why crown of thorns

by peacefulpete 7 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  peacefulpete

  Most here know that story elements in the Jesus story are drawn from the OT. Countless elements of Gospels are cut straight from the descriptions of OT characters like Moses, Joshua, Samuel et.al. An interesting suggestion involves a passage that was the very last straw for me years ago. The last meeting I attended Judges 9 was in the weekly Bible reading. The bizarre story inserted in the text has 4 plants discussing who should become king. Fig tree, Olive tree, grape vine and thorn bush. The verse that I found just so over the top obviously wrong was when the vine says:

  ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’

  But that's another story. The point of this thread is the conclusion. The thorn bush accepts his role as King but pledges fire upon anyone who resists him.

  8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’
  9 “But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’
  10 “Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’
  11 “But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’
  12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’
  13 “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’
  14 “Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’
  15 “The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

  Its not hard to see the writer here was drawing on the Moses and burning bush story. But had the writer of Mark drawn upon this quaint parable for the crown of thorns detail in his story? I know some have also seen a solar element in the crown with rays/thorns, and solar motifs do lay behind certain theophanic descriptions of Jesus but I think the writer in this setting was drawing specifically from OT passages to have significance to more initiated readers. The author's King fittingly wears a crown of thorns (as opposed to figs leaves or olive branches) to hint at his offer to provide shade or face his fiery anger.
• 

  bsmart

  Totally weird scripture, I had to look it up. It has to be the strangest thing in the bible I have ever read.
  
• 

  Vidiot

  “A crown of thorns”...

  ...the most hardcore metal thing in the Bible.

  Or the title of a long-lost George R. R. Martin novel.

  
  
  
  
• 

  peacefulpete

  The parable itself was pretty certainly dropped in this narrative by an editor because it kinda relates thematically. Remove it (vs8-15) and the narrative reads perfectly unbroken. But that is just another example of how the OT was stitched together from diverse material.

  Another interesting point is the word for 'bush' used in Exodus occurs nowhere else and might have been a scribal error very early. 'סנה‎ seneh' has long been assumed to mean a thorn bush but the similarity to 'סיני‎ sinai' the name of the holy mountain (aka Horeb) reasonably suggests a scribal error.. Moses was told to remove his sandals as he was standing on holy ground at the base of Yahweh's holy mount Horeb/Sinai. That detail was always odd if the story actually featured a burning bush, just why was the ground holy?? But if Moses stood next to the burning mount Sinai and spoke to Yahweh it makes more sense in context.

  If this is a correct reconstruction, the burning bush story was then meant to be a burning mountain story. But if the scribal error hadn't happened the writer of Judges couldn't have used it in the parable and the writer of Mark would not have had Jesus get a crown of thorns.

  .
• 

  HowTheBibleWasCreated

  The story in Judges is a Helenistic fable like aesop. As for Jesus crown of throns I doubt the gospel writers thought of Judges 9. Likely they refered to Genesis 22 with the lamb in the thicket. (A story pulled from Iphigenia's sacrifice.)
• 

  peacefulpete

  As for Jesus crown of thorns I doubt the gospel writers thought of Judges 9.

  I'm seeing a lot of parallel in theme that would seem quite suggestive. The thorny King offering shade or fiery destruction. The context where it appears was precisely the choosing of a King over the Israelites. As such it was unlikely to be unknown to the writer of Mark. Additionally we know the Gospel writers were aware of Judges 13 as it was used by Luke for the annunciation of the miraculous birth of Samson, as well as the most probable source for "he will be called a Nazarene" in Matt owing to the conflation of Nazarite with the city of Nazareth.

  All this in my mind, 1.the familiarity of the Gospel writers with Judges, 2.the theme of this particular story about appointing a 'King of the Israelites' and 3. the description of him as a King who would use fiery destruction, convinces me the Gospel writers drew from Judges 9 for the story element of giving Jesus a crown of thorns and mockingly have him called "King of the Jews".

  17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”
  
• 

  lriddle80

  It makes me think of when the ground was cursed and it would grow thorns and thistles and man was to work that ground. Jesus was undoing the curses by his sacrifice.
• 

  peacefulpete

  Irriddle80.. that's not a bad suggestion. If there was some language that supported that connection (aside from the word thorn) it would be more persuasive.