STATISTICAL PROBABILITY This very possibly led to most (but Actual records of the not all, and not even the earliest) of A bimonthly thoughtletter Roman Empire tell us the Masoretic text manuscript set on AREOPAGUS published by the that in the year of which the Hebrew Bible is based, PROCLAMATION AIIA Institute Christ’s crucifixion being similarly henceforth mistaken. PO Box 262 about 350 people Volume 15 • No. 6 • March, 2005 were crucified by the A CRITICAL QUESTION Monson, Maine 04464 Revised to 04/2019 Romans, as this was, But isn’t it possible that it was by that time, their official actually Christians who manipulated form of capital punishment. the Hebrew text in their English Was Jesus’ The population of the Roman Empire Bibles in order to support the story at that point in history was 85 million. of Jesus’ death by crucifixion? So the odds of anyone being crucified Piercing that year were about 1 in 242,857.1 Not likely, for two reasons:

• The Greek version of the Old Testa- Prophesied? BUT WHAT ABOUT PSALM 22:16? ment (the Septuagint, or LXX) which Some claim that Psalm 22:16 is not was completed two centuries B.C.E., by Daryl E. Witmer accurately rendered in many Bibles and the Great Psalms Scroll (of the — that it doesn’t really say anything Dead Sea Scrolls) both render Psalm about hands or feet being “pierced.” One way to validate the truth of Christianity 22:16 with kaaru, i.e. "they pierced." would be to conclusively demonstrate that the Bible is true revelation from God, right? A CREDIBLE RESPONSE • The phrase "they are at my" is not Most English-based Bibles translate in the Masoretic text, and "like a lion One way to demonstrate that the Bible is true the very last phrase of Psalm 22:16 my hands and my feet" makes little revelation from God would be to demonstrate this way: “They pierced my hands sense. Even if those four words were the case for fulfilled Bible prophecy, right? and my feet.” there, the idea of lions being at one's One way to make the case for fulfilled Bible hands and feet seems nonsensical. prophecy would be to substantiate that the Hebrew Bibles (the Tanakh) render scene described in Psalm 22 became reality the exact same phrase: “Like a lion, OUR CONCLUSION in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, right? they are at my hands and my feet." Psalm 22:16, written about 1000 years before Jesus’ crucifixion, really WHO AUTHORED PSALM 22? Why the difference? Who is right? does refer to the one aspect of cruci- David, the one-time King of Israel, Which is correct? fixion that is unique. No other form has traditionally been accepted as of human execution involves the the author of Psalm 22. The Hebrew term kaaru means: "they piercing of the hands and feet. WHEN DID DAVID LIVE? have pierced." The Hebrew term kaari David reigned circa 1000 B.C.E. means: "like a lion." In combination with the rest of Psalm 22 and the account BROADLY ACCEPTED FACT The two Hebrew terms of Jesus’ death, we have here The Gospels were written sometime are identical except for a dramatic demonstration of in the first century C.E. (or A.D.) the fact that kaaru ends fulfilled Bible prophecy and, kaaru with vav • “They have with the Hebrew letter thus also, the Divine origin A FAIR CONCLUSION pierced” • In the Septuagint vav, and kaari ends with of the Christian Scripture. Psalm 22 was written about 1000 the Hebrew letter yod. —vs— years before the Gospel accounts. Sources and A PROBING QUESTION Vav and yod are essen- How can the uncanny match between tially alike except for the Resources 1 so much of Psalm 22 (vv 7-8, 14-18; fact that vav has a long An Engineer Evaluates the Bible, ‘tail’ on its end. Yod does kaari with yod • “Like a lion” M. B. Bleecker, Wanaque NJ, especially verse 16!) and the cruci- In the Massoretic Text former aeronautical engineer. fixion scene of Jesus be attributed to not (see graphic). And anything other than Divine inspira- note that Hebrew is read right to left. • https://www.gotquestions.org/ Psalm-22-16-lion-pierced.html tion through the psalmist? It seems possible that at some point • https://carm.org/does-psalm-22-16- KEEP THIS IN MIND a Masorete scribe, tediously copying really-predict-jesus-crucifixion Crucifixion was not established as a the Hebrew text, inadvertently or form of capital punishment until 600 otherwise, failed to attach that longer, • The Pulpit Commentary, © 2001 B.C. or so, being later refined by the vertical, descending extension to the AGES Software Rio, CD-ROM. Phoenicians and Carthaginians. vav, thus rendering the vav a yod. • Clarke’s Commentary, Abingdon Press More Evidence in Defense and Confirmation of the Christian Faith