There seems to be two issues in dealing polemically with Psalm 22. One issue is whether v.16 should read “they pierced” as Christianity claims, or “like a lion” as Judaism claims. The second issue is the question of whether this Psalm is Messianic or not.
We will consider:
Part 1: Intro and Rabbinic Writings Part 2: Rabbinic Writings (continued) Part 3: Various Scholars
Part 4: Various Scholars (continued)
In this essay we will deal with both issues although, I will state right away that we should not let ourselves get veered off course by getting bogged down in the first issue because the Psalm so clearly speaks of crucifixion and because we have rabbinic writings that affirm that the Psalm is indeed Messianic.
Maybe it is just me but when I think of a lion I think of teeth, especially if a lion were in close proximity to my hands and feet. What else could “like a lion at my hands and feet” mean but that there is a grave danger of being bitten by the lion, of being pierced by its teeth? Then again it is not just me because Rashi agrees; in his commentary on Psalm 22:16 he writes, “[someone who’s] hands and feet are as if they had been mangled in a lion’s mouth.”
The more I study this issue, the more I think that the translation of “pierced” instead of “like a lion” is a dynamic translation. A formal translation is a word for word translation which means that every word will be translated even if it makes it a little difficult to understand the meaning. A dynamic translation is a thought for thought translation which means that the translator is interested in making the sense of the writing clear even if every word is not necessarily translated. It seems that to say “pierced” is to take the intention of the text and defining it, like the Targums, which paraphrase the Scripture.
Authoritative Jewish writings affirm that the ancient sages interpreted Psalm 22 as a messianic Psalm and affirm the rendering of “pierced.” Let us begin by considering a change in translation from “they are” to “[they maul].”
The 1917 translation by the Jewish Publication Society reads,
Like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet.1
The 1985 translation by the Jewish Publication Society reads,
like lions [they maul] my hands and feet.2
Some of the objections to a messianic application, to Jesus, of Psalm 22 are the following from an anti-missionary organization:
If J.c [Jesus Christ] was sinless it is not possible that this prophecy is about him for it says in verse seven ‘But I am a worm, less than human, scorned by men, despised by people.’3
From Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan:
‘Like a lion’ in Hebrew is KeAri. The fundamentalist Christian interpretation actually changed the spelling of the word from KeAri to Kari. If one then totally ignores the Hebrew grammar, one can twist this to mean ‘He gouged me.’
Then, as in the King James’ Version, they make this verse read ‘they pierced my hands and feet.’ However, this bears no relation to the original meaning of the verse. Even with the change in spelling, it is a forced translation_Furthermore there is absolutely no evidence that this Psalm is speaking of the Messiah.4
Now let us consider the facts of the matter.
Rabbinic Writings:Pesikta Rabbati 36:1-2,
(At the time of the Messiah’s creation), the Holy One, blessed be He, will tell him in detail what will befall him: There are souls that have been put away with thee under My throne, and it is their sins which will bend thee down under a yoke of iron and make thee like a calf whose eyes grow dim with suffering_
During the seven-year period preceding the coming of the son of David, iron beams will be brought and loaded upon his neck until the Messiah’s body is bent low_It was because of the ordeal of the son of David that David wept, saying, My strength is dried up like a potsherd (Psalm 22:16).
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