Crown Of Thorns

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

Crown Of Thorns ( στέφανος ἐξ ἀκανθῶν or ἀκάνθινος στέφανος,  Matthew 27:29,  Mark 15:17,  John 19:2;  John 19:5).—This was plaited by the soldiers and placed on Christ’s head in mockery of His claim to Kingship, after Pilate had condemned Him to be scourged. It was a garland hastily twisted from the twigs of some thorny plant, which it is difficult now to identify. Tristram ( Nat. Hist. of the Bible , p. 429) supposes it was the thorn-tree or nubk of the Arabs, which is very common in the warmer parts of Palestine. It abounds near Jerusalem, grows to a great size; its twigs are tough and pliant, and the spikes very sharp and numerous. Others incline to think it was the Zizyphus Spina-christi , a spiny plant covered with sharp prickles. The purpose of the soldiers was rather, perhaps, mockery of the Jews than cruelty to Christ. Pliny speaks ( HN ) of ‘the meanest of crowns, a thorny one.’

In the writings of St. Paul a crown is promised to faithful followers of Christ, and in many parts of the NT Christ Himself is spoken of as wearing a crown. Sometimes the word for a victor’s wreath is used (στέφανος), and sometimes that for a royal crown (διάδημα).* [Note: The distinction between στέφανος, the badge of merit, and διάδημα, the badge of royalty, is not consistently observed in Hellenistic Greek (see Encyc. Bibl. i. 963).] The emblematic significance, afterwards seen by the Church in the crown of thorns, is possibly hinted at in  Hebrews 2:9 ‘crowned with glory and honour.’ As a sacrificial victim, in being led out to death, often wore a garland of flowers, so Jesus, in the eyes of God and His own disciples, even in suffering the deepest humiliation, wears a crown of glory. In the death of Christ His Church sees mankind crowned with life, because the law of sin and death was thereby abrogated, and the Kingdom of heaven opened to all believers. The thorns with which a hostile world pierced the Saviour’s brows are an emblem of the sin of man, the curse of thistles and thorns having been threatened after the Fall (see Dr. H. Macmillan’s Ministry of Nature , ch. v., where this idea is finely worked out). But these wounds become the world’s salvation. Through the sinful cruelty of man new life comes to a condemned world. God thus makes the wrath of man to praise Him. What was meant as derision is really a prediction of glory. See also art. Thorn.

David M. W. Laird.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Crown of Thorns. Our Lord was crowned in mockery by the Roman soldiers.  Matthew 27:29;  Mark 15:17;  John 19:2. It is questioned whether this was only mockery, or whether it was specially intended for additional torture. Such a crown, it is clear, must have been made of some plant that would readily twist into a wreath. The large-leaved acanthus would not: hardly would the Spina Christi, as it is called, with strong sharp thorns. Hasselquist imagines the thorn in question the Arabian Nubk, a very common plant, "with many small and sharp spines, soft, round, and pliant branches; leaves much resembling ivy, of a very deep green, as if in designed mockery of a victor's wreath."

Morrish Bible Dictionary

The crown placed in derision on the head of the Lord Jesus, when arrayed in a scarlet robe. Though applied to His sacred head by the rough soldiers, it was connived at by Pilate, who presented the Lord in this garb to the Jews, but which only drew forth their cry, 'Crucify Him.' We read that the robe was taken off Him, but nothing is said of the crown, so that He may have worn that on the cross. It is supposed to have been made of the Arabian nabk, which has flexible branches with very sharp thorns, and ivy-like leaves: mocking the Lord, as some think, both as a king and as a victor.  Matthew 27:29;  Mark 15:17 ,  John 19:2,5 .

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Crown of Thorns.  Matthew 27:29 Our Lord was crowned with thorns, in mockery, by the Roman soldiers. Obviously, some small flexile thorny shrub is meant perhaps Capparis spinosa . "Hasselquist, a Swedish naturalist, supposes a very common plant naba or nubka of the Arabs, with many small and sharp spines; soft, round and pliant branches; leaves much resembling ivy, of a very deep green, as if, in designed mockery, of a victor's wreath." - Alford.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Matthew 27:29 Mark 15:18 John 19:3 Matthew 7:16 Mark 4:7 4:18 Hebrews 6:8Plants In The Bible.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Matthew 27:29

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( Στἐφανος Ἐξ Ἀκανθῶν ,  Matthew 27:29). Our Lord was crowned with thorns in mockery by the Roman soldiers. The object seems to have been insult, and not the infliction of pain, as has generally been supposed. The Rhamnus, or Spina Christi, although abundant in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, cannot be the plant intended, because its thorns are so strong and large that it could not have been woven ( Πλέξαντες ) into a wreath. The large-leaved acanthus (bear's-foot) is totally unsuited for the purpose. Had the acacia been intended, as some suppose, the phrase would have been Ἐξ Ἀκάνθης . Obviously some small, flexile thorny shrub is meant; perhaps cappares spinosce (Reland's Palaest. 2:525). Hasselquist (Travels, p. 260) says that the thorn used was the Arabian nulk. "It was very suitable for their purpose, as it has many sharp thorns which inflict painful wounds; and its flexible, pliant, and round branches might easily be plaited in the form of a crown." It also resembles the rich dark green of the triumphal ivy-wreath, which would give addition. al pungency to its ironical purpose (Rosenm Ü ller, Botany of Script. p. 202, Eng. ed.). Another plant commonly fixed upon is the "southern buckthorn," which was very suitable to the purpose. (See Bramble). On the empress Helena's supposed discovery of the crown of thorns, and its subsequent fate, see Gibbon, 2:306; 6:66, ed. Milman. — Smith, s.v. Treatises on the crown in question have been written in Latin by Bartholin (Hafn. 1651), Bottier (in the Bibl. Brem. 8:942), Frenzel (Viteb. 1667, 1679), Gitsch (Altdorf, 1694), Gonsager (Hafn. 1713), L Ü demann (Viteb. 1679), Sagittarius (Jena, 1672), Wedel (Jena, 1696), Glauch (Lips. 1661), Hallmann (Rost. 1757), M Ü ller (in Menthenii Thes. 2:230-233). (See Thorn).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

thôrnz ( ἀκάνθινος στέφανος , akánthinos stéphanos ): three of the four evangelists mention the crown of thorns, wherewith the rude Roman soldiers derided the captive Christ ( Matthew 27:29;  Mark 15:17;  John 19:2 ). All speak of the akanthine (AcanThus) crown, but there is no certainty about the peculiar plant, from the branches of which this crown of cruel mockery was plaited. The rabbinical books. mention no less than twenty-two words in the Bible signifying thorny plants, and the word ákantha in the New Testament Greek is a generic and not a specific term. And this word or its adjective is used in the three Gospels, quoted above. It is therefore impossible definitely to determine what was the exact plant or tree, whose thorny branches were selected for this purpose. Tobler ( Denkbl ., 113, 179) inclines to the Spina Christi , as did Hasselquist. Its botanical name is Zizyphus Spina Christi , It is very common in the East. Its spines are small and sharp, its branches soft, round and pliable, and the leaves look like ivy, with a dark, shiny green color, making them therefore very adaptable to the purpose of the soldiers. Others have designated the Paliurus aculeatus or the Lycium horridum . Both Geikie ( Life of Christ , 549) and Farrar ( Life of Christ , note 625) point to the Nubk ( Zizyphus lotus ). Says the latter, "The Nubk struck me, as it has all travelers in Palestine, as being most suitable both for mockery and pain, since its leaves are bright and its thorns singularly strong. But though the Nubk is very common on the shores of Galilee, I saw none of it near Jerusalem." The settlement of the question is manifestly impossible.