The Jehovah’s Witnesses make the claim that Jesus did not die on a cross, they say he died on a torture stake. They make note that the word the King James translators rendered as “cross” is the Greek word “stauros<\/em>“, meaning an upright post or stake. The research I have done shows that the cross was used in worship by other religions before the death of Christ and that it may even be a pagan symbol. Can you please give me some more insight on this subject?<\/p>\n\t The Greek words referring to what Jesus hung upon are\u00a0stauros<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0xulon<\/em>.<\/p>\n “In secular Greek\u00a0stauros<\/em>\u00a0denotes a “pole,” or a “pile,” such as is used in foundations. The term is also used of a “fence,” “stake,” or a “tent peg”; however, it also refers to a “cross” upon which criminals were executed (cf.\u00a0Liddell-Scott<\/em>). This is its use in the New Testament.<\/p>\n “Execution by means of crucifixion was employed in Greece, but the practice did not originate there. In all likelihood the Persians invented this means of torture and execution. Later, Alexander the Great, the Phoenicians, and the Carthaginians used this method of punishment. The Romans adopted it from the Carthaginians; however, except in rare cases they seldom executed Roman citizens by crucifixion. Usually only slaves and the most serious criminals, e.g. traitors, perjurers, etc. were crucified.” [The Complete Biblical Library, Greek-English Dictionary<\/em>].<\/p>\n “Classical Greek uses\u00a0xulon<\/em>\u00a0to denote a “tree,” a “piece of wood,” “timber,” etc. As a single piece of wood\u00a0xulon<\/em>\u00a0may represent a variety of forms: “beam, post, or log” (Liddell-Scott<\/em>). Moreover,\u00a0xulon<\/em>\u00a0can refer to anything made of wood, including objects of punishment, such as “stocks, clubs, gallows, stakes,” etc. … A distinctive New Testament use of\u00a0xulon<\/em>\u00a0is its reference to “cross.” In each instance where this occurs it is used exclusively of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.” [The Complete Biblical Library, Greek-English Dictionary<\/em>].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The words, independent of context, does not tell us exactly what is being referred to.\u00a0Stauros<\/em>\u00a0only means we are referring to wooden poles, or logs, or something constructed of wooden poles.\u00a0Xulon<\/em> only means we are referring to something made of wood. It is the fact that it was used in the context of the execution method employed by the Romans in this particular era that tells us which kind of object we are referring to. Other historical documents, written in Greek, also use\u00a0stauros\u00a0<\/em>to refer to a cross for crucifixion, so we find no contradiction.<\/p>\n Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who lived at the time of the birth of Jesus: “A Roman citizen of no obscure station, having ordered one of his slaves to be put to death, delivered him to his fellow-slaves to be led away, and in order that his punishment might be witnessed by all, directed them to drag him through the Forum and every other conspicuous part of the city as they whipped him, and that he should go ahead of the procession which the Romans were at that time conducting in honour of the god. The men ordered to lead the slave to his punishment, having stretched out both his arms and fastened them to\u00a0a piece of wood<\/em>\u00a0which extended across his breast and shoulders as far as his wrists, followed him, tearing his naked body with whips.” [Roman Antiquities<\/em>, VII, 69:1-2].<\/p>\n The Epistle of Barnabas (AD 80 – 120): “For the scripture saith;\u00a0And Abraham circumcised of his household eighteen males and three hundred.<\/em>\u00a0What then was the knowledge given unto him? Understand ye that He saith\u00a0the eighteen<\/em>\u00a0first, and then after an interval\u00a0three hundred<\/em>\u00a0In the eighteen ‘I’ stands for ten, ‘H’ for eight. Here thou hast JESUS (IHSOYS). And because the cross in the ‘T’ was to have grace, He saith also\u00a0three hundred<\/em>. So He revealeth Jesus in the two letters, and in the remaining one the cross.”<\/p>\n “As early as the second century, however, Tertullian (De corona 325-30) noted that Christians ritualistically traced the cross on their forehead for protection, and Origen (Selecta in Ezechielem 9), suggest that this practice was in accord with the “mark set upon the foreheads” in Ezekiel 9:4, which he equated with the cross-shaped archaic Hebrew letter tav, itself viewed as a prefiguring of the Christian cross. The earliest attempt at a pictorial reference to the cross was the staurogram, a literary monogram used by Christian scribes around the year 200 as a sacred image for the word\u00a0stauros<\/em>, “cross”. Similarly, a third century graffito found in the so-called Piazzuola area beneath the catacomb of San Sebastiano in Rome read ????Y?, inserting the T-shaped cross into the popular acrostic ichthys, which signified Christ.” [History of the Cross as a Christian Symbol].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Odes of Solomon, written in the second century, includes the following: “I extended my hands and hallowed my Lord, For the expansion of my hands is His sign. And my extension is the upright cross (sta????).” [Odes of Solomon, 27].<\/p>\n “The sea is not traversed except that trophy which is called a sail abide safe in the ship … And the human form differs from that of the irrational animals in nothing else than in its being erect and having the hands extended, and having on the face extending from the forehead what is called the nose, through which there is respiration for the living creature; and this shows no other form than that of the cross (sta????).” [Justin Martyr, First Apology, 55].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\t Thanks for that information brother Hamilton. It was very helpful in my research on this matter. I’ll be sure to share it with others when asked why we believe what we believe in the body of Christ.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: The Jehovah’s Witnesses make the claim that Jesus did not die on a cross, they say he died on a torture stake. They make note that the word the King James translators rendered as “cross” is the Greek word “stauros“, meaning an upright post or stake. The research I have done shows that the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[228,355],"class_list":["post-26988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-crucifixion","tag-jehovahs-witnesses"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60503,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/on-what-was-jesus-crucified\/","url_meta":{"origin":26988,"position":0},"title":"On What Was Jesus Crucified?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant According to the Jehovah's Witnesses doctrine, Christ was put to death on a pole, rather than a cross. Notice a quote from their literature. \"Jesus did not die on a cross. He died on a pole, or a stake. The Greek word translated 'cross' in many\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16165,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-should-yhwh-be-pronounced-correctly-and-not-yeshua\/","url_meta":{"origin":26988,"position":1},"title":"Why should YHWH be pronounced correctly and not Yeshua?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have just read your web page:\u00a0\u00a0Understanding the Tetragrammaton: Pronouncing YHWH. If your conclusion is accurate, then we should not be using the name Jesus, correct?\u00a0 To apply your conclusion or principle to YHWH, consistency, and accuracy being paramount with me, means that the use of Jesus it wrong\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13203,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-new-world-translation-accurate\/","url_meta":{"origin":26988,"position":2},"title":"Is the New World Translation Accurate?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 3, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 8:19-22 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Members of the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses have become excited in recent times. An author with a Ph.D. after his name has written a book saying the New World Translation and the New American Bible (a Catholic translation) are the most accurate translations. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22075,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-more-than-one-translation-says-the-word-was-a-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":26988,"position":3},"title":"Doesn’t more than one translation says “‘the Word was a god?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 22, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding your statement on in \"Jesus is God\": \"To get what Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses wish to claim, that Jesus was just a god in the sense that some men are \u201cgods\u201d in that they are God\u2019s representatives you would need \u201cand the Word was God\u201d (\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03b8\u03b5\u03cc\u03c2 ?\u03bd \u1f41 \u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2)\u00a0in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36946,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/john-jesus-and-jehovahs-witnesses\/","url_meta":{"origin":26988,"position":4},"title":"John, Jesus, and Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant Those who are familiar with the Jehovah's Witnesses' teaching about Jesus Christ are aware that they believe that Christ is not the Son of God, but that he is Michael the Archangel, a created being. Note the following quote from their writings: \"the evidence indicates that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19624,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/couldnt-jesus-use-of-lord-for-yhwh-be-due-to-later-tampering-of-the-text\/","url_meta":{"origin":26988,"position":5},"title":"Couldn’t Jesus’ use of Lord for YHWH be due to later tampering of the text?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 25, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In \"Why is YHWH translated LORD?\" you said: Some, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, object to using LORD in place of YHWH. However, they are ignoring God's own translation of His name. For example, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 in Matthew 22:37, \"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26988\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Answer:<\/h2>\n
Other Historical Evidence<\/h3>\n
Response:<\/h2>\n