Claim 44
Cursed on a tree
Paul explicitly applies a law about a displayed criminal's corpse to Jesus's crucifixion and redemptive death.
The Old Testament text
Deut 21:23 · BSByou must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Translation note: LXX; Hebrew anyone who is hanged is under God’s curse; cited in Galatians 3:13
The claimed New Testament fulfilment
Paul quotes Deuteronomy's curse on a body hung on wood and applies it directly to Jesus's death on the cross.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
Why Christians see a prophecy
Paul directly quotes this verse and makes it central to his explanation of the cross. Jesus takes the cursed position of a lawbreaker in order to redeem others from the law’s curse.
Why it is less convincing
Deuteronomy concerns prompt burial after an offender has been executed and displayed. It predicts neither crucifixion nor a righteous Messiah bearing another person’s curse. Paul adapts the wording and gives the rule a new theological role.
Our assessment
Plausible typology, not predictionStrong typology, not forecast
Paul's Christian interpretation is explicit and substantial. The original burial law does not independently predict Jesus's death.
Sources and further reading
- Kelli S. O’Brien, The Curse of the Law (Galatians 3.13): Crucifixion, Persecution, and Deuteronomy 21.22–23. Journal for the Study of the New Testament; argument and citation analysis.
- Jason S. DeRouchie, Anyone Hung Upon a Pole Is Under God’s Curse. Southern Baptist Journal of Theology; thesis and Galatians 3:13 sections.
- Gerhard van den Heever, Retrodiction of the Old Testament in the New. HTS Teologiese Studies; Deuteronomy 21:23 in Galatians.
- George Adam Smith, Cambridge Bible: Deuteronomy 21. Cambridge University Press; Bible Hub edition; Deuteronomy 21:22–23.
- BSB Publishing, Berean Standard Bible v5.9. BSB Publishing; Deuteronomy 21:22–23; 27:26; Galatians 3:10–14.
Biblical quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain.