In the Greek N.T. two words are used for "the cross", on which the Lord was put to death.
The word stauros; which denotes and upright pale or stake, to which the criminals were nailed for execution.
The word xulon, which generally denotes a piece of a dead log of wood or timber, for fuel or for any other purpose. It is not like dendron, which is used of a living, or green tree, as in Matt. 21:8. Rev. 7:1, 3; 8:7; 9:4, &c.
As this latter word xulon is used for the former stauros, it shows us that the meaning of each is exactly the same. The verb stauros means to drive stakes (*1). Our English word "cross" is the translation of the Latin crux; but the Greek stauros no more means a crux than the word "stick" means a "crutch". Homer uses the word stauros of an ordinary pole or stake, or a single piece of timber (*2). And this is the meaning and usage of the word throughout the Greek classics (*3).
It never means two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle, but always of one piece alone. Hence the use of the word xulon (No. 2, above) in connection with the manner of our Lord's death, and rendered "tree" in Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29. Gal. 3:13. 1Pet. 2:24. This is preserved in our old Eng. name rood, or rod. See the Encycl. Brit., 11th (Camb.) ed., vol. 7, p. 505 d.
There is nothing in the Greek of the N.T. even to imply two pieces of timber....The evidence is the same as to the pre-Christian (phallic) symbol in Asia, Africa, and Egypt, whether we consult Nineveh by Sir A. H. Layard (ii. 213), or Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, by Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson, iii. pp. 24, 26, 43, 44, 46, 52, 82, 136. Dr Schliemann gives the same evidence in his Ilios (1880), recording his discoveries on the site of prehistoric Troy. See pp. 337 ,350, 353, 521, 523. Dr Max Ohnefalsch-Richter gives the same evidence from Cyprus; and these are "the oldest extant Phoenician inscriptions"; see his Kypos, the Bible, and Homer: Oriental Civilization, Art, and Religion in Ancient Times, Plates XIX, XXV, XXVI, XXX, XXXI, XXXII, XL, LVIII, LXIX, &c.
The Catacombs in Rome bear the same testimony: "Christ" is never represented there as "hanging on a cross", and the cross itself is only portrayed in a veiled and hesitating manner. In the Egyptian churches the cross was a pagan symbol of life, borrowed by the Christians, and interpreted in the pagan manner. See the Encycl. Brit. 11th (Camb.) ed., vol. 14, p. 273. In his Letters from Rome Dean Burgon says: "I question whether a cross oc 6b4 curs on any Christian monument of the first four centuries".
In Mrs. Jameson's famous History of our Lord as Exemplified in Works of Art, she says (vol. ii. p. 315): "It must be owned that ancient objects of art, as far as hitherto known, afford no corroboration of the use of the cross in the simple transverse form familiar to us, at any period preceding, or even closely succeeding, the time of Chrysostom"; and Chrysostom wrote half a century after Constantine!
"The Invention of the Cross" by Helena the mother of Constantine (in 326), though it means her finding of the cross, may or may not be true; but the "invention" of it in pre-Christian times, and the "invention" of its use in later times, are truths of which we need to be reminded in the present day. The evidence is thus complete, that the Lord was put to death upon an upright stake, and not on two pieces of timber placed at any angle.
From Who Killed Jesus? By Julian Doyle:
"Now what about this report from Josephus concerning a revolt in Judea after the death of Herod?
'Varus sent his army into the country, to seek out those that had been the authors of the revolt; and when they were discovered, he punished those that were most guilty: the number of those that were crucified on this account were two thousand.' (Josephus Antiquities)
Another thousand were crucified at the siege of Jerusalem and of course the famous Crucifixion of Spartacus and 6,000 of his slave army on the Appian Way. How can these numbers possibly be true? Where are all these trees coming from, not to mention the tons of nails? (24,000 in the case of Spartacus) The answer strangely is just a matter of translation. You may not believe this but the word we always translate as crucifix, stauros does not actually mean crucifix at all. This is so important I will give you the full dictionary definition.
'The word stauros comes from the verb...histemi: 'straighten up', the same root from which come the German Stern, or the English 'stand'. In classical Greek, until the early 4th century BC, stauros meant an upright stake, pole, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling. In the literature of that time it never means two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle, but always one piece alone.'
So there is no reason to believe Jesus was on a cross at all; nor that the 6,000 slaves crucified on the Appian Way after the Spartacus revolt were on crosses. In fact, it would almost be impossible. They were tied or nailed to a stake or even impaled, a la Vlad the Impaler, and it would all be translated by us as 'Crucifixion'."
Who Killed Jesus? is available on Amazon by clicking here
I have done a LOT Of study and research, and the above is TRUE.
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