Sunday, April 12, 2009

What tree was used for Crucifying Jesus?

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_wood_was_used_for_the_cross_of_Jesus
What wood was used for the cross of Jesus?
Answer
It was made from dogwood

http://www.biblewalks.com/Sites/CrossMonastery.html
Pics. Very interesting.

Answer
Olive Wood: four pieces were examined and it was olive wood:
Quattro schegge della Croce - di dieci frammenti con prove documentate degli Imperatori Bizantini - provenienti da chiese Europee: Santa Croce in Gerusalemme a Roma, Notre Dame de Paris, il Duomo di Pisa e Santa Maria del Fiore - sono stati analizzati al microscopio. "I pezzi vengono tutti da legno di olivo" (William Ziehr, La Croce, Stoccarda 1997, p.63)
Answer
Legend states that the cross was made from the dogwood tree. After the crucifixion God changed the dogwood so that it would be too small to be used again for a cross.
I do not remember where I read the information about the dogwood tree. I will try to locate more information and post it at a later date.
Answer
"A microscopic examination of the fragments of the Cross scattered through the world in the form of relics reveals the fact that it was made from a pine-tree"
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04517a.htm
Answer :
It is a sign of intelligence to seek to know what type of wood the cross was made from, especially as there is conflicting evidence from legend and archaeology (see other answers here). Unsurprisingly, the Bible makes no mention what-so-ever about what type of wood it was made from, just as we wouldn't start asking what kind of iron the electric chair is made from when we are trying to save the hundreds of Americans waiting on death row to die that horrible death. The only reason the shape is known is due to archeological evidence of what the Romans determined the shape was. I myself started wondering about this wood because of a reference in a Middle English poem to "hara" which can translate as "juniper", or a goose-pen" (and here I think there could be a sense of the wood fixed together to make the cross, i.e. "penned"), but this word could also just mean "refulgent," as it can be "yellow" or "shining" in Latin languages. O pendens dudum, In hara crucis nudum, Pro nostro scelere, Ihesu nostri miserere. Interesting that if you look up all the photos of lynchings in early twentieth century America, you can see that they, also,liked to strip the victims naked, I guess to degrade them further.
Answer
I am often asked "What wood was the Cross made from?" This has been the subject of much debate and disagreement amongst historians, botanists, and Bible scholars. There are many legends, however there is very limited scriptural evidence to suggest what the wood may have been.
There are some who believe that Olive Wood or Cedar of Lebanon was used. Others suggest perhaps it was Cypress or Planetree Wood. Some even suggest Dogwood was used; however there aren't any Biblical references to the Dogwood tree, only legends.
Some clues are available from published works outside of the Scriptures. There are fragment relics out there that many claim are of the True Cross. Some skeptics joke that there are enough of these fragments to build a battleship out of the pieces.
In 1870, Rohault de Fleury published "Memoire sur les instruments de la Passion" in which he attempted to catalog all of the known fragments. The author determined that, at that time, if all of the relic pieces were put together, they would not even amount to one-third of the Cross which is said to have stood four meters in height, with a traverse branch of two meters. The author further claims that upon "A microscopic examination of the fragments of the Cross, scattered through the world in the form of relics, reveals the fact that it was made from a pine tree."
If the Cross was indeed made from a pine tree, that raises the question as to what species of pine. There are hundreds of species of pine spread throughout the world. But, only a few were common in the Holy Land at the time of the Crucifixion. The most common pine species in the area is pinus halepensis, or what's commonly known today as Aleppo Pine, and apinus pinea (Stone Pine).
Although, we should not be concerning ourselves too much with "What" the Cross was, but that we should be contemplating the "Why" the cross was.
Extracted from: http://www.inspiredwoods.com/newsletters_jesuscross.php
Answer
Without going into too much detail, it is generally accepted among Christians that the Jewish sanctuary and it rituals pointed towards the coming messiah, Jesus. With that in mind, while I was studying the book of Numbers, chapter 19, concerning the "red heifer" and the "water of cleansing", I came across verse 6.
Numbers 19:6 KJV
"The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer"
Although, it's not a definite answer, and it's not what is important when speaking of what Jesus did for us, I believe this may have been the Biblical indication that the cross was probably some type of cedar. My reasons are below.
Hyssop was directly involved (and recorded) as an item present at His crucifixion.
John 19:29 KJV
"Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth."
Scarlet cloth was also directly involved (and recorded) as an item present.
Matthew 27:28 KJV
"And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe."
Once again, this is not a topic worth arguing over, but hopefully it will open doors to further prophetic Bible study in the Old and New Testaments. Prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament should strengthen our faith in the prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled.

Dogwood is BC's tree.

2 comments:

A Free Spirit Butterfly said...

Just about to turn in and wanted to say to my blog family, HAPPY Easter! I hope that you had a wonderful evening and that this day bought about reflections of how Christ transforms our lives. HE lead me to so many wonderful creatures throught blogging and I wanted to reach out and touch them on this very special day!

Love, peace and blessings!

A Lady's Life said...

Thank you so much.
And the same from this end.
Love peace and blessings back to you and your family.
Keep yourself safe and let God keep you safe at your place of work.Sincerely.:)