33—38.
329
δὲ αὐτόν, * διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ, " βάλλοντες 1 "κλῆρον " ἵνα t Lk. xi. 17,
πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ προφήτου, ‘ Διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἵμάτιά µου ἑαυτοῖς, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν µου ἔβαλον κλῆρον. 3
καθήµενοι ᾿ ἐτήρουν αὐτὸν ἐκεῖ.
"Ingots ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ιουδαίων.
"αὐτῷ δύο λῃσταί, eis ἐκ δεξιῶν καὶ els ἐξ εὐωνύμων.
1 βαλοντες in NAD (W.H. in margin).
2 From wa πλη΄ωθη to end of ver. 35 is omitted in NABDL2.
come in from John xix. 24.
sius, till Fulda the great authority on the subject of crucifixion? The work of the more recent writer should certainly be consulted before coming to a final de- cision on the form of the cross or the method of crucifixion. Another question is, what did Jesus carry to the place of execution: the upright post or the cross beam? (the latter according to Mar- quhardt, Rom. Alter.vii.1, 1). And how was His body fixed to the cross: were the feet, ¢.g., nailed as well as the hands, or only tied to the beam with a rope or with wands or left free? The passages cited from ancient authors bearing on the subject, Artemidorus, Plautus, Seneca, are diversely interpreted, and the practice does not seem to have been invariable. Crucifixion was at best a rude mode of executing justice, and, especially in time of war, seems to have been performed by soldiers in diverse fashions, according to their whim (ἄλλον ἄλλῳ σχήµατι πρὸς χλεύην, Joseph., v.11, 1; plates showing various forms in Fulda). Still there would be a normal mode, and in the case of Jesus, when only one or two were put to death, it would probably be followed. His cross has generally been supposed to have been a crux tmmissa, with the accusation on the point of the upright post above the cross beam, with a peg whereon to sit. Whether. His feet were pierced with nails cannot be certainly determined. Paulus took the negative side in the interest of the hypothesis that Jesus did not really die on the cross; Meyer strongly maintains the contrary, vide ad loc. ‘The fragment of the Gospel of Peter speaks of nails in the hands only: “then they drew the nails from the hands of the Lord”. Fulda takes the same view, representing the hands as nailed, the feet as tied to the beam.—ra ἵμάτια: the probability is that Jesus had been stript absolutely naked (γυμνοὶ
37. Καὶ ἐπέθηκαν ἐπάνω τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ τὴν “aitiay αὐτοῦ yeypappevny, 'Οὗτός ἐστινν
18 ; xii. 52, 53; xxii. 17. Acts ii, 3, 45. u the phrase here and in parall. ver. 54. Ch. xxviii. 4. Acts xii. 5, 6 (same sense), w Mk. xv. 26. Acts xxv. 18, 27.
36. Kat
38. Τότε σταυροῦνται σὺν
It has probably
σταυροῦνται, Artemid., Oneirocritica, ii. 58). On the dividing of the garments vide John xix. 23 f. The prophetic refer- ence iva πληρωθῃ in T. R. has little authority, and seems inserted from John xix. 24, by a scribe who thought it what the first evangelist should say. This is a second instance where a chance of prophetic citation is not taken advantage of.—Ver. 36: this statement about the executioners sitting down to watch Jesus takes the place of a statement as to the time of execution in Mk. The purpose apparently was to guard against a rescue. —Ver. 37: this fact is mentioned out of its proper place. It is probable that the placard with the accusation was fixed up before the cross was erected. As it stands in Mt.’s narrative, it looks like an after-thought of the soldiers as they sat keeping watch, their final jest at the expense of their victim and the nation to which He belonged. What the custom was as to this is not known. Of the various versions of the inscription Mk.’s is the shortest: THE KING OF THE JEWS; to this Mt. prefixes: This is Jesus.—Ver. 38: τότε introduces the fact mentioned as an accompaniment of the crucifixion of Jesus, without indicating its precise place in the course of events.—oravpovvrat, the historical present with lively effect ; and passive, probably to imply that this act was performed by other soldiers. This very slight notice grows into a considerable incident in the hands of Luke.