"Cursed by God who is hung on a tree."

Questions surrounding Deut 21:22–23

Abstract

The article looks at the law formulated in Deuteronomy 21:22-23, which Paul does not hesitate to apply to Jesus’ death on the cross. But the data, both semantically and syntactically, do not give us a great deal of help in understanding the law’s original meaning, a fact confirmed by the various interpretations the law has had during Israel’s history. To assess where we are with its current understanding, Rossé considers two recent studies in particular – by Emil Puech and by Martin Rose – which come to significantly different conclusions.