Did the crucifixion nails go through Jesus' hands or wrists?

from the old testament

• Psalm 22:16 references the hands when indicating where Jesus was pierced. The verse reads, “For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet” (Psalm 22:16). Many point to this line as evidence that Jesus was nailed through His hands rather than His wrists.
• However, the Hebrew word translated “hands” in Psalm 22:16 is yad, which, like its Greek counterpart, is not a technical anatomical term. Indeed, yad can refer to several other body parts, including the wrist area. For example, Rebekah was given bracelets that were placed on her yad, even though bracelets rest on the wrists rather than the palms or fingers (Genesis 24:47 KJV). The ESV translates this verse as “So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms,” showing that yad cannot mean “hand” in this context.

from the new testament

• The New Testament describes Jesus being nailed to the cross and later showing His wounds to the disciples (Luke 24:39–40; John 20:25–27), but it does not specify the precise anatomical placement of the nails. Because the hands contain small bones that would struggle to support a body’s weight, readers have long questioned whether the nails passed through the palms or through the structurally stronger wrist area.
• The discussion centers on what the Greek word cheir, often translated as “hand,” actually means. While in English the word “hand” refers to the palm and digits, the Greek word can include the wrists—the general hand area, as opposed to just the hand. For instance, when an angel freed Peter from prison, the text says, “the chains fell off his hands” (Acts 12:7b). That likely refers to his wrists being bound or perhaps both wrists and hands.This lack of precision in the word cheir means that it is linguistically possible that descriptions of Jesus’ death on the cross were referring to the wrists being pierced.
• Adding support to that view is that John noted that none of Jesus’ bones were broken (John 19:36). A natural gap is between the bones in the wrists where a nail could have easily gone through without breaking them. Because the wrist provides more substantial support while allowing a nail to pass through, many scholars conclude that the nails were likely driven through the wrists. Even so, the New Testament does not state this directly, so the conclusion is an inference.

implications for today

In the satirical novel Gulliver’s Travels, the people of Blefuscu and Lilliput are engaged in a longstanding and bitter war over . . . which end of the egg to break, the small end or the large end. If that seems ridiculous, it’s because it is; the author, Jonathan Swift, used the situation to satirize the nonsensical reasons nations often go to war.

Some might feel the same about theological disagreements, such as the precise placement of the nails in Jesus’ body. But while the issue is secondary, it isn’t silly or unimportant. Nor is it wrong to ask it. Careful study of Scripture and history can be helpful but Scripture does not emphasize that detail of the crucifixion. And focusing too narrowly on that issue and others like it can distract from Jesus’ purpose in being nailed to the cross.

Whether the nails passed through Jesus’ palms or His wrists, Jesus was crushed under divine wrath so that forgiveness could be offered freely to us today. The proper response for believers is to trust in Him and share what He did with those who don’t know Him.