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I’m continuing to press ahead on finishing the Ancient Roots Translinear Bible (ARTB) New Testament. Just thought I’d share an interesting insight with you about CRUCIFIXION. I had always thought that the cruel form of capital punishment of crucifixion was an invention of the Romans at the time of Christ. But the Aramaic New Testament helps uncover that the concept probably occured at the time of Ezra, during the return from Bablyon, approximately 400BC.
There is a Hebrew word “zaqap” (Strong’s number 2210) which is “erect” in the Ancient Roots Translinear Bible (ARTB). It occurs twice in the Old Testament:
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Ps 145:14
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Yahweh puts erect all the fallen and all the crippled.
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Ps 146:8
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Yahweh unseals the blind. Yahweh erects the crippled. Yahweh loves the righteous!
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(If you haven’t tried the WordSearch feature on www.AncientRoots.com, give it a whirl! Simply enter the number 2210 in the Strong’s number box, and these verses will pop up.)
The single Aramaic use in the Old Testament is spelled the same “zaqap” (Strong’s number 2211), and also is listed as “erect” in the ARTB in Ezra 6:11.
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I set a statute that any mortal altering this decision has the wood razed from his house. Erect it and injure him over it. Serve his house to the garbage-heap for this.
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When you get to the New Testament, the usage of the root 2211 explodes. It changes a tiny bit in spelling, but is clearly is the word “CRUCIFY” as the crowd calls for Jesus’ death. It also has a related root which is the word “CROSS”.
As usual, the Hebrew/Aramaic vocabulary is wonderful in its richness. They clearly differentiated between HANGING on a tree (ie an actual TREE with a NOOSE), and dying by being hung on a manmade structure by manmade means which is CRUCIFIXION in the New Testament (NAILED to a CROSS). The Ezra 6:11 verse catches the transition: Tear down the house, ERECT a manmade structure, and INJURE him over it. Sure sounds like crucifixion to me.
You may want to make a note in your ARTB text.
I also received a note about this information from a reader:
Your research is confirmed by historical references. It was used even before Ezra.
Acccording to Josephus and other authorities, Haman was crucified on a cross by Ahasuerus, King of Persia.Crucifixion was used extensively by the Persians:
Wikipedia has-
"It was in use particularly among the Persians, Seleucids, Carthaginians, and Romans from about the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD, when in the year 337 Emperor Constantine I abolished it in his empire, out of veneration for Jesus Christ, the most famous victim of crucifixion.[1][2] "
A. Frances Werner
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