Skull Place

Where was Jesus Nailed Up?

(Matthew 27:33) And when they came to a place called Golʹgo·tha, that is, Skull Place,

(Mark 15:22) So they brought him to the place called Golʹgo·tha, which means, when translated, “Skull Place.”

(John 19:17) Bearing the torture stake for himself, he went out to the so-called Skull Place, which is called Golʹgo·tha in Hebrew.

Where is that "Skull Place"? Let's let the Bible tell us. In the Hebrew scriptures the word for skull is spelled Gulgoleth. The following verses are every instance of it used in the Hebrew text. The translated word or words are underlined.

(Exodus 16:16) This is what Jehovah has commanded, ‘Each one should gather it according to how much he can eat. You are to take an omer measure for each individual according to the number of the people that each of you has in his tent.’”

(Exodus 38:26) The half shekel for each individual was half a shekel by the standard shekel of the holy place for every man who was among those registered from 20 years of age and up, amounting to 603,550.

(Numbers 1:2) “Take a census of the whole assembly of the Israelites individually according to their families, according to their paternal houses, according to the count of the names of all the males (Hebrew - every male individually).

(Numbers 1:18) They gathered all the assembly on the first day of the second month, so that they might be registered individually by name, by family, and by their paternal houses, from 20 years old and up,

(Numbers 1:20) The sons of Reuʹben, the descendants of Israel’s firstborn, were listed by name, by family, and by their paternal houses. All the males from 20 years old and up who could serve in the army were counted individually,

(Numbers 1:22) The descendants of Simʹe·on were listed by name, by family, and by their paternal houses. All the males from 20 years old and up who could serve in the army were counted individually,

(Numbers 3:47) you are to take five shekels for each individual, according to the standard shekel of the holy place. A shekel is 20 geʹrahs.

(Judges 9:53) Then one of the women dropped an upper millstone on A·bimʹe·lech’s head and crushed his skull.

(2 Kings 9:35) But when they went to bury her, they did not find anything but her skull and her feet and the palms of her hands.

(1 Chronicles 10:10) Then they put his armor in the house of their god and fastened his skull to the house of Daʹgon.

(1 Chronicles 23:3) The Levites who were 30 years old and up were numbered; their number, their head count man by man, was 38,000.

(1 Chronicles 23:24) These were the sons of Leʹvi according to their paternal houses, the heads of the paternal houses, by those registered who were counted and listed by their names (individually) and who carried out the work for the service of the house of Jehovah, from 20 years old and up.

As you can see, unless it is referring to an actual skull, Gulgoleth is used to refer to individual people being counted or numbered. Gulgoleth means "a skull, head, poll of persons". (Strong's)

You see, to be counted is to be numbered. And just like today, counting people is referred to as taking a "head count". Back then they referred to it as numbering skulls. In Hebrew the word for number is mipqad. (Fausset's Bible Dictionary)

Here are two verses that use mipqad with the translated word underlined. (note that the verses are about counting people)

(2 Samuel 24:9) Joʹab now gave to the king the number of the people who were registered. Israel amounted to 800,000 warriors armed with swords, and the men of Judah were 500,000.

(1 Chronicles 21:5) Joʹab now gave to David the number of the people who were registered. All Israel amounted to 1,100,000 men armed with swords, and Judah, 470,000 men armed with swords.

So that is the answer to where Jesus was nailed up. It was at the place where skulls were numbered, where people were counted. And where was that? Outside the Mipqad Gate, that is to say, outside the Numbering Gate. Which gate is that? This verse tells us:

(Nehemiah 3:31) After him Mal·chiʹjah, a member of the goldsmith guild, did repair work as far as the house of the temple servants and the traders, in front of the Inspection (Mipqad) Gate and as far as the roof chamber of the corner.

Directly east of the temple is the Inspection Gate, which means the numbering or counting gate. That is where the people were inspected or counted, where censes were taken.

So it wasn't on a mound or hill shaped like a skull, as some think, but it was outside the gate where every skull (head) was counted (numbered), which was outside the Inspection (number) Gate east of the Temple. That is the "Skull Place". That is where Jesus was nailed up.

And since Jesus' sacrifice was a permanent replacement for the sacrifice of the red cow (heifer), his death also occurred outside the east gate. (see my article "Judas Iscariot")

What do you think?

:^)
Dave

da.getmyip@gmail.com            http://da.getmyip.com/PDF/Ramblings

last edited 03-23-2024 (date created 03-23-2024)