[B-Greek] noun gender question
Iver Larsen
iver_larsen at sil.org
Mon Sep 28 04:53:08 EDT 2009
----- Original Message -----
From: "George F Somsel" <gfsomsel at yahoo.com>
To: "Fred Smith" <fredsmith1000 at usa.com>; <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 28. september 2009 02:33
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] noun gender question
> κἀγὼ δέ σοι λέγω ὅτι σὺ εἶ Πέτρος, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν
> ἐκκλησίαν καὶ πύλαι ᾅδου οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς.
> K'AGW DE SOI LEGW hOTI SU EI PETROS, KAI EPI TAUTHi THi PETRA OIKODOMHSW MOU
> THN EKKLHSIAN KAI PULAI AiDOU OU KATISXUSOUSIN AUTHS.
>
> As Harold has noted they are two different words. While both appear in the
> LXX, and there seems to be little difference between the two, Πέτρος [PETROS]
> is only used in the NT for the apostle. It is my opinion based on the
> difference in gender and similar statements to that of Peter which other
> disciples had made that the text does intend to reference Peter's confession
> rather than Peter himself. That is MY opinion, and others may and do differ on
> this matter. In other words, it's a matter of interpretation.
> george
> gfsomsel
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Fred Smith <fredsmith1000 at usa.com>
> To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
> Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2009 4:47:26 PM
> Subject: [B-Greek] noun gender question
>
> Someone suggested the following explanation of noun gender in Matthew
> 16:18. Would someone please let me know if there is any merit to this
> idea?
>
> "The word Peter does equal Petros and it is masculine. The reason is
> masculine is because it is talking about an individual. Jesus is talking
> to Peter, and he refers to Peter in the masculine. The word rock is
> indeed in the feminine. And I believe that it is in the feminine because
> it refers to the statement Peter made. Because it was referring to a
> statement and not a human being it had to be said in the feminine."
>
> Thanks,
> Ren
As it has been mentioned already, PETRA is not feminine because it refers to a
statement, but because the word happens to be feminine.
It is helpful to look at other places where PETRA is used in a metaphorical
sense.
For instance, Paul describes Christ as PETRA in 1 Cor 10:4.
But I think a more relevant context is a previous "building on rock" text in
Matthew 7:24:
Πᾶς οὖν ὅστις ἀκούει μου τοὺς λόγους τούτους καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτούς, ὁμοιωθήσεται
ἀνδρὶ φρονίμῳ, ὅστις ᾠκοδόμησεν αὐτοῦ τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν·
PAS OUN hOSTIS AKOUEI MOU TOUS LOGOUS TOUTOUS KAI POIEI AUTOUS, hOMOIWQHSETAI
ANDRI FRONIMWi, hOSTIS WiKODOMHSEN AUTOU THN OIKIAN EPI THN PETRAN.
(So anyone who listens to these my words and does them, will be likened to a
wise man, who has built his house on the rock.)
Although PETRA has its normal sense in the story, the implication is that
"building on rock" is likened to "listen and obey". In Jewish thought, the faith
of Abraham was often considered the foundation to build on. He listened to God
about the sacrifice of his son and demonstrated his obedience. While I think it
is quite possible to understand PETRA in Mat 16:18 to refer to Peter, is is
likely that the context of what Peter just did is in focus, namely he listened
to the revelation from the Father and had faith to accept and proclaim Jesus as
the Messiah, the Son of God.
Iver Larsen
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