Table Of ContentWissenschaftliche Untersuchungen
zum Neuen Testament · 2.Reihe
Herausgeber / Editor
Jörg Frey (Zürich)
Mitherausgeber / Associate Editors
Markus Bockmuehl (Oxford)
James A. Kelhoffer (Uppsala)
Hans-Josef Klauck (Chicago, IL)
Tobias Nicklas(Regensburg)
310
Gunnar Samuelsson
Crucifixion in Antiquity
An Inquiry into the Background
and Significance of the
New Testament Terminology of Crucifixion
Second, revised edition
Mohr Siebeck
Gunnar Samuelsson,born 1966; 1992 Pastor and Missionary Degree; 1997 BA and MTh at
the University of Gothenburg; 2000 MA; 2010 ThD; Senior Lecturer in New Testament Stu-
dies at the Department of Literature, History of Ideas and Religion, University of Gothen-
burg.
e-ISBN PDF 978-3-16-152513-1
ISBN 978-3-16-152508-7
ISSN 0340-9570 (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 2.Reihe)
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie;
detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.
© 2013 by Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany. www.mohr.de
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by
copyright law) without the publisher’s written permission. This applies particularly to reproduc-
tions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems.
The book was printed by Laupp & Göbel in Nehren on non-aging paper and bound by Buch-
binderei Nädele in Nehren.
Printed in Germany.
For my beloved wife Linda and our dear children
Rebecca, Hannah, Daniel, Esther and Johannes
Preface
Being a parish minister, I took it as a blessing to hear the phone ring one
day and convey the opportunity to spend some years on doctoral studies
at what was then the Department of Religious Studies at the University of
Gothenburg. During the preceding talks with my presumptive supervi-
sor, Professor Samuel Byrskog, we soon ended up with the topic of cruci-
fixion – with special attention to how Paul uses it as a rhetorical device in
his letters. The first study that came into my hands was Martin Hengel’s
epoch-making book Crucifixion. With fascination I was led by Hengel to
some crucifixion accounts in Herodotus’ History, using the familiar verb
¢nastauroàn. Among the first texts studied, there emerged suspensions
of corpses and body parts, all labeled “crucifixions” by Hengel.1 The
former verb was translated as “crucifixion” in Godley’s translation of the
Loeb edition on my shelf as well.2 This puzzlement regarding the mean-
ing of ¢nastauroàn and its counterparts caught my curiosity and
sparked a preparatory investigation of the philological aspects related to
crucifixion in the Greco-Roman and Biblical texts. However, this effort –
to establish a textual basis for the study of the historical and theological
perspectives of the death of Jesus in the Pauline letters – appeared to be
sufficient for a thesis by itself. And out went Paul. Thus, the present in-
vestigation is in part the result of a failure, but in my opinion a good fail-
ure. I obtained the chance to spend several intriguing years dealing with
the part of the world, the part of history, and the parts of ancient lan-
guages that I love passionately. I am most grateful for this.
The present monograph is a slightly revised version of my Th.D. thesis
defended publicly on 21 May 2010 at the Department of Literature, His-
tory of Ideas and Religion, University of Gothenburg. Within a few
weeks from the date of my defense, news media globally from CNN to
Pravda, and numerous blogs and discussion forums, had brought atten-
tion to it, sometimes with intriguing comments on the importance of bib-
lical scholarship, sometimes with unfortunate misunderstandings.3 The
1 Hdt. 3.125.2; 6.30.1.
2 Hdt. 3.125.2 (GODLEY, LCL).
3 For a selection of media references, see http://www.exegetics.org/Media.html.
VIII Preface
opportunity now to publish the results of my research is therefore all the
more welcome.
Many people have assisted me during the years of study. My apprecia-
tion goes to my dear and competent supervisor Prof. Samuel Byrskog,
who has guided my dissertation project in the best possible way. He nev-
er stops impressing and surprising me.
A special word of thanks goes to my dear colleague and friend Dr. To-
bias Hägerland, who has helped my course to be steady, broadened my
academic and religious life and brought joy to the years of biblical studies
– and to numerous conferences.
I am thankful for help with proofreading to Jon van Leuven (English),
Dr. Tryggve Göransson (Greek), Prof. Magnus Wistrand (Latin), and my
dear colleague in language teaching, Ph.D. candidate Rosmarie Lillas-
Schuil (Hebrew and Aramaic). Special thanks also to Dr. Georg Walser
for proofreading and critical suggestions in the early stages of the process,
and to my secondary supervisor Prof. Staffan Olofsson, Ph.D. candidate
Lennart Thörn and Prof. Dick A. R. Haglund for their enthusiastic sup-
port and critical suggestions. The same gratitude goes to Dr. Jonas
Holmstrand, who read the entire manuscript and delivered a good oppo-
sition at my last seminar, and to my opponent at the dissertation, Dr.
Erkki Koskenniemi, for his very helpful comments and suggestions.
My thanks are due to the now expanded Department of Literature,
History of Ideas and Religion at the University of Gothenburg; to the
two Heads of Department that I have worked under during these years,
Lars Branegård and Prof. Ingemar Nilsson; to the administrative staff,
Marita Öhman and Pernilla Josefsson; to members of the Higher Seminar
for Biblical Studies, especially Ph.D. candidates Hasse Leander, Fredrik
Ivarsson, Rosmarie Lillas-Schuil, Dr. Erik Alvstad, Dr. Georg Walser,
Dr. Martin Berntson, Dr. Tobias Hägerland, Prof. Staffan Olofsson, Prof.
Bertil Nilsson and Prof. Magnus Wistrand for creative seminar opposi-
tion.
Special thanks go to the annual joint doctoral seminar with partici-
pants from Norwegian School of Theology, Oslo; School of Mission and
Theology, Stavanger; Centre for Theology and Religious Studies at Lund
University and Department of Literature, History of Ideas and Religion
at the University of Gothenburg. Within this setting Prof. Hans Kval-
bein, Prof. Karl Olav Sandnes, Prof. Reidar Hvalvik, Prof. Jostein Ådna,
Dr. Gunnar Haaland, Dr. Årstein Justnes, Dr. Geir Otto Holmås, Dr.
Nils Aksel Røsæg, Dr. Sverre Bøe, Dr. Torleif Elgvin and Ph.D. candi-
dates Hanne Birgitte Sødal Tveito and Harald Aarbakke have read and
offered opposition of great value on my seminar papers, as well as their
enthusiastic support throughout this project.
Preface IX
A word of thanks goes also to the participants at the SBL and EABS
conferences who have offered their suggestions and support, as well as to
Prof. Heinz-Wolfgang Kuhn, Prof. Richard B. Hays, Prof. Bengt Holm-
berg, Prof. Karl-Gustav Sandelin, Prof. Tryggve N. D. Mettinger and Dr.
David W. Chapman for inspiring conversations.
I am deeply grateful to Prof. Jörg Frey and Prof. Markus Bockmuehl
for recommending my book for publication in the prestigious WUNT-
series, and for offering valuable suggestions. A special word of thanks
also goes to Dr. Henning Ziebritzki and his editorial staff for their assis-
tance during the preparation of the manuscript for publication.
Generous scholarships have been granted by Adlerbertska Stipend-
iefonden, Stockholms Kristliga Ynglingaförening, Stiftelsen Wilhelm och
Martina Lundgrens Vetenskapsfond, Letterstedtska föreningen, Kungl och
Hvitfeldtska stiftelsen, and Helge Ax:son Johnsons stiftelse. Their contri-
butions have improved the quality of the dissertation not least through
the possibility to buy literature and to participate in the mentioned con-
ferences.
Finally I want to direct my thankfulness to my parents Sven and
Solveig Samuelsson for their never-failing support for my 21 years of ac-
ademic studies and not least for their continuous help with the sheer
number of children in our household. The latter goes also to my father-
and mother-in-law, Lennart and Margareta Einald, my sister Eva Olsson
and my brother Lennart Samuelsson and their families, our dear nannies
Jorunn Odenslätt, Margit Bryngelsson, Gunilla Hamnebo, Lena Sörens-
son and Ulrika Börjesson. Without their help our situation would be a
disaster. And a disaster would also this weary body be without the firm
hands and warm heart of naprapath Anders Wanther.
My gratitude goes foremost to my lovely wife, Linda, without whom
this project would simply have been impossible – and to our loved chil-
dren, Rebecca, Hannah, and the triplets Daniel, Esther and Johannes.
You have made my life worth living, and to you, my beloved family, this
study is dedicated.
Hönö, Good Friday 2011 Gunnar Samuelsson
