Psalm 22:16
Hebrew Bible
14 My strength drains away like water; all my bones are dislocated. My heart is like wax; it melts away inside me. 15 The roof of my mouth is as dry as a piece of pottery; my tongue sticks to my gums. You set me in the dust of death. 16 Yes, wild dogs surround me—a gang of evil men crowd around me; like a lion they pin my hands and feet. 17 I can count all my bones; my enemies are gloating over me in triumph. 18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves; they are rolling dice for my garments.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
LXX Psalms 21:17
Septuagint
14 They opened their mouth against me, as a lion that snatches away and roars. 15 I was poured out like water, and all my bones were scattered. My heart became like beeswax melting in the middle of my belly. 16 My strength was dried up like an earthen vessel, and my tongue has been glued to my throat. You led me into the dust of death. 17 For many dogs encircled me. A gathering of those doing evil surrounded me. They pierced my hands and feet. 18 They can count all my bones; they perceived and gazed upon me.
Date: 1st Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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Notes and References
"... The declaration of the centurion, ‘Truly this man was God’s son’ (Mark 15:39), is not in response to the Psalmic imagery of the crucifixion, but the events of the foregoing narrative (15:37-38). This particular scene dramatizes the judgment envisioned earlier in the parable of the wicked tenants: ‘He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others’ (12:9). In this case, the tearing of the Temple curtain preludes the coming judgment of the Temple elite whilst the confession of the centurion announces the coming of the age of the gentiles. In the final analysis, it is the description of suffering that led the author to scripturalize the details of Jesus’ crucifixion with LXX Psalm 21. (One other detail may have recommended the psalm to the author: in the Septuagint it reads, ‘They gouged my hands and feet’ ... ‘like a lion’. Whilst this variant could have been easily associated with the ordeal of crucifixion, there is no clear sign the earliest Christians made the association. Compare Zechariah 12:10 in John 19:34, 37) The use of the psalm is of a piece with the Psalmic descriptions of Esther (b. Meggilah 15b), the hymnist of the Hodayot and Aseneth (Joseph and Aseneth 12:11; 13:9). Unmarked language from the psalm has been merged into the narrative description of a suffering righteous person. Much like the scripturalized narratives surveyed earlier in the work, Mark or their source repeatedly draws on one scriptural source during the episode – in this case LXX Psalm 21 ..."
Vette, Nathanel
Writing with Scripture: Scripturalized Narrative in the Gospel of Mark
(pp. 189-190) T&T Clark, 2022
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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