I don't disagree with PK here. That's always a Bad Idea. There is, however, John and this is where it gets interesting. On the view that John "corrects" the Synoptics, one could argue that nowhere does John offer correction more than here:Peter Kirby wrote: ↑Fri Apr 23, 2021 12:33 pmRomans would crucify people naked, for humiliation, reflected in Mark 15:24:
And they crucified Him. They also divided His garments by casting lots to decide what each of them would take.
John 19: 23 (RSV):
[23] When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom
We have what appears to be a Puzzle. There are four soldiers and 4 garments, PLUS a tunic. The tunic is without seam.
[The obvious question appears to be: How to divide 5 garments between 4 soldiers, especially a "Tunic without seam". Wrong Question!!!]
Is there a name for such a tunic? There is. It is known as a CUIRASS. This is not the Puzzle. Rather, what would that mean in John?
The Puzzle is not how you divide 5 garments among 4 ROMAN soldiers. The Puzzle is: "Are there examples of the Roman Cuirass found in the Historical Records?" Of course there are!!!:
Suetonius, 12 Caesars, "Galba":
"As he was offering sacrifice on the morning before he was killed, a soothsayer warned him again and again to look out for danger, since assassins were not far off.
Not long after this he learned that Otho held possession of the Camp, and when several advised him to proceed thither as soon as possible — for they said that he could win the day by his presence and prestige — he decided to do no more than hold his present position and strengthen it by getting together a guard of the legionaries, who were encamped in many different quarters of the city. He did however put on a linen cuirass, though he openly declared that it would afford little protection against so many swords..."
Tacitus (Histories, Book 1) reports the use of a Cuirass but not a linen one:
"No one knew anything, yet all were confident in assertion, till at length Galba in the dearth of all true intelligence, and overborne by the universal delusion, assumed his cuirass, and as, from age and bodily weakness, he could not stand up against the crowd that was still rushing in, he was elevated on a chair..."
It is in Tacitus, however, that the real Template is given:
Tacitus, Histories, Book 4:
"The troops who, having been disbanded by Vitellius, had flocked to support Vespasian, asked leave to serve again in the Praetorian Guard, and the soldiers who had been selected from the legions with the same prospect now clamoured for their promised pay. Even the Vitellianists could not be got rid of without much bloodshed. But the money required for retaining in the service so vast a body of men was immensely large. Mucianus entered the camp to examine more accurately the individual claims. The victorious army, wearing their proper decorations and arms, he drew up with moderate intervals of space between the divisions; then the Vitellianists, whose capitulation at Bovillae I have already related, and the other troops of the party, who had been collected from the capital and its neighbourhood, were brought forth almost naked. Mucianus ordered these men to be drawn up apart, making the British, the German, and any other troops that there were belonging to other armies, take up separate positions. The very first view of their situation paralyzed them. They saw opposed to them what seemed a hostile array, threatening them with javelin and sword. They saw themselves hemmed in, without arms, filthy and squalid. And when they began to be separated, some to be marched to one spot, and some to another, a thrill of terror ran through them all. Among the troops from Germany the panic was particularly great; for they believed that this separation marked them out for slaughter. They embraced their fellow soldiers, clung to their necks, begged for parting kisses, and entreated that they might not be deserted, or doomed in a common cause to suffer a different lot. They invoked now Mucianus, now the absent Emperor, and, as a last resource, heaven and the Gods, till Mucianus came forward, and calling them "soldiers bound by the same oath and servants of the same Emperor," stopped the groundless panic..."
How many groups are there? It is ambiguous, especially with some marching to one spot and some to another. Quick, you scholars of Uniplurals: How many groups?
I note in passing that the Germans, "...embraced their fellow soldiers, clung to their necks, begged for parting kisses, and entreated that they might not be deserted, or doomed in a common cause to suffer a different lot. They invoked now Mucianus, now the absent Emperor, and, as a last resource, heaven and the Gods..."
Sounds sorta' like:
Mark 15: 35 - 36 (RSV):
[35] And some of the bystanders hearing it said, "Behold, he is calling Eli'jah."
[36] And one ran and, filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see whether Eli'jah will come to take him down."
Verse 36 lets you know that Mark knows things but is giving the Incomplete Story. This is about Vitellius, who had homosexual relations with Asiaticus. Otho and the Po River Episode explains the blood and water coming from "Jesus'" side.
The Cuirass is the fifth garment but it is not to be divided between the soldiers: "...till Mucianus came forward, and calling them "soldiers bound by the same oath and servants of the same Emperor," stopped the groundless panic..."
The Cuirass will protect all of the soldiers and the Empire as well [The number of groups is less important than the result.]. No sword will be able to penetrate the Body at the seams.
CW