The old expression "The Greeks had a word for it" is very literally true. They have, for example, not one but four different words for "love."
There are two words used in the original Greek bible to describe the implement of Jesus' death. Yet nearly every English bible says that Jesus was killed on a "cross", and the verb form says that he was "crucified."
The two Greek words in question are stauros (pronounced Stou-ros or stavros) and xylon (pronounced ksee-lon). Here's what Greek scholars say about those two words:
Strong’s Greek Dictionary:
4716. Stauros
"A stake or post (as set
upright), i.e. (specially), a pole or cross (as an instrument of capital
punishment) Appears 28 times in the NT."
The act of nailing or binding
a living victim or sometimes a dead person to a cross or stake (stauros
or skolops) or a tree (xylon)"
"Crucifixion developed from a
method of execution by which the victim was fastened to an upright stake either by impaling him on it or by tying him to it
with thongs..."
"The method of torture and execution used by the Romans to
put Christ to death. At a crucifixion the victim usually was nailed or tied to
a wooden stake and left to die..."
"Stauros denotes, primarily, an upright pale or stake. On such, malefactors were nailed for execution..."
A Dictionary of the Bible, Dealing With Its Language, Literature And Contents, Including the Biblical Theology, in New Testament usage:
"[Stauros] means properly a stake…"
"The Greek term rendered 'cross' in the English NT is stauros,
which has a wider application than we ordinarily give to 'cross,' being used of
a single stake or upright beam as well as of a cross
composed of two beams."
The
Illustrated Bible Dictionary,
1980
"The Greek word for 'cross' (stauros) means primarily an upright stake
or beam, and secondarily a stake used as an instrument for punishment and
execution. It is used in this latter sense in the New Testament."
The Catholic
Encyclopaedia
"The cross originally
consisted of a simple vertical pole, sharpened at its
upper end."
The Classic
Greek Dictionary, Greek-English and English-Greek:
"'stauros': ...an upright pale, stake or pole; in plural, a palisade."
"In the Greek N.T. two words are used for 'the cross' on which the Lord was put to death: 1. The word stauros; which denotes an upright pale or stake, to which the criminals were nailed for execution. 2. The word xylon, which generally denotes a piece of a dead log of wood, or timber, for fuel or for any other purpose. It is not like dendron, which is used of a living, or green tree, as in Matt.21:8; Rev.7:1, 3; 8:7; 9: 4, &c. As this latter word xylon is used interchangeably with stauros it shows us the meaning of each is exactly the same. The verb stauroo means to drive stakes. Our English word 'cross' is the translation of the Latin crux; but the Greek stauros no more means a crux than the word 'stick' means a 'crutch'. Homer uses the word stauros of an ordinary pole or stake, or a simple piece of timber.[footnote, Iliad xxiv.453. Odyssey xiv.11] And this is the meaning and usage of the word throughout the Greek classics. It never means two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle, but of always one piece alone. Hence the use of the word xylon (No.2 above) in connection with the manner of our Lord's death and rendered 'tree' in Acts 5:30."
Other scriptural evidence:
Matthew 26:55 "Did you come out to arrest me with swords and sticks (xylon)?"
Does it matter what you believe on this subject, or is it simply an interesting word puzzle?
Ultimately, whether Jesus was nailed to a stake, a cross, an X, or was hit by a bus, what matters is this:
- His death paid the ransom to buy back life for those exercising faith.
- Wearing the instrument of his death around your neck is idolatry, and it's insulting.
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