[Excerpt from Chapter 6: How Will Jesus Die? Psalm 22]

Buy a copy of Evidence Unseen.

Skeptic Tim Callahan admits that Psalm 22:16 “sounds a great deal like crucifixion.”^[1] However, he points out that “the translation from the original Hebrew of the Masoretic text reads: ‘A company of evildoers encircle me, my hands and feet like a lion.”^[2] Critic David Klinghoffer argues that Psalm 22 doesn’t include the phrase “they pierced my hands and feet” in the original Hebrew. He writes, “The Hebrew original [is] not as karu (‘they pierced’), but as ka’ ari (‘like a lion’). The entire verse is properly translated, ‘For dogs have surrounded me; a pack of evildoers has enclosed me, like a lion [at]my hands and my feet.’”^[3] Klinghoffer claims our English translation is wrong, and the Hebrew doesn’t read this way at all. Likewise, critic Tovia Singer writes, “It should be noted that the authors of the Christian scriptures were completely unaware of this revision of Psalm 22, and therefore the quote ‘they pierced my hands and feet’ appears nowhere in the New Testament.”^[4]

The translation hinges on the difference between two Hebrew words. The word ka’ aru is translated as “pierced,” while ka’ ari is translated as “like a lion.” These critics argue that ka’ aru doesn’t appear in the Masoretic Text (MT), which is generally the most reliable Hebrew manuscript of the Old Testament. Therefore, they claim that this passage doesn’t refer to crucifixion.

Of course, while Psalm 22 would be damaged by this objection, it wouldn’t be devastated by it. Even if the critics are right about verse 16, the rest of the psalm still fits Christ’s experience on the Cross and his impact on the Gentile world. But at the same time, there is no good reason to believe these critics are right.

For one, the Septuagint (the oldest Jewish translation of the Hebrew Bible) reads “they pierced my hands and feet.” The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Old Testament, which is dated sometime between 250 B.C.E. and 132 B.C.E.^[5] This was obviously not a Christian translation of Psalm 22, because Christianity didn’t even exist yet. This was a Jewish translation done by Jewish rabbis, and it was done before Jesus ever walked the Earth. Therefore, the Jews who translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek (from before the time of Christ) believed that this passage should be translated as “pierced.”^[6]

In addition, our oldest Hebrew copy of this passage reads “they pierced my hands and feet.” In 1997, archaeologists found a fragment from the book of Psalms in Nahal Hever in the Judean Wilderness. It dates between 50-68 C.E., and it reads k’ ru (“they pierced”). Hebrew scholar Michael Rydelnik writes, “Thus, the oldest extant Hebrew manuscript… reinforces the Septuagintal, Syriac, and Vulgate readings, supporting the translation, ‘they pierced my hands and my feet.’”^[7] In addition, the Dead Sea Scrolls contain this reading also.^[8]

Furthermore, even the Masoretic Text is not conclusive on the “like a lion” reading. While almost all Masoretic manuscripts read ka ‘ari (“like a lion”), there are still a dozen medieval manuscripts that read ka’ aru or karu (“pierced”). Remember, the critics based their argument primarily on the Masoretic Text; yet the Masoretic Text isn’t in complete agreement on this reading.

In addition to the textual evidence, Rydelnik argues that the “like a lion” translation is “grammatically awkward” with “broken syntax” for Hebrew translators.^[9] He writes, “The Septuagintal reading has the older support and makes grammatical sense within the literary context.”^[10] Even skeptic Tim Callahan admits that the “like a lion” translation “does not make much sense”^[11] in its grammatical context.

Finally, this isn’t the only Hebrew prophecy to mention the “piercing” of the Messiah. Zechariah wrote, “They will look on Me [Yahweh] whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son…” (Zech. 12:10). Likewise, Isaiah wrote that the Suffering Servant would be “pierced through for our transgressions” (Is. 53:5). Therefore, other passages also explain the piercing of the Messiah clearly. All three passages (Ps. 22:16; Zech. 12:10; Is. 53:5) use different words for “pierced,” but they are all describing the same event.

Buy a copy of Evidence Unseen.

Go back to Table of Contents