Something else I’ve thought about is this: while we know Alexander crucified enemies, I have not researched the punishment of crucifixion to find out how universal it was prior to Alexander.
My point is, does anyone find it odd that the Old Testament prophets would write about this form of punishment when, in fact, in their world stoning was the typical means of capital punishment? In other words, it seems to add further weight to the prophecy that Jesus was killed by a method that the OT prophets of the day had very little experience with . . . or am I missing something?
I don't know if crucifixion was common in the ancient middle east, though my guess is that the Greeks and Romans probably copied it from someone else. The ancients were pretty creative in their modes of execution. I'm not inclined to put much weight to put on the Old Testament references to crucifixion. The prophets might have written that Jesus would be stoned. Or beheaded. Or burned. Or struck by lightning. Or whatever. The important thing is not the particular mode of death; the important thing is that the prophets called it ahead of time.