Biblical Hebrew Forum

["K Randolph" <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Schmuel:

On 9/28/06, schmuel <schmuel AT nyc.rr.com> wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
>   Recently I have been reviewing the very interesting Psalm 22 discussions.
> A few threads over the years.
>
> Psalm 22:16 (KJB)
> For dogs have compassed me:
> the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me:
> they pierced my hands and my feet.
>
>    In this post I would like to offer one small but hopefully interesting 
> point.
>
>    Often it is said that Zechariah 12:10 gives us another word for "pierced" 
> that could
> be used in Psalm 22 if a verb was meant there.  This is all over the 
> anti-mish web sites
> and is mentioned occasionally here.
>
>     Some of this is based on the fact that in the verse Zechariah 12:10
> dqr is often translated as "pierced".

The question is, does K)R mean "pierce"?

I read somewhere, I don't remember where, that K)R was used in ancient
Akkadian medical texts to refer to the actions of diseases that deform
hands and feet.

I also read in an article by a Christian MD that crucifixion usually
had the nails going through the wrists, because the hands are too weak
to hold the body, so the hands would simply tear apart and the person
fall off the cross. But in going through the wrist, the nails cut
through tendons and nerves, twisting the hands into unnatural shapes,
hence deforming them. The same with nails through the ankles.

In Amos 8:8 K)R is used in the phrase "injustice distorts all".

Therefore, "pierce" is a wrong translation for K)R, you are right that
DQR is the correct word for "pierce" and another word should be used
in Psalm 22. It also means that the LXX was incorrectly translated.

Karl W. Randolph.