Matthew 27:35

New Catholic Bible

Footnotes

1. Matthew 27:35 Crucified him: crucifixion was an excruciating means of execution that the Romans had borrowed from Persians, Phoenicians, and Carthaginians. The victims were nailed to a cross by means of heavy wrought-iron nails driven through their wrists and heels. Most hung on the cross for days before dying of suffocation (when the legs were no longer able to support the body, the diaphragm was constricted and breathing became impossible). Although the pain would be unbearable as the hours dragged on, some did linger and had to have their legs broken to hasten death (see Jn 19:33). The recent discovery of the bones of a crucified man, near Jerusalem, dating between A.D. 7 and 66, sheds light on the position of those nailed to the cross. A few late manuscripts add here: “lots,” so that the word spoken by the Prophet might be fulfilled: ‘They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots’ ” (Ps 22:19).