Tanakh Prophecy
"I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me."
Fulfillment
"Then they crucified Him… sitting down, they kept watch over Him there."
Rabbinic Sources
"The humiliation of nakedness before the onlookers."
Deep Dive: Stripped naked publicly
Historical Context
Psalm 22 is attributed to King David, a pivotal figure in the history of Israel, who reigned around 1000 BCE. The psalm is classified as a lament, articulating profound anguish and a plea for divine intervention amidst suffering. Its composition likely reflects David's own experiences of persecution and abandonment, particularly during his flight from Saul. The psalm is directed towards the Jewish people, serving as both a personal expression and a communal lament that resonates with the collective suffering of Israel.
Archaeological evidence, such as the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, confirms the antiquity and significance of Psalm 22 within the Jewish tradition. Among these scrolls, fragments of Psalm 22 have been found, which corroborate the text's existence and its importance in Jewish liturgical practices. Additionally, historical accounts from Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, provide context for the societal and political tensions during which this psalm would have been relevant. The crucifixion of Yeshua in the first century CE occurs against a backdrop of Roman occupation and Jewish expectation for a Messiah, making the themes of suffering and humiliation in Psalm 22 particularly poignant.
Textual Analysis
The Hebrew phrase in Psalm 22:17, "אֲסַפְּרָה כָּל-עֲצָמוֹתָי" (Asapp'rāh kol-‘atzamotai), translates to "I can count all my bones." The word "עֲצָמוֹת" (atzamot) refers to bones, symbolizing not only physical suffering but also a state of extreme vulnerability. This imagery reflects a profound sense of exposure and humiliation, which is echoed in the latter part of the verse, "they look and stare at Me," emphasizing the public scrutiny and derision faced by the speaker.
The translation nuances are significant. The Septuagint, an ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, renders this phrase as "I will tell of all my bones; they have looked and stared at me," further underscoring the public aspect of the suffering. This public humiliation is central to the interpretation of this psalm in both Jewish and Christian traditions, reflecting the divine abandonment felt by the psalmist in times of distress.
Fulfillment Evidence
The New Testament presents a striking fulfillment of Psalm 22:17 in the account of Yeshua's crucifixion as detailed in Matthew 27:35-36. The text states, "Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: 'They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.'" This act of stripping Yeshua naked and exposing Him to public scorn aligns with the prophetic imagery of being humiliated before onlookers.
Historical evidence supports the practice of crucifixion
Two Millennia of Adversary Positions
9 eras of objections to this prophecy, with primary sources and Messianic corrections.
Targum Jonathan on Psalms
Psalm 22 Describes the Collective Suffering of Israel
"Spoken by David in prophecy concerning the congregation of Israel, for she is like the dawn when her light breaks forth in the morning."
The Aramaic translation and commentary of the Psalms, known as the Targum, reframes this personal lament as a collective one. The introduction to the psalm explicitly states it was 'spoken by David in prophecy concerning the congregation of Israel.' Therefore, the suffering described—including the feeling of being exposed and stared at—is interpreted not as the experience of an individual Messiah, but as a personification of the Jewish people in exile.
Rashi
Verse is Hyperbole for David's Personal Anxiety
"From the great anxiety, I have no flesh on me, and my bones are protruding and can be counted."
Rashi interprets Psalm 22 as David’s personal prayer. He explains the phrase 'I can count all my bones' not as a literal description of a public spectacle, but as a hyperbolic expression of extreme emaciation caused by intense anxiety and illness, where one's bones protrude.
Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki)
Verse Describes David's Personal Weakness and Enemies
"I can count all my bones: From the great weakness that has come upon me. They look: My enemies, who look at my downfall."
The preeminent medieval commentator Rashi interprets the psalm as King David’s personal expression of suffering. He explains that being able to 'count all my bones' is a result of extreme physical weakness and emaciation. The 'they' who 'look and stare' are simply David's personal enemies gloating over his downfall.
IslamQA.info
Crucifixion of Jesus is a Historical Falsehood
"The Jews did not kill ‘Eesa (Jesus – peace be upon him) for sure, rather Allaah raised him up to heaven... So the Jews did not kill the Messiah ‘Eesa (peace be upon him) and they did not crucify him. Rather they killed and crucified the one who was made to look like him."
From an Islamic perspective, the prophecy is irrelevant to Jesus ('Isa) because he was never crucified. The Quran states that the Jews and Romans did not kill or crucify Jesus, but that God made it appear so to them and raised Jesus to Himself. Therefore, any scripture describing the crucifixion cannot be a prophecy about him.
Chabad.org (citing Talmud Yoma 29a)
Psalm 22 Is Queen Esther's Prayer of Vulnerability
Drawing on a Talmudic interpretation (Yoma 29a) that identifies the 'morning hind' in the psalm's title with Queen Esther, many rabbinic sources, including modern ones like Chabad.org, understand the entire psalm as her prayer. In this reading, Esther speaks these words as she risks her life by approaching King Ahasuerus uninvited. Her feeling of being stripped bare and stared at ('I can count all my bones') is a metaphor for her intense vulnerability and fear before the king and his court.
Tovia Singer
Psalm 22 Describes David's Life, Not the Messiah
"Psalm 22 was not written as a prophecy about the messiah. Rather, the speaker in this psalm is King David, who is recounting the agonizing trials and tribulations of his own life... David is the 'I' in this prayerful song, and he is speaking in the past tense about events that had already transpired."
Tovia Singer argues that Psalm 22 is autobiographical, detailing King David's own suffering at the hands of his enemies. He contends that Christians 'mishandle' the text by lifting verses out of their original context to create a prophecy about Jesus. The 'I' of the psalm is David, and the events described, including the feeling of being exposed and stared at, relate to his own historical trials.
Tovia Singer
Christians Detach Psalm 22 From Its Context
"Christians completely detach this chapter from its context in order to connect it to the story of Jesus’ crucifixion. However, when Psalm 22 is read in its proper context, it is clear that it has nothing to do with Jesus."
Rabbi Tovia Singer argues that Christians misuse Psalm 22 by reading it as a prophecy of Jesus while ignoring its context. He maintains it is a personal prayer of King David, detailing his own suffering and ultimate deliverance by God, as shown in the latter half of the psalm. The Christian focus on the first half is, in his view, a distortion that creates a false connection to the crucifixion.
Bart Ehrman
Gospel Authors Invented Crucifixion Details from Psalm 22
"Mark, in other words, appears to have created the story of the crucifixion on the basis of the words of Scripture, especially those of Psalm 22... It is not that Jesus, by coincidence, happened to be crucified in a way that fulfilled the words of the psalm. It is that the account of his crucifixion was based on the words of the psalm."
Bart Ehrman proposes that the Gospel authors were not recording eyewitness history but creating theological narratives. He argues that details of the crucifixion story, such as the public staring and division of garments, were not historical events but were deliberately borrowed from Psalm 22 to portray Jesus's death as a fulfillment of prophecy. The prophecy didn't predict the event; the prophecy created the story of the event.
Bart D. Ehrman
Gospel Authors Invented Details From Psalm 22
"My view is that in fact the opposite happened. The Gospel writers, in telling the story of Jesus’ death, described it in ways that would resonate with the passages of Scripture that they thought were prophetic."
New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman proposes that the Gospel writers fabricated or embellished details of the crucifixion story. He argues they used Psalm 22 as a literary template, inserting elements like the public staring, mockery, and division of garments to make it appear that Jesus's death fulfilled prophecy. The prophecy did not predict the event; rather, the prophecy was used to create the story of the event.