Psalm22:16

Psalm 22:16

"For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet."

Non-Messianic Jewish Biblical position as written by Thames Goldman:

Psalm 22:16. In this verse, it is claimed, King David foretold the Crucifixion in exquisite detail. The entire Psalm is regarded as Christological, as the speaker is complaining of oppression at the hands of the wicked, just as Jesus was executed by the wicked; but verse 16 in particular is used extensively. This verse, in the King James version, reads, "For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet." Could this verse, it is asked, possibly be any more Christological?

As with any passage of scripture, in order to correctly interpret this verse, we must determine who the speaker is. The Christological interpretation depends critically on the premise that the speaker is the Messiah. But nowhere in the entire Psalm is the Messiah even mentioned! There is not the slightest hint that the person whose hands and feet are being pierced is the Messiah. The verse is also mistranslated. The last phrase should read, "they were like a lion at my hands and my feet." David often used animal motifs in those Psalms of his that mention his being oppressed by his enemies; and the word "k'ari", which the King James renders "pierced", is everywhere else rendered "like a lion". Look in any Hebrew dictionary - "ari" means "lion", and the prefix "k'" means "like". Only in this verse does "k'ari" suddenly mean "pierced". I wonder why.

Messianic Biblical position as written by Shalach Ministries:

Psalm 22:16. Nowhere in the entirety of this Psalm does it state that King David was not prophesying about the Messiah. Why should this Psalm not be Christological? We need to focus on the entirety of the Psalm in determining its Christological value rather than just one word "pierced". Although, the Hebrew definition of the word "pierced" means "lion", this has little translation effect on the Scriptural meanings themselves.

If we translate this Psalm with the Hebrew word "pierced" as defined above then it would read "they were like a lion at my hands and my feet." As we all know Lions tear at the flesh of their prey [victim] just as the spikes driven through Jesus' hands and feet tore at His flesh when He was crucified. There are no less than five Messianic passages prophesied in this Psalm:

   Psalm 22:1 "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art
      thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?"
      Matthew 27:46 "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud
      voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my
      God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

   Psalm 22:8 "He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him
      deliver him, seeing he delighted in him."
        Matthew 27:43 "He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will
      have him: for he said, I am the Son of God."

   Psalm 22:16 "For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the
      wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet."
      St. John 19: "And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him
      whom they pierced" (Zechariah 12:10).

   Psalm 22:18 "They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon
      my vesture."
      Matthew 27:35 "And they crucified him, and parted his garments,
      casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet,
      They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they
      cast lots."

   Psalm 22:22   "I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of
      the congregation will I praise thee."
      Hebrews 2:12 "Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the
      midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee."

If we use the translation from the Tanakh Bible written by the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Bible/Psalms22.html, it reads: "For dogs have encompassed me; a company of evil-doers have inclosed me; like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet."

In summary, in conjunction with other Scriptural evidence it is far more likely to support Psalm 22 as Messianic than to merely say it has no Christological substance at all.