literature, History of Ideas and Religion, University of Gothenburg. ISBN 978-3-16-150694-9 ISSN 0340-9570 (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 2. Reihe) Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbiblio­ graphie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. ©2011 by Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher's written permission. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems. The book was printed by Laupp & Göbel in Nehren on non-aging paper and bound by Buchbinderei Nadele in Nehren. Printed in Germany. For my beloved wife Linda and our dear children Rebecca, Hannah, Daniel, Esther and Johannes Preface Being a parish minister, I took it as a blessing to hear the phone ring one day and convey the opportunity to spend some years on doctoral studies at what was then the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Gothenburg. During the preceding talks with my presumptive supervi­ sor, Professor Samuel Byrskog, we soon ended up with the topic of cruci­ fixion - with special attention to how Paul uses it as a rhetorical device in his letters. The first study that came into my hands was Martin Hengel's epoch-making book Crucifixion. With fascination I was led by Hengel to some crucifixion accounts in Herodotus' History, using the familiar verb άνασταυροϋν. Among the first texts studied, there emerged suspensions of corpses and body parts, all labeled "crucifixions" by Hengel.1 The former verb was translated as "crucifixion" in Godley's translation of the Loeb edition on my shelf as well.2 This puzzlement regarding the mean­ ing of άνασταυροϋν and its counterparts caught my curiosity and sparked a preparatory investigation of the philological aspects related to crucifixion in the Greco-Roman and Biblical texts. However, this effort - to establish a textual basis for the study of the historical and theological perspectives of the death of Jesus in the Pauline letters - appeared to be sufficient for a thesis by itself. And out went Paul. Thus, the present in­ vestigation is in part the result of a failure, but in my opinion a good fail­ ure. I obtained the chance to spend several intriguing years dealing with the part of the world, the part of history, and the parts of ancient lan­ guages that I love passionately. I am most grateful for this. The present monograph is a slightly revised version of my Th.D. thesis defended publicly on 21 May 2010 at the Department of Literature, His­ tory of Ideas and Religion, University of Gothenburg. Within a few weeks from the date of my defense, news media globally from CNN to Pravda, and numerous blogs and discussion forums, had brought atten­ tion to it, sometimes with intriguing comments on the importance of bib­ lical scholarship, sometimes with unfortunate misunderstandings.3 The 1 Hdt. 3.125.2; 6.30.1. 2 Hdt. 3.125.2 (GODLEY, LCL). 3 For a selection of media references, see http://www.exegetics.org/Media.html. VIII Preface opportunity now to publish the results of my research is therefore all the more welcome. Many people have assisted me during the years of study. My apprecia­ tion goes to my dear and competent supervisor Prof. Samuel Byrskog, who has guided my dissertation project in the best possible way. He nev­ er stops impressing and surprising me. A special word of thanks goes to my dear colleague and friend Dr. To­ bias Hägerland, who has helped my course to be steady, broadened my academic and religious life and brought joy to the years of biblical studies - and to numerous conferences. I am thankful for help with proofreading to Jon van Leuven (English), Dr. Tryggve Göransson (Greek), Prof. Magnus Wistrand (Latin), and my dear college in language teaching, Ph.D. candidate Rosmarie Lillas-Schuil (Hebrew and Aramaic). Special thanks also to Dr. Georg Walser for proofreading and critical suggestions in the early stages of the process, and to my secondary supervisor Prof. Staffan Olofsson, Ph.D. candidate Lennart Thorn and Prof. Dick A. R. Haglund for their enthusiastic sup­ port and critical suggestions. The same gratitude goes to Dr. Jonas Holmstrand, who read the entire manuscript and delivered a good oppo­ sition at my last seminar, and to my opponent at the dissertation, Dr. Erkki Koskenniemi, for his very helpful comments and suggestions. My thanks are due to the now expanded Department of Literature, History of Ideas and Religion at the University of Gothenburg; to the two Heads of Department that I have worked under during these years, Lars Branegârd and Prof. Ingemar Nilsson; to the administrative staff, Marita Ohman and Pernilla Josefsson; to members of the Higher Seminar for Biblical Studies, especially Ph.D. candidates Hasse Leander, Fredrik Ivarsson, Rosmarie Lillas-Schuil, Dr. Erik Alvstad, Dr. Georg Walser, Dr. Martin Berntson, Dr. Tobias Hägerland, Prof. Staffan Olofsson, Prof. Bertil Nilsson and Prof. Magnus Wistrand for creative seminar opposi­ tion. Special thanks go to the annual joint doctoral seminar with partici­ pants from Norwegian School of Theology, Oslo; School of Mission and Theology, Stavanger; Centre for Theology and Religious Studies at Lund University and Department of Literature, History of Ideas and Religion at the University of Gothenburg. Within this setting Prof. Hans Kval- bein, Prof. Karl Olav Sandnes, Prof. Reidar Hvalvik, Prof. Jostein Âdna, Dr. Gunnar Haaland, Dr. Ârstein Justnes, Dr. Geir Otto Holrnas, Dr. Nils Aksel Rosasg, Dr. Sverre Bee and Ph.D. candidate Hanne Birgitte Sedal Tveito have read and offered opposition of great value on my semi­ nar papers, as well as their enthusiastic support throughout this project. Preface IX A word of thanks goes also to the participants at the SBL and EABS conferences who have offered their suggestions and support, as well as to Prof. Heinz-Wolfgang Kuhn, Prof. Richard B. Hays, Prof. Bengt Holm- berg, Prof. Karl-Gustav Sandelin, Prof. Tryggve N. D. Mettinger and Dr. David W. Chapman for inspiring conversations. I am deeply grateful to Prof. Jörg Frey and Prof. Markus Bockmuehl for recommending my book for publication in the prestigious WUNT- series, and for offering valuable suggestions. A special word of thanks also goes to Dr. Henning Ziebritzki and his editorial staff for their assis­ tance during the preparation of the manuscript for publication. Generous scholarships have been granted by Adlerbertska Stipendie- fonden, Stockholms Kristliga Ynglingaförening, Stiftelsen Wilhelm och Martina Lundgrens Vetenskapsfond, Letterstedtska föreningen, Kungloch Hvitfeldtska stifteisen, and Helge Ax:son Johnsons stifteise. Their contri­ butions have improved the quality of the dissertation not least through the possibility to buy literature and to participate in the mentioned con­ ferences. Finally I want to direct my thankfulness to my parents Sven and Solveig Samuelsson for their never-failing support for my 21 years of ac­ ademic studies and not least for their continuous help with the sheer number of children in our household. The latter goes also to my father- and mother-in-law, Lennart and Margareta Einald, my sister Eva Olsson and my brother Lennart Samuelsson and their families, our dear nannies Jorunn Odenslätt, Margit Bryngelsson, Gunilla Hamnebo, Lena Sörens- son and Ulrika Börjesson. Without their help our situation would be a disaster. And a disaster would also this weary body be without the firm hands and warm heart of naprapath Anders Wanther. My gratitude goes foremost to my lovely wife, Linda, without whom this project would simply have been impossible - and to our loved chil­ dren, Rebecca, Hannah, and the triplets Daniel, Esther and Johannes. You have made my life worth living, and to you, my beloved family, this study is dedicated. Hönö, Good Friday 2011 Gunnar Samuelsson Contents Preface VII Contents XI Abbreviations XIX ι Ancient Sources XIX 2 Papyri and Non-Literary Sources XXV 3 Early Jewish Literature XXVI 4 Modern Works XXVI 5 General XXIX 6 Signs XXX Chapter One - Introduction ι / The Purpose of the Study ι 2 The Scholarly Discussion 2 2.1 Predecessors 2 2.2 Intermediate Studies n 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