6 “Post”

Long Matthew 27:40 hem sei Jesus hem dae long wanfala “post” long Calvary. No eni pruv hem stap wea showimaot datfala Greek word stau·rosʹ hem minim wanfala cross wea olketa heathen pipol iusim long worship bilong olketa plande handred year bifor long taem bilong Christ.

Long classical Greek languis bifor, disfala word stau·rosʹ hem minim wanfala post. Datfala verb stau·roʹo hem minim for iusim olketa post for wakem wanfala fence. Olketa man wea raetem olketa Christian Greek Scripture no raetem datwan long classical Greek languis bat olketa raetem long Greek languis wea pipol iusim evriday, wea olketa kolem koi·neʹ. Bat olketa iusim datfala word stau·rosʹ, wea long classical Greek languis and long Greek languis wea pipol iusim evriday, hem minim post nomoa. No eni pruv hem stap for showimaot datfala word hem minim wanfala cross. Aposol Peter and aposol Paul iusim datfala word xyʹlon tu for storyim datfala samting wea pipol nilam Jesus long hem, wea showimaot hem wanfala post nomoa. Diswan hem bikos sapos man iusim datfala word xyʹlon taem hem story abaotem samting wea olketa nilam man long hem, datfala word xyʹlon hem minim post nomoa. (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; Galatia 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) Long Septuagint datfala word xyʹlon hem stap long Ezra 6:11 (2 Esdras 6:11), and long there olketa kolem datwan wanfala post for hangem olketa criminal long hem, olsem Acts 5:30 and 10:39 hem storyim tu.

W. E. Vine hem storyim mining bilong datfala word stau·rosʹ long buk bilong hem An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (1966 reprint), Vol. I, p. 256. Hem sei: “Main mining bilong STAUROS (σταυρός) hem post. Olketa nilam criminal long post olsem for killim hem dae. Long firstaem mining bilong datfala noun stau·rosʹ and datfala verb stauroō, hem barava difren from biliv bilong religion wea sei datfala post hem garem nara pis timba wea mekem hem wanfala cross. Sheip bilong cross hem kam from Chaldea bifor. Hem wanfala symbol for datfala god Tammuz long olketa nara kantri wea klosap long there tu, and long Egypt. (Datfala cross hem sheip bilong leta Tau, wea hem first leta long nem bilong datfala god). Kasem midol long mek-3 century A.D., olketa church lusim or changem finis samfala teaching bilong olketa Christian. For mekem olketa church hia garem moa paoa olketa letem olketa heathen for joinim olketa, nomata olketa hia no garem faith. Olketa letem olketa keepim tu staka long olketa heathen saen and symbol bilong olketa. So olketa muvim daon top part bilong datfala leta Tau wea hem nao leta T, and iusim datfala symbol for piksarem cross bilong Christ.”

Datfala Latin dictionary wea Lewis and Short raetem hem storyim main mining bilong datfala word crux. Hem sei hem “wanfala tree, frame, or nara samting wea olketa wakem long timba for killim man dae, wea olketa savve nilam or hangem olketa criminal long hem.” Bihaen nomoa mining bilong datfala word crux hem change for minim “cross.” Long Latin languis, olketa kolem wanfala post for nilam wanfala criminal long hem crux simʹplex. Mifala putim piksa bilong wanfala post olsem wea mifala tekem from buk De cruce libri tres, Antwerp, 1629, p. 19 wea Justus Lipsius (1547-1606) hem raetem.

Datfala buk Das Kreuz und die Kreuzigung (The Cross and the Crucifixion), wea Hermann Fulda hem raetem, Breslau, 1878, p. 109, hem sei: “Staka taem ples wea olketa markem for hangem man long hem, hem no garem olketa tree. So olketa digim hol and standapim post long hem. Olketa hangem olketa criminal long olketa post hia and apim hand bilong olketa for taengem or nilam long post. Plande taem olketa taengem or nilam leg bilong olketa long post tu.” Bihaen Fulda storyim staka pruv, hem sei olsem long p. 219 and 220: “Jesus hem dae long wanfala post: Thrifala point for sapotim diswan hem olsem, (a) hem wei bilong pipol long Orient for killim man dae long datfala taem, (b) history abaotem hao Jesus hem dae and (c) staka samting wea olketa church father talem.”

Paul Wilhelm Schmidt, wea hem wanfala professor long University of Basel, hem duim bigfala research long datfala Greek word stau·rosʹ. Buk wea hem raetem Die Geschichte Jesu (The History of Jesus), Vol. 2, Tübingen and Leipzig, 1904. Long p. 386 bilong datfala buk, hem sei: “σταυρός[stau·rosʹ] hem minim wanfala post or trunk bilong tree.” Long p. 387 go kasem 389 hem raet abaotem samting wea olketa duim for panisim Jesus. Hem sei long olketa gospel olketa panisim Jesus long wei for whipim hem nogud, then hangem hem long post followim wei bilong olketa long Rome for panisim man. For barava mek shame long hem, Jesus seleva mas karem datfala post long ples wea olketa bae hangem hem. Hem sei tu hem hard for olketa hangem olketa man long eni difren wei moa, bikos staka taem olketa savve killim dae staka man long wantaem. Example bilong diswan hem Varus wea hem killim dae 2000 man wantaem (Jos. Ant. XVII 10. 10). Olketa narawan wea hangem staka man wantaem hem Quadratus (Jewish Wars II 12. 6), datfala bigman Felix (Jewish Wars II 15. 2 [13.2]), and Titus (Jewish Wars VII. 1 [V 11. 1]).

So no eni pruv stap for sei olketa killim dae Jesus Christ long wanfala cross. Mifala no laek for addim long Bible eni teaching wea kam from olketa heathen, olsem teaching abaotem cross. Dastawe mifala transleitim nomoa main mining bilong olketa word stau·rosʹ and xyʹlon, wea hem nao “post.”