WHERE WE ARE

In Chapter 8 of their Handbook of Christian Apologetics, the Christian philosophers Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli present nine objections against the Swoon Theory (the view that Jesus only fainted on the cross, survived his crucifixion, and at some later time met up with some of his disciples leading those disciples to sincerely but mistakenly conclude that God had raised Jesus from the dead).

Their Objection #4, which I call the Winding Sheets & Entombment Objection, includes this sub-argument for a key premise of the core argument of that objection:

3b. According to the Gospel of John (Jn 19:38-42), on Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included 100-plus pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

B. The Gospel of John provides a reliable and accurate account of the life of Jesus, including what happened to Jesus’ body after he was crucified.

THEREFORE:

1b. On Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included 100-plus pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

In my upcoming book Thinking Critically about the Resurrection of Jesus, Volume 1: The Resuscitation of the Swoon Theory, I show that both premise (3b) and premise (B) are false, so this sub-argument for premise (1b) fails and so does Objection #4.

Premise (3b) is false because the claim that the relevant passage in the Gospel of John talks about “100-plus pounds of spices and a gummy substance” is based on a bad translation of the relevant passage. Here is a better translation of the passage:

38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.

(John 19:38-39, New International Version, emphasis added)

In this current post, I will attempt to rescue Objection #4 against the Swoon Theory by weakening the claim made in (3b), so that the claim accurately reflects the content of the relevant passage from the Gospel of John.

AN ATTEMPT TO RESCUE OBJECTION #4

We could attempt to rescue the sub-argument for (1b) by weakening the claim in (3b) by reducing the alleged weight of the spice mixture to about 75 pounds:

3c. According to the Gospel of John (Jn 19:38-42), on Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included about 75 pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

If we modify premise (3b) this way, then we would have to also similarly modify (1b), the conclusion of this sub-argument, so that it would follow logically from premise (3c):

1c. On Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included about 75 pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

However, premise (3c) is still problematic; the Greek term “litras” in John 19:39 is ambiguous. Most translators have preferred to understand it to be equivalent to the Roman unit of weight “libras”, but there is a plausible alternative translation; “litras” might well refer to a different unit of weight:

One hundred [litras]…is the equivalent of 65.45 pounds (hence the NEB rendering, “more than half a hundredweight,” the latter being a British measure of 112 pounds).[1]

Why does the NT scholar Beasley-Murray (quoted above) interpret the weight of the mixture of spices to be about 65 pounds rather than about 75 pounds?

I discovered the explanation for this in an online commentary associated with the Revised English Version translation of the Bible:

“about 75 pounds.” The Greek text says 100 litra (#3046 λίτρα). There is some dispute about the exact weight, because if the Greek word litra was being used as a literal Greek weight, then the weight of the spices was about 65 pounds, but if the word litra was being used in the Greek text to represent the common Roman pound of 12 ounces (which is possible since Nicodemus was neither Greek nor Roman), then the weight of the spices was about 75 pounds (a Roman pound is 12 ounces while the American pound is 16 ounces, so 100 Roman pounds is 75 American pounds). Quite a few English versions read, “100 pounds,” which is confusing to English readers who only think in terms of American pounds. Nicodemus was bringing 65-75 pounds of spices. The uncertainty explains why the English versions differ about the weight: “100 pounds” (ASV; KJV; NASB); “70 pounds” (CJB); “75 pounds” (HCSB; ESV; NET; NLT) [2]

If the term “litras” in John 19:39 refers to a Greek unit of weight, then this passage in the Gospel of John asserts that the mixture of spices weighed about 65 pounds NOT about 75 pounds. Therefore, if the term “litras” in John 19:39 refers to a Greek unit of weight, then the revised premise (3c) is FALSE.

We don’t KNOW that “litras” refers to a Greek unit of weight, so we don’t KNOW that premise (3c) is FALSE. However, the NT scholar Beasley-Murray, and the scholars who translated the Revised English Bible believed that “litras” in John 19:39 refers to a Greek unit of weight, so this might well be the case. Therefore, the revised premise (3c) is DUBIOUS and it might well be FALSE.

In order to make sure that this third premise is true, we could revise it again and use the lower weight of about 65 pounds, in accordance with the Revised English Bible and the assumption that “litras” in John 19:39 might well refer to a Greek unit of weight:

3d. According to the Gospel of John (Jn 19:38-42), on Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included about 65 to 75 pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

If we modify premise (3b) this way, then we need to similarly modify the conclusion of the sub-argument (1b) so that it follows logically from premise (3d):

1d. On Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included about 65 to 75 pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

However, it is still not clear that premise (3d) is TRUE, because there is another plausible interpretation of the term “litras” in John 19:39:

If this measure of Nicodemus’s mixture is one of weight, it is as much as seventy-five of our pounds (Roman pounds were lighter); if it is a measure of volume identified with the Old Testament log, it may be less than seventy fluid ounces. [3]

The New Testament scholar Craig Keener (quoted above) believes that a plausible interpretation of “litra” in John 19:39 is that it refers to a Hebrew unit of volume, specifically to a “log”. According to the “Weights and Measures” article in Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, a log is a measure of volume that is equal to 0.3 liters (.317 quarts).

So, we now have at least three different plausible interpretations of the Greek term “litras” in John 19:39:

• litras = libras (a Roman unit of weight) = 340 grams (.75 pounds)
• litras = litras (a Greek unit of weight) = 297 grams (.655 pounds)
• litras = log (a Hebrew unit of volume) = 0.3 liters (.317 quarts)

If “litras” means “libras”(a Roman unit of weight), then John 19:39 states that Nicodemus had about 75 pounds (or 34 Kilograms) of a mixture of myrrh and aloes.  If “litras” means “litras”(a Greek unit of weight), then John 19:39 states that Nicodemus had about 65 pounds (or 30 Kilograms) of a mixture of myrrh and aloes.  If “litras” means “log” (a Hebrew unit of volume), then John 19:39 states that Nicodemus had about 30 liters (or 7.9 gallons) of a mixture of myrrh and aloes.  30 liters (or 7.9 gallons) equals 1,014 fluid ounces, so I have no idea how Craig Keener came up with the “seventy fluid ounces” figure.

We don’t know the ratio of myrrh to aloes in the mixture that Nicodemus allegedly brought for the burial of Jesus, so we cannot calculate the exact weight of 30 liters of that mixture. However, it seems reasonable to assume a 50/50 mixture in order to calculate an approximate weight of 30 liters of the mixture.

It turns out that 30 liters of a 50/50 mixture of these substances would weigh about 28 to 38 pounds.[4] Thus, if “litras” means “log” (a Hebrew measure of volume), then John 19:39 actually states that Nicodemus brought about 30 liters of myrrh and aloes mixture to use in Jesus’ burial, which would have weighed about 28 to 38 pounds. Therefore, if “litras” means “log”, the modified premise (3d) would be FALSE.

We don’t know whether “litras” means “libras” or “log”, so we don’t KNOW that (3d) is FALSE, but “litras” might well mean “log” in which case, premise (3d) would be FALSE. Thus, premise (3d) is DUBIOUS and might well be FALSE.

To make sure that the third premise is TRUE, we could revise it yet again, and use the lower amount of about 28 to 38 pounds, based on the plausible interpretation of “litras” as meaning “log” (implying that Nicodemus had 30 liters of a mixture of spices), and based on my calculations showing that 30 liters of a 50/50 mixture of myrrh and aloes would weigh about 28 to 38 pounds:

3e. According to the Gospel of John (Jn 19:38-42), on Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included between about 28 pounds and about 75 pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

If we modify premise (3b) this way, then we need to similarly modify (1b), the conclusion of the sub-argument, so that it follows logically from premise (3e):

1e. On Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included between about 28 pounds and about 75 pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

There is still a problem with the revised premise (3e). It is not clear from the passage that Kreeft and Tacelli reference (in Chapter 19 of the Gospel of John) that the entire amount of the spices allegedly brought to the tomb by Nicodemus were incorporated into the winding sheets that were wrapped around Jesus’ body:

³⁹ Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred litras weight. ⁴⁰ So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.

(John 19:39-40, New American Standard Bible)

This passage does NOT explicitly state that the entire amount of the spices brought by Nicodemus was incorporated into the linen wrappings that were put around the body of Jesus. This passage would correctly describe the preparation of the body of Jesus even if only 90% of the spices were incorporated into the linen wrappings, and even if only 80% of the spices were incorporated into the linen wrappings.

In fact, the description would still be correct even if only 50% of the spices brought to the tomb by Nicodemus were incorporated into the linen wrappings. Therefore, even if it is TRUE that Nicodemus brought about 28 pounds of a mixture of myrrh and aloes to the tomb, it might well be the case that only about 14 pounds of the mixture was incorporated into the linen wrappings placed around the body of Jesus.

Furthermore, the spices used for the preparation of a body in a Jewish burial back in the time of Jesus were also used for another purpose:

The spices will have been spread the length of the wrappings, and these wound round the body of Jesus. They will also have been spread on the bank of the tomb.[5]

I think what Beasley-Murray means here by spreading spices on the bank of the tomb, is that the spices were used to blanket the surface that the wrapped body would be placed upon, as suggested by the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary:

brought…myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pounds weight—an immense quantity, betokening the greatness of their love, but part of it probably intended as a layer for the spot on which the body was to lie. [6]

How much of the spices were spread on the bank of the tomb or on the stone bench underneath the wrapped body of Jesus? We don’t know. Maybe 10% of the spices, maybe 20%, or maybe as much as 50%. For all we know, 14 pounds of the 28 pounds of the spices were used by Nicodemus, and 7 pounds was spread on the stone bench underneath Jesus’ wrapped body, while only 7 pounds of the spice mixture was incorporated into the winding sheets around the body of Jesus.

There is no necessity that every pound of the spices be used in Jesus’ burial, and a significant portion of the spices that were used might well have been used for a purpose other than incorporation into the winding sheets.

So, in order to make sure that the third premise is probably true, we should revise it once again and use the lower estimated weight of at least about 7 pounds, since we do not know that every pound of the spices was used, nor that every pound that was used was incorporated into the winding sheets around the body of Jesus:

3f. According to the Gospel of John (Jn 19:38-42), on Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included between about 7 pounds and about 75 pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

If we modify premise (3b) this way, then we need to similarly modify (1b), the conclusion of the sub-argument, so that it follows logically from premise (3f):

1f. On Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included between about 7 pounds and about 75 pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

There is one last clarification that should be made concerning the term “about”. Recall that the translation of John 19:39 in the New International Version includes the qualifier “about”:

He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.

(John 19:39, New International Version)

The same is true of the translation in the New American Standard Bible:

Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred litras weight.

(John 19:39, New American Standard Bible)

The word “about” indicates that this is an approximate quantity, NOT a precise measurement. If the actual measurement of the spice mixture was 90 litras, then the statement that it was “about a hundred litras” would still be correct, because “about a hundred litras” should be understood as an approximate quantity. A reasonable RANGE of weights, given that “about a hundred litras” was intended as an approximate quantity would be plus-or-minus 20% :

between 80 litras and 120 litras

Given that this was the intended meaning of “about a hundred litras” in John 19:39, we should include this plus-or-minus 20% in any clarifications of the implications of this measurement of the amount of spice mixture. Therefore, to be more accurate and precise, we need to remove the qualifier “about” in premise (3f) and expand the RANGE of possible weights by reducing the lowest number of pounds by 20% and increasing the highest number of pounds by 20% :

3g. According to the Gospel of John (Jn 19:38-42), on Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included between 6 pounds and 90 pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

This modification of premise (3b) would also require that we make a similar modification to (1b), the conclusion of the sub-argument:

1g. On Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included between 6 pounds and 90 pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE ATTEMPTED RESCUE OF OBJECTION #4

The original premise (3b) is clearly FALSE. So, the original sub-argument for the key premise (1b) is UNSOUND and should be rejected.

Although I have some reservations about premise (3g), it is much more likely to be true than (3c) or (3d), it is significantly more likely to be true than (3e), and a little more likely to be true than (3f). It looks like the third premise could be rescued, but it can be rescued only by making the claim much weaker than the original premise (3b). I am skeptical about the possibility of “refuting” the Swoon Theory on the basis of the much weaker claim (3g) since this will require that the key premise (1b) ALSO be made much weaker, as we have done in premise (1g):

3g. According to the Gospel of John (Jn 19:38-42), on Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included between 6 pounds and 90 pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

B. The Gospel of John provides a reliable and accurate account of the life of Jesus, including what happened to Jesus’ body after he was crucified.

THEREFORE:

1g. On Friday evening, after Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, it was totally encased in winding sheets (that included between 6 pounds and 90 pounds of spices and a gummy substance).

Furthermore, there remains the very serious problem that premise (B) is FALSE, making the sub-argument UNSOUND even if we seriously weaken premise (3b) and conclusion (1b) by replacing them with (3g) and (1g). There also remains the serious problem that there are good reasons to doubt the historical reliability of the particular passage from the Gospel of John that is referenced in premise (3g).

END NOTES

1. Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 36: John, 2nd edition, by George Beasley-Murray (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), p. 359.

2. The helpful comment is from this webpage (viewed 1/31/25):

https://www.revisedenglishversion.com/comm/John/chapter19/39

3. The IVP Bible Background Comnmentary: New Testament by Craig Keener (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,1993), p.314-315.

4. See my article “Kreeft’s Case Against the Swoon Theory – Part 10: The Weight of the Spices in John 19:39” on The Secular Frontier:

Kreeft’s Case Against the Swoon Theory – Part 10: The Weight of the Spices in John 19:39

5. Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 36: John, 2nd edition, by George Beasley-Murray (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), p. 360.

6. This quote from the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary was taken from this webpage (see the comments on John 19:39), viewed 1/31/25:

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/jfb/john/19.htm