Putting this in context, the most important verse is Mt 16:15 where Yeshua asks, "Who do you say that I am?"
--- Mt 16:15 - "He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'"
--- Mt 16:16 - "Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'"
After Peter responds we get another very important verse that makes it clear that only the Father can reveal who Yeshua is.
--- Mt 16:17 - "And Jesus said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.'"
And now we have the verse that has caused so much distention, and it is not that difficult. Looking at it in the "Original" Greek is very helpful by the way.
Petros - Noun Masculine "Stone"
Petra - Noun Feminine "Cliff, Mountain, Strata"
Yeshua calls Simon "Petros" which is a stone based on his testimony in Mt 16:16, and then states that upon this "Petra" (Many Rocks) I will build my church. So, looking at the original context and Greek writing you can then state that Yeshua stated that Simon's "Testimony" was a stone, and upon many "Testimonies" He would build His Church. Also, in equating the Church to Petra (Feminine) is correct because the Church is the Bride of Christ.
Now, is there a president for this in the Bible? A place of warship (Altar) was to be a pile of uncut stones. (Exodus 20:25, Joshua 8:31)
--- Mt 16:18 - "I also say to you that you are Peter (Petros), and upon this rock (Petra) I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it."
In case you have a daught about the use of equating the name Petros to the statement, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God", please read on to see what Yeshua equated the statement "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." So, is peter Satin?
--- Mt 16:22 - "Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.'"
--- Mt 16:23 - "But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's.'"
The answer is no, peter is not Satin, but it does highlight that what one says effects your relationship with Christ.
--- Exodus 20:25 - "If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it."
--- Joshua 8:31 - "as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the LORD burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings."
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7 comments:
Actually, in the original Aramaic, Christ would have said "you are Kepha, and on this kepha I will build my Church", thus Peter (Cephas) was the rock on which the church was built.
"Most probably "kepha" was used in both clauses."
Or, it was kepha for Peter, and cala or abnayya for the Church would require two different words in Greek.
You can't translate the Greek backwards into Aramaic, but if Yeshua had used kepha for his church it would have been used. It was not used, but as I sated, you realize that YHWH has always referred to the alter as a "Pile of Uncut Stones", then this verse makes perfect sense.
Gen 31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement today.” That is why it was called Galeed.
Also, Yeshua built His church on the testimony of: Paul, Peter, Andrew, James (Son of Zebedee), John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, James (Son of Alphaeus), Matthew, Simon (The Canaanite), Judas (Son of James), and two thousand years of followers of "The Way".
"if Yeshua had used kepha for his church it would have been used"
Actually, no. Otherwise the Greek translation wouldn't be a translation. It, and Kepha's name had to be translated into Greek to preserve the meaning for a Greek audience.
Thus is becomes "Petros" and "petra".
Nevertheless, the Aramaic of Peter is preserved at times, as Cephas in many versions.
If Simon wasn't to play an important role in the church, then why would Christ give him an entirely new name meaning "rock"?
Oh, I forgot to mention, thank you. From your first comment I went looking for the original Aramaic, and found that the manuscripts we have are in Greek and are the foundations of translations we have now.
"Otherwise the Greek translation wouldn't be a translation" - Look, Aramaic is accurate enough to distinguish between a stone, a pile of stones, a bolder and a mountain. Greek is also a full language and capable of fine points of detail. So we can translate Kepha (stone) / Caphas (stone) in to Greek as Petros (stone) or English as Stone, but Petra is not a stone, it is a Cliff as in the Location Petra Jordan, Literally a massive pile of stones, or strata. In the Greek the word Petra does not even come close to the same meaning as Petros (also Petron, Petrov, Petrw). It can be translated Rock (Think Big), but I do not think you would attempted to make Simon Peter "The Rock", the "Corner Stone", and "The Capstone", for only Yeshua holds those titles. Now in the Greek if Matthew had wanted to us the word Rock it would have been Petra (also Petran) as in:
Matt 7:24 - "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
The Rock used here is Yeshua. Which is the common theme in both the Old and New Testaments, G-d is the Rock!
Again, thank you! I am finding so many cool verses from this discussion.
1 Corinthians 10:4 - and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock (Petrov) that accompanied them, and that rock (Petra) was Christ.
This verse points back the forty years in the wilderness and links it with Yeshua. I have found no references to Peter as Petra, but always as Petros (stone).
"then why would Christ give him an entirely new name meaning "rock"?" - He gave him a new name which means stone, as in one single small stone. Yeshua never calls Peter a "Rock" (Petra), that title is reserved for G-d, and used in Mt 16:18 it refers to the testimony concerning Yeshua.
Hi, again,
According to my own research, in first century Koine Greek "Petros" and "petra" were synonyms, although they had been distinguished in earlier Attic Greek.
Also, Abraham is referred to as "the rock" in the Old Testament: Isaiah 51:1-2: "Hearken to me, you who pursue deliverance, you who seek the Lord; look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were digged. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him and made him many."
I don't think calling anyone other than God "rock" detracts from God's status. If Peter indeed means small rock, he could still be a small foundation for the Church resting on a larger one.
After all, harking back to the other rock, Abraham, he is one of a few special people that were given a new name like Peter, to signify their special role.
I will need to take this in two parts, Part I:
Yes, Petros and Petra are synonyms, but you have to be careful with synonyms because they are "Similar".
For instance: I have a tree in my house, and I went on vacation to see a tree. Now, in this sentence it would make more sense if I had used Bonsai for the first "tree", and Sequoia for the second "tree", but if I try and put Sequoia in the first instance the sentence would become absurd. This is because even though these are trees there is a difference in "Scale".
Petra is on a different scale:
Matt 7:24 - "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock (Petra)."
Matt 7:25 - "The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock (Petra)."
Matt 27:60 - "and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock (Petra); and he rolled a "large stone" (Lithos Megas) against the entrance of the tomb and went away. "
1 Peter 2:8 - and, "A stone (Lithos) of Stumbling and a Rock (Petra) of offence"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
Lithos - A Cut Stone
Petrodes (petrwdh) - rocky, stony, ground full of rocks.
So, we have a big burly fisherman Simon that is given the title Kepha (small stone) and we call Him Peter (Petrw) a small stone, and all I get out of this is the hummer in the verbal imagery.
Also note: If it is really "Important" G-d always make multiple entries so we don't miss it, but in this case there is only one verse on this subject. In all other cases in the New Testament Yeshua HaMashiach is the Head of the Church and no other.
Now Peter does sit at one of twenty four thrones, and being filled with the spirit he represented one of the seven churches (spirits), but no where do I find one person other than Yeshua as leader of the Church.
As a follower of "The Way", someone who is Christ like (Christian), then you should be about glorifying Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Christ, and the Head of the Church.
Ephesians 1:22 - And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
Ephesians 5:23 - For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
Colossians 1:18 - And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Of course Christ is the head of the Church. In fact He *is* the Church.
Nevertheless, we believe that Peter was appointed Christ's 'Prime Minister', if you will, to govern the Church on Earth.
The small rock whose faith in the large rock led to his being blessed ;-)
Thus, Peter is given the keys to the kingdom of heaven, a clear sign of his appointment as Steward of the church, as Christ was referencing Isaiah 22:22.
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