The punishment was meted out for such crimes as treason, desertion in the face of the enemy, robbery, piracy, assassination, sedition, etc. It continued in vogue in the Roman Empire till the day of Constantine, when it was abolished as an insult to Christianity. Among the Romans crucifixion was preceded by scourging, undoubtedly to hasten impending death. The victim then bore his own cross, or at least the upright beam, to the place of execution. This in itself proves that the structure was less ponderous than is commonly supposed. When he was tied to the cross nothing further was done and he was left to die from starvation. If he was nailed to the cross, at least in Judea, a stupefying drink was given him to deaden the agony. The number of nails used seems to have been indeterminate. A tablet, on which the feet rested or on which the body was partly supported, seems to have been a part of the cross to keep the wounds from tearing through the transfixed members (Iren., Adv. haer., ii.42). The suffering of death by crucifixion was intense, especially in hot climates. Severe local inflammation, coupled with an insignificant bleeding of the jagged wounds, produced traumatic fever, which was aggravated the exposure to the heat of the sun, the strained of the body and insufferable thirst. The swelled about the rough nails and the torn lacerated tendons and nerves caused excruciating agony. The arteries of the head and stomach were surcharged with blood and a terrific throbbing headache ensued. The mind was confused and filled with anxiety and dread foreboding. The victim of crucifixion literally died a thousand deaths. Tetanus not rarely supervened and the rigors of the attending convulsions would tear at the wounds and add to the burden of pain, till at last the bodily forces were exhausted and the victim sank to unconsciousness and death. The sufferings were so frightful that “even among the raging passions of war pity was sometimes excited” (BJ, V, xi, 1). The length of this agony was wholly determined by the constitution of the victim, but death rarely ensued before thirty-six hours had elapsed. Instances are on record of victims of the cross who survived their terrible injuries when taken down from the cross after many hours of suspension (Josephus, Vita, 75). Death was sometimes hastened by breaking the legs of the victims and by a hard blow delivered under the armpit before crucifixion. Crura fracta was a well-known Roman term (Cicero Phil. xiii.12). The sudden death of Christ evidently was a matter of astonishment (Mark 15:44). The peculiar symptoms mentioned by John (19:34) would seem to point to a rupture of the heart, of which the Savior died, independent of the cross itself, or perhaps hastened by its agony (Henry Dosker).
Other Authors

Bible – Read the Español – (Spanish Modern) Deuteronomio Chapter 34:1-12 Online.

Index: Español – (Spanish Modern)

 

Deuteronomio 34

[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]
[28]
[29]
[30]
[31]
[32]
[33]
[34]

34:1 Entonces subió Moisés de la llanura de Moab al monte Nebo, en la cumbre del Pisga, que está frente a Jericó. Y Jehovah le mostró toda la tierra: desde Galaad hasta Dan,

34:2 todo Neftalí, la tierra de Efraín y de Manasés, toda la tierra de Judá hasta el mar Grande,

34:3 el Néguev y la llanura del valle de Jericó (la ciudad de las palmeras), hasta Zoar.

34:4 Y Jehovah le dijo: “Ésta es la tierra de la cual juré a Abraham, a Isaac y a Jacob, diciendo: ‘A tus descendientes la daré.’ Yo te he permitido que la mires con tus ojos, pero tú no cruzarás allá.”

34:5 Y allí murió Moisés, siervo de Jehovah, en la tierra de Moab, conforme al dicho de Jehovah.

34:6 Y él lo sepultó en el valle, en la tierra de Moab, frente a Bet-peor. Nadie conoce su sepulcro, hasta el día de hoy.

34:7 Moisés tenía 120 años cuando murió. Sus ojos nunca se debilitaron, ni perdió su vigor.

34:8 Los hijos de Israel hicieron duelo por Moisés en las llanuras de Moab durante treinta días, hasta que se cumplieron los días del llanto y de duelo por Moisés.

34:9 Y Josué hijo de Nun estaba lleno del espíritu de sabiduría, porque Moisés había puesto sus manos sobre él. Así que los hijos de Israel le obedecieron e hicieron como Jehovah había mandado a Moisés.

34:10 Nunca en Israel se levantó otro profeta como Moisés, a quien Jehovah conociera cara a cara.

34:11 Nadie fue como él, ni por todas las señales y prodigios que Jehovah le mandó hacer en la tierra de Egipto contra el faraón, contra todos sus servidores y contra toda su tierra,

34:12 ni por la mano poderosa y los hechos asombrosos, como los que Moisés hizo ante los ojos de todo Israel.