Analyzing Psalm 22: Evildoers Surround the Forsaken and Cast Lots
Analyzing Psalm 22: Evildoers Surround the Forsaken and Cast Lots
Psalm 22:16-18; Mark 15:29-32; John 19: 31-37 - The prophecy of our Lord’s suffering by David should fill us with wonder and humility and sorrow.
”For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.“
Psalms 22:16-18 NASB1995
The remarkable prophecy about the crucifixion continues in these verses of Psalm 22. David is surrounded by dogs and a band of evildoers. Let’s look at both “dogs” and “evildoers” in Hebrew:
Dogs comes from the Hebrew word כֶּלֶב or keleb, with the following Biblical usages:
dog
dog (literal)
contempt or abasement (fig.)
of pagan sacrifice
of male cult prostitute (fig.)
In this case, it could be literal dogs or it could represent the contempt and abatement coming from the evildoers.
Evildoers come from the Hebrew word רָעַע or râʻaʻ, with the following Biblical usages:
to be bad, be evil
(Qal)
to be displeasing
to be sad
to be injurious, be evil
to be wicked, be evil (ethically)
(Hiphil)
to do an injury or hurt
to do evil or wickedly
mischief (participle)
to break, shatter
(Qal)
to break
broken (participle)
to be broken
(Hithpolel) to be broken, be broken in pieces, be broken asunder
Not claiming to know diddly-squat about Hebrew, I believe the different verb types are noted by the Qal, Hiphil and Hithpolel references. The crowd around David (and our Lord) are just plain evil and wicked and they aim to break or shatter the Forsaken ones.
Here is what the Gospel of Mark says about the evildoers who stood at the bottom of the cross:
”Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.
Mark 15:29-32 NASB1995
The first verse of this passage continues with a remarkable prophecy of the piercing of hands and feet. Crucifixion was first done in Persia and was adapted by the Carthaginians and later the Romans; David wrote this Psalm in about 1040 BC and the research I did described the first real crucifixion occurring about 500 years after that time. Here is what Dr. David Terasaka says about Roman crucifixion from the Blue Letter Bible, which is a horrible way to die:
The procedure of crucifixion may be summarized as follows. The patibulum [cross-beam] was put on the ground and the victim laid upon it. Nails, about 7 inches long and with a diameter of 1 cm ( roughly 3/8 of an inch) were driven in the wrists. The points would go into the vicinity of the median nerve, causing shocks of pain to radiate through the arms. It was possible to place the nails between the bones so that no fractures (or broken bones) occurred. Studies have shown that nails were probably driven through the small bones of the wrist, since nails in the palms of the hand would not support the weight of a body. In ancient terminology, the wrist was considered to be part of the hand (C.T. Davis). Standing at the crucifixion sites would be upright posts, called stipes, standing about 7 feet high.(W.D. Edwards) In the center of the stipes was a crude seat, called a sedile or sedulum, which served a support for the victim. The patibulum was then lifted on to the stipes. The feet were then nailed to the stipes. To allow for this, the knees had to be bent and rotated laterally, being left in a very uncomfortable position. The titulus was hung above the victim's head.
There were several different types of crosses used during crucifixion. In Jesus' time, it was most likely that the cross used was a T shaped (or tau cross,), not the popular Latin, or t shaped cross which is accepted today (R. Pumpkin).
I also want to share this insight from Enduring Word about how this passage in Hebrew text was modified, perhaps to point away from the prophecy from this Psalm:
They pierced My hands and My feet: Perhaps here David referred to wounds he received in struggling against these determined enemies; perhaps he wrote purely prophetically. In any regard, hundreds of years before the Romans adopted the Persian practice of crucifixion, the prophet David described the wounds of crucifixion that his Greater Son would bear.
The Masoretic Hebrew text of Psalm 22:16 doesn’t say pierced; it says “as a lion.” Yet the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Old Testament – long before the Christian era – renders the Hebrew text as saying pierced. While the Masoretic text shouldn’t be casually disregarded, there is good reason to side with the Septuagint and almost every other translation here. “It may even suggest that the Masoretic text was deliberately pointed in the way it was by later Jewish scholars to avoid what otherwise would be a nearly inescapable prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion.” (Dr. James Boice)
The Masoretic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible is apparently the authoritative text that is widely used. However, as noted in the commentary above, it differs from the Septuagint (Greek translation done prior to the time of Christ) for this particular verse in a profound way.
David continues in verse 17 that he can count all of his bones, meaning no bones were broken in what happened to him. This prophesies the crucifixion as noted in the Gospel of John (also fulfills the requirements from Exodus 12:46 about the Passover lamb, which will have no bones broken):
”Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”“
John 19:31-37 NASB1995
Finally, this passage ends with a description of the people staring at the Forsaken ones and dividing their garments and casting lots for the clothing. This, of course, is again prophetic about what happened to Jesus as He suffered and died. Here is some commentary again from Enduring Word:
They look and stare at Me: In his crisis, David was the focus of unwanted attention. His tormentors did not allow him the dignity of private suffering, but exposed all things to their stare. David’s Great Son also found no place to hide from the unwanted stares of cruel, mocking men at the cross.
On the cross Jesus was the focus not only of mocking and humiliation (Matthew 27:39-44, Mark 15:29-32), but also of simple astonishment, as when the centurion said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54). Luke also noted, the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned (Luke 23:48).
“‘They look and stare upon me.’ Oh, how different is that look which the awakened sinner directs to Calvary, when faith lifts up her eye to him who agonised, and bled, and died, for the guilty!” (Morrison, cited in Charles Spurgeon)
They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots: David was so humbled before his adversaries, so powerless against them, that they took even his clothing and used it for themselves.
As with other aspects of Psalm 22, this was fulfilled even more literally in the experience of Jesus than in the life of David. As was the custom of that time, Jesus was stripped naked or nearly naked for the cross, and soldiers gambled (cast lots) for his clothing at the very foot of the cross. John 19:23-24 and Matthew 27:35 quote this line of Psalm 22 as being fulfilled.
“Unholy eyes gazed insultingly upon the Saviour’s nakedness, and shocked the sacred delicacy of his holy soul. The sight of the agonizing body ought to have ensured sympathy from the throng, but it only increased their savage mirth, as they gloated their cruel eyes upon his miseries.” (Charles Spurgeon)
We should be humbled and mourning in deep sorrow for what our Holy Lord suffered during His crucifixion and death to take away OUR sins. Stripping people of their final shred of dignity by taking away their clothing was also a favorite tool of the Third Reich when they selected victims for mass extermination in the death camps or even just processed them to enslave them in work camps. Most traditional paintings of the crucifixion avoid this ugly fact, but it is very likely that Jesus died in the same naked state that He was born, with evildoers staring at Him and mocking Him. If anyone tells you that humans are “basically good”, I would kindly beg to differ with you. Humans have demonstrated their evilness, cruelty and hatred over and over and over again throughout history. We don’t deserve His mercy and grace, but He loves us!
My next devotional examines Psalm 22:19-21 - Deliver my soul.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I tremble to know how You suffered to take on the burden of my sins. I don’t deserve Your mercy and grace, but You grant it anyway to those who believe. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.
The Blue Letter Bible lexicon was accessed on 3/6/2024 to review the words “dogs” and “evildoers”.
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.
“The Medical Aspects of the Crucifixion” from the Blue Letter Bible is Compiled by David Terasaka, M.D. ©1996. All Rights Reserved, David Terasaka, M.D. However, permission is hereby granted to copy and distribute free of charge for non-commercial purposes only.