Who Was Pierced in
Zechariah 12:10 and Psalms 22:16?
In their disappointment with the failure of Jesus in
accomplishing any of the roles of the Messiah, the early evangelists scoured
the Old Testament in an attempt to show that the Messiah would be crucified.
Since no such reference exists in Scripture, several verses were inserted into
the Gospel’s description of the crucifixion, with the details of the scriptures
altered to fit the story. Two commonly cited references are Zechariah 12:10 and
Psalms 22:16.
“And
I will pour upon the house of David,
and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they
shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in
bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will
be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.”
(Zechariah 12:10-11, KJV)
Christians read Zechariah 12:10 and see it as a prophecy
of the crucifixion of Jesus followed by
an outpouring of grief. The Gospel of John repeats the theme:
“And
again another scripture saith, They
shall look on him whom they pierced.”
(John 19:37, KJV)
Before we get to the issue of mistranslation, which is
certainly here, let’s look at the Christian translation.
Who is looking upon him whom they pierced? Are the Romans, who pierced Jesus looking
at him? Are the Jews doing the
looking? It can’t be the Jews, because
the translation says that the ones who pierced him are looking at him. . .
If it is the Romans, are they in turn mourning for
Jesus? From the translation it appears
that those who “pierced” are those who mourn.
The Gospel doesn’t indicate that the Romans mourned for Jesus
Even using Christian translations Zechariah 12:10 doesn’t
fit Jesus. To understand it you need a better translation. Just straight word for word translation
gives you:
Ve'hibitu --- And they will gaze
elai --- to Me (referring to God)
es asher --- about whom it can be said
dakaru --- they have pierced
Here is a complete translation:
“I will pour upon the house
of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and
supplications. They will look toward Me
because of those whom they have stabbed, they will mourn over him as one mourns
over an only [child], and be embittered over him like the embitterment over a
[deceased] firstborn. (11) On that day
the mourning will become intense in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon
[and the mourning] at the Valley of Megiddon.”
If this isn’t about Jesus, whom is speaking and what is it
about?
This verse is describing the final
war between Israel and the attacking nations:
And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations
that come against Jerusalem.
(Zechariah 12:9
)
It becomes clearer when its many
pronouns are identified:
And they [the Jews] shall look to Me [God], Whom they
[the nations] have stabbed, and they [the Jews] shall mourn for him
[their martyred].
Israel enjoys a special Providence
and closeness to God:
For what great nation has God so near to it as the Lord,
our God, is to us whenever we call upon Him?
(Deuteronomy 4:7 )
Therefore, what befalls Israel is
said to have happened to God. In this instance, God is said to have been "thrust
through" when Israel was in fact the victim. Similarly:
In all their affliction, He was afflicted....
(Isaiah 63:9 )
They have said: "Come, let us wipe them out from being a
nation, in order that the name of Israel may no longer be remembered." For they
have consulted together as one; against You they make a covenant.
(Psalms 83:5--6
In the greatness of Your majesty You have overthrown
those who have risen up against You....
(Exodus 15:7 )
Although the Egyptians persecuted
Israel, not God, "Whoever rises up against Israel is considered as if he rose up
against God"
This fraud is blatant: The verse
under discussion says "to Me" (eilai in Hebrew), not "upon him"
(ahlav). The meaning of these words can readily be determined in:
Then you said to your servant: "Bring him down to
me, that I may set my eyes upon him."
(Genesis 44:21 )
Another reference that Christians commonly relate to Jesus
is Psalm 22. While it is clear from the verses in this psalm that it does not
fit the crucifixion, the specific alleged reference to the crucifixion is
particularly false.
“.For dogs have compassed me:
the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
(Psalms 22:16)
Christian apologists claim that this piercing refers to
Jesus. In fact, the use of the word “pierce” is based on the Septuagint’s
translation, which is frequently cited. This error was repeated in the Vulgate
and Syriac, and appears in the King James Bible. This is based on the
assumption that the word ”ka’ari” means “pierced” when if fact it means “like a
lion”. The claim is that the root of
the word is “k-r-h” which means “dig”. In fact, the word “kara” is used in the context of digging soil, and
never in the context of piercing flesh. (Cf. Genesis 26:25, Exodus 21:33,
Numbers 18:20, Psalms 7:16, 57:7)
Some of the words used in Scripture for piercing the body
are: ratsa (Exodus 21:6), dakar (Zechariah 12:10 noted above,
Isaiah 13:15), nakar (2 Kings
18:21)
A far better translation would be:
“For dogs have encompassed me; a company of evil-doers have inclosed me;
like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet.” (JPS)
Or:
“For
dogs have encompassed me; a company of evil-doers have inclosed me; [they maul]
like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet.”
The deliberate mistranslation is just another attempt to find a reference to Jesus where one does not exist.