[B-Greek] PETROS as a 1st century common noun?

George F Somsel gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Fri Jun 5 21:00:00 EDT 2009


The passages in the LXX in which the masc form appears are

Job 30:6
Psalm 103:12
Isaiah 2:19
Isaiah 2:21
Isaiah 7:19
Isaiah 57:5
Jeremiah 16:16
Jeremiah 28:25
Jeremiah 30:10
Obadiah 3


It would appear that the masc form was still in use through the time of Philo of Alexandria.  I'm not sure about in other Koine literature, but in Christian writings the masc form appears only as a proper noun.  There are two instances in Philo (in succeeding paragraphs)

§ 237 
 
§ 237 AKOHN EDECAMEQA PALAITATHN hUPO TWN KATA THN hELLADA LOGIWN PARADOQEISAN hOI THN THS GORGONOS KEFALHN TOSAUTHN EXEIN DUNAMIN hWMOLOGOU hWSTE TOUS PROSIDONTAS EUQUS LIQOUS KAI PETROUS GINESQAI TOUTO MUQOU MEN PLASMA hEOIKEN EINAI TO D'ALHQES hAI GEGALAI KAI ABOULHTOI KAI ANHKESTOI SUNTUXIAI EPIFEROUSIN ORGAI DESPOTOU QANATON APERGAZONTAI H PARAPLHSION TI QANATWi
 § 238 
 
§ 238 NOMIZEIS hO MHPOTE GENOITO PARAPEMPOMENON EI QEASAINTO TINES TWN hHMETERWN EIS TO hIERON TON ANDRIANTA, OUK AN EIS PETROUS METABALEIN PAGENTWN MEN AUTOIS TWN ARQRWN, PAGENTWN DE TWN OFQALMWN hWS MHDE KINHQHNAI DUNASQAI hOLOU DE TOU SWMATOS TAS FUSIKAS KINHSEIS METABALONTOS KAQ' hEKASTON TWN EN THi KOINWNIAi MERWN AUTOU?
 
It is of interest that in Mt 16.18 where the masc name so famously appears it already is distinguished from the fem form 
 
18κἀγὼ δέ σοι λέγω ὅτι σὺ εἶ Πέτρος, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳοἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ πύλαι ᾅδου οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς.


18 KAGW DE SOI LEGW hOTI SU EI PETROS, KAI EPI TAUTHi THi PETRAi OIKODOMHSW MOU THN EKKLHSIAN KAI PULAI hAiDOU OU KATISXUSOUSIN AUTHS.νομίζειςὃμήποτεγένοιτοπαραπεμπόμενονεἰθεάσαιντότινεςτῶνἡμετέρωνεἰςτὸἱερὸντὸνἀνδριάντα, οὐκἂνεἰςπέτρουςμεταβαλεῖνπαγέντωνμὲναὐτοῖςτῶνἄρθρων, παγέντωνδὲτῶνὀφθαλμῶνὡςμηδὲκινηθῆναιδύνασθαιὅλουδὲτοῦσώματοςτὰςφυσικὰςκινήσειςμεταβαλόντοςκαθʼἕκαστοντῶνἐντῇκοινωνίᾳμερῶναὐτοῦ;
 ἀκοὴνἐδεξάμεθαπαλαιτάτηνὑπὸτῶνκατὰτὴνἙλλάδαλογίωνπαραδοθεῖσανοἳτὴντῆςΓοργόνοςκεφαλὴντοσαύτηνἔχεινδύναμινὡμολόγουὥστετοὺςπροσιδόνταςεὐθὺςλίθουςκαὶπέτρουςγίνεσθαιτοῦτομύθουμὲνπλάσμαἔοικενεἶναιτὸδʼἀληθὲςαἱμεγάλαικαὶἀβούλητοικαὶἀνήκεστοισυντυχίαιἐπιφέρουσινὀργαὶδεσπότουθάνατονἀπεργάζονταιἢπαραπλήσιόντιθανάτῳ


 george
gfsomsel 


… search for truth, hear truth, 
learn truth, love truth, speak the truth, hold the truth, 
defend the truth till death.


- Jan Hus
_________ 




________________________________
From: Charles Johnson <cpj5117 at gmail.com>
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Friday, June 5, 2009 11:18:49 AM
Subject: [B-Greek] PETROS as a 1st century common noun?

After looking through the LXX and NT, I wonder what happened to the noun
PETROS. It occurs in some in the LXX, and appears to be virtually synonymous
with the more common PETRA. In the NT, it doesn't appear to be used at all
except as the proper name Peter. It seems to have been replaced by LIQOS.
Did PETROS pass out of existence as a common noun by the first century, and
if so, should we understand the name Peter to be a masculinization of PETRA?
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