The lion and the sword
There are textual and interpretive disagreements between Jewish and Christian apologists over a single word found in Psalm 22:16. The Rabbinic position is that the text states “Like a lion [tearing at] my hands and my feet”, the Christian position “they pierced my hands and my feet”. So what is the source of this dispute? From my understanding this dispute is over single unusual word or spelling of a word in the Hebrew text כָּ֝אֲרִ֗י pronounced (ka-ari) meaning to dig, it’s posited that this word possibly should be read as כארו (ka-aru) meaning like a lion.
I’m not a Hebrew scholar, so I cannot claim to be able to articulate all of the nuances of the dispute, however there is a mechanism by which a determination can be made: by looking in the text itself for the solution. It’s widely understood that parallelism is a common component of Hebrew poetry, like the Psalms. So can we see this mechanism being used in this particular passage? Yes!
I was cast upon You from birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb. ~ Psalms 22:10 NASB
Here we find one type of parallelism, where the Psalmist repeats or expands upon one idea by reiterating it in a different manner in the very next line. Yet there is another type of parallelism we can see in the text:
Do not be far from me, for trouble is near;
For there is no one to help. ~ Psalms 22:10 NASB
But You, Lord, do not be far away;
You who are my help, hurry to my assistance. ~ Psalms 22:19 NASB
Here we find another parallel between verses, in the form of complaint and request. The Psalmist is describing a desperate circumstance and then later asks for a particular solution to address this particular problem. We can find this pattern throughout the passage: such as verses 12-13 (complaint) & verse 21 (request).
Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
They open their mouths wide at me, As a ravening and roaring lion. Psalms 22:12-13 NASB
Save me from the lion’s mouth; From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me. Psalms 22:21 NASB
Here we see a complaint against bulls and a lion, paralleled by a request to save him from bulls and a lion. So when we read the verse in question (verse 16), we can look for a parallel and see if there’s a solution:
For dogs have surrounded me;
A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
(They pierced) or (Like a lion) my hands and my feet. ~ Psalms 22:16 NASB
Save my soul from the sword,
My only life from the power of the dog. ~ Psalms 22:20 NASB
Here we seem to have found the answer, dog vs. dog, pierced vs. sword, suggesting that the correct reading is in fact “pierced”. Otherwise we have a lion remaining to contend with, and an irreconcilable relationship between a lion and a sword. A band of evildoers however could certainly carry a sword, and a sword can pierce; a band of evildoers probably can’t wield a lion quite so easily. I’m not the first to articulate this, the passage is also discussed by Dr. Seth Postell from One for Israel ministry. His much more in-depth and scholarly examination than my own helped to illuminate this seemingly simple solution. I find that many disputes or problems about Scripture or it’s meaning are often solved within the text itself.
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