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Prophecy

“They have pierced my hands and feet… they cast lots for my clothing” (Psalm 22)

Christ Crucified, artist’s impression by Diego Velázquez (around 1632, Prado): the crucifixion that the Gospels tell with the words of Psalm 22.
Artist’s impression Christ Crucified, artist’s impression by Diego Velázquez (around 1632, Prado): the crucifixion that the Gospels tell with the words of Psalm 22. — Diego Velázquez, Wikimedia Commons · Domaine public

● Written before, according to historians

Written c. 1010–970 BC according to tradition; 800–200 BC according to historians. Event: 30–33 AD.

See the full entry: sources, objections, answers

In short

The announcement. Psalm 22, attributed to King David (around 1000 BC) and of uncertain date according to scholars, is the prayer of a man abandoned and surrounded: “… my hands and my feet” (uncertain word: “they have pierced” according to an ancient manuscript and the ancient Greek translation, “like a lion” according to the traditional Hebrew text); “they cast lots for my clothing”.

What happened. Jesus is crucified under Pontius Pilate, in AD 30 or 33, as non-Christian historians also attest. The Gospels tell his death with the words of the psalm: the cry “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” and his garments divided by lot. These details are reported only by the Gospels.

What is still debated. Jewish tradition reads this psalm as the prayer of David or of Israel in distress, not as a prediction; the link with the cross is a New Testament reading, and the word “pierced” itself is uncertain.

Why it is striking

Read by Christians as an announcement of the crucifixion, the psalm brings together abandonment, mockery, hands and feet wounded, garments divided by lot. Jesus’s crucifixion is attested outside the Gospels; the shared details are attested only by them, and the verb is still debated.

Main objection (in French for now)

Ps 22:17 est un crux textuel : le texte massorétique lit « comme un lion, mes mains et mes pieds », que Rashi et Kimhi expliquent ainsi. La forme verbale de Nahal Hever et de la Septante signifie d’abord « creuser » ; son sens exact est débattu — Aquila et Symmaque comprennent « lier », et Jérôme selon l’hébreu « vinxerunt ».

The text (World English Bible)

For the Chief Musician; set to “The Doe of the Morning.” A Psalm by David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?

Ps 22:1

For dogs have surrounded me. A company of evildoers have enclosed me. They have pierced my hands and feet.

Ps 22:16

They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing.

Ps 22:18

Sources