Crucifixion of Jesus

===Method and manner===
{{Main|Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion}}
[[File:Gustave Doré - Crucifixion of Jesus.jpg|thumb|180px|Crucifixion of Jesus on a two-beamed cross, from the ''Sainte Bible'' (1866)]]
[[File:JUSTUS LIPSIUS 1594 De Cruce p 10 Torture stake.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''Torture stake'', a simple wooden torture stake. Image by [[Justus Lipsius]].]]
Whereas most Christians believe the [[gibbet]] on which Jesus was executed was the traditional two-beamed cross, the [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] hold the view that a single upright stake was used. The Greek and Latin words used in the earliest Christian writings are ambiguous. The [[Koine Greek]] terms used in the New Testament are {{lang|grc-Latn|[[stauros]]}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|σταυρός}}) and {{lang|grc-Latn|xylon}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|ξύλον}}). The latter means wood (a live tree, timber or an object constructed of wood); in earlier forms of Greek, the former term meant an upright stake or pole, but in Koine Greek it was used also to mean a cross.<ref name=LSJ>{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2396298 |author1=Henry George Liddell |author2=Robert Scott |work=A Greek–English Lexicon |title=σταυρός |via=[[Tufts University]] |access-date=February 20, 2021 |archive-date=March 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307141335/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry= |url-status=live }}</ref> The Latin word {{wikt-lang|la|crux}} was also applied to objects other than a cross.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=crux&highlight=crux |author1=Charlton T. Lewis |author2=Charles Short |title=A Latin Dictionary |via=[[Tufts University]] |access-date=January 15, 2019 |archive-date=December 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231205403/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=crux&highlight=crux |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Early Christianity|Early Christian]] writers who speak of the shape of the particular gibbet on which Jesus died invariably describe it as having a cross-beam. For instance, the [[Epistle of Barnabas]], which was certainly earlier than 135,<ref>For a discussion of the date of the work, see [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/barnabas.html Information on Epistle of Barnabas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316205715/http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/barnabas.html |date=March 16, 2010 }} and Andrew C. Clark, "Apostleship: Evidence from the New Testament and Early Christian Literature," ''Evangelical Review of Theology,'' 1989, Vol. 13, p. 380</ref> and may have been of the 1st century AD,<ref>[[John Dominic Crossan]], The Cross that Spoke ({{ISBN|978-0-06-254843-6}}), p. 121</ref> the time when the gospel accounts of the death of Jesus were written, likened it to the letter T (the Greek letter [[tau]], which had the [[Greek numerals|numeric]] value of 300),<ref>[[s:Epistle of Barnabas#Chapter 9|Epistle of Barnabas, 9:7–8]]</ref> and to the position assumed by [[Moses]] in {{bibleverse||Exodus|17:11–12|KJV}}.<ref>"The Spirit saith to the heart of Moses, that he should ''make a type of the cross and of Him that was to suffer'', that unless, saith He, they shall set their hope on Him, war shall be waged against them for ever. Moses therefore pileth arms one upon another in the midst of the encounter, and standing on higher ground than any ''he stretched out his hands'', and so Israel was again victorious" (Epistle of Barnabas, 12:2–3).</ref> [[Justin Martyr]] (100–165) explicitly says the cross of Christ was of two-beam shape: "That lamb which was commanded to be wholly roasted was a symbol of the suffering of the cross which Christ would undergo. For the lamb, which is roasted, is roasted and dressed up in the form of the cross. For one spit is transfixed right through from the lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are attached the legs of the lamb."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.iv.xl.html|title=Philip Schaff: ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus – Christian Classics Ethereal Library|website=www.ccel.org|access-date=April 2, 2022|archive-date=April 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406140314/https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.iv.xl.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Irenaeus]], who died around the end of the 2nd century, speaks of the cross as having "five extremities, two in length, two in breadth, and one in the middle, on which [last] the person rests who is fixed by the nails."<ref>Irenaeus, ''[[On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis|Adversus Haereses]]'', [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103224.htm II, xxiv, 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420085108/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103224.htm |date=April 20, 2021 }}</ref>

The assumption of the use of a two-beamed cross does not determine the number of nails used in the crucifixion and some theories suggest three nails while others suggest four nails.<ref>''The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'' by Geoffrey W. Bromiley 1988 {{ISBN|0-8028-3785-9}} p. 826</ref> Throughout history, larger numbers of nails have been hypothesized, at times as high as 14 nails.<ref name=Kitto >''Encyclopedia of Biblical Literature, Part 2'' by John Kitto 2003 {{ISBN|0-7661-5980-9}} p. 591</ref> These variations are also present in the artistic depictions of the crucifixion.<ref name=IreneE >''Renaissance art: a topical dictionary'' by Irene Earls 1987 {{ISBN|0-313-24658-0}} p. 64</ref> In [[Western Christianity]], before the [[Renaissance]] usually four nails would be depicted, with the feet side by side. After the Renaissance most depictions use three nails, with one foot placed on the other.<ref name=IreneE /> Nails are almost always depicted in art, although [[Roman Empire|Romans]] sometimes just tied the victims to the cross.<ref name=IreneE /> The tradition also carries to Christian [[emblem]]s, e.g. the [[Jesuits]] use three nails under the [[Holy Name of Jesus|IHS monogram]] and a cross to symbolize the crucifixion.<ref>''The visual arts: a history'' by Hugh Honour, John Fleming 1995 {{ISBN|0-8109-3928-2}} p. 526</ref>

The placing of the nails in the hands, or the wrists is also uncertain. Some theories suggest that the Greek word {{lang|grc-Latn|cheir}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|χείρ}}) for hand includes the wrist and that the Romans were generally trained to place nails through [[Destot's space]] (between the [[capitate]] and [[lunate bone]]s) without fracturing any bones.<ref name=Ball82 >''The Crucifixion and Death of a Man Called Jesus'' by David A Ball 2010 {{ISBN|1-61507-128-8}} pp. 82–84</ref> Another theory suggests that the Greek word for hand also includes the forearm and that the nails were placed near the [[Radius (bone)|radius]] and [[ulna]] of the [[forearm]].<ref name=Moore639 >''The Chronological Life of Christ'' by Mark E. Moore 2007 {{ISBN|0-89900-955-7}} pp.&nbsp;639–643</ref> Ropes may have also been used to fasten the hands in addition to the use of nails.<ref>''Holman Concise Bible Dictionary'' Holman, 2011 {{ISBN|0-8054-9548-7}} p. 148</ref>

Another issue of debate has been the use of a hypopodium as a standing platform to support the feet, given that the hands may not have been able to support the weight. In the 17th century [[Rasmus Bartholin]] considered a number of analytical scenarios of that topic.<ref name=Kitto /> In the 20th century, forensic pathologist [[Frederick Zugibe]] performed a number of crucifixion experiments by using ropes to hang human subjects at various angles and hand positions.<ref name=Moore639 /> His experiments support an angled suspension, and a two-beamed cross, and perhaps some form of foot support, given that in an {{lang|de|Aufbinden}} form of suspension from a straight stake (as used by the [[Nazi]]s in the [[Dachau concentration camp]] during [[World War II]]), death comes rather quickly.<ref>''Crucifixion and the Death Cry of Jesus Christ'' by Geoffrey L Phelan MD, 2009 {{ISBN?}} pp.&nbsp;106–111</ref>