Originally posted here The Blade of Truth

Latin, Greek and Aramaic Analysis of Matthew 16:18 about Peter

Answering Eli Soriano: Peter or petros was never the foundation of the true church!

This is a statement that came from Eli Soriano of Ang Dating Daan.

Did Eli Soriano understand it correctly?

No!

Let us educate him that he may be a better.

Analysis of Matthew 16:18 in Latin

Here is the Latin text of Matthew 16:18.

“et ego dico tibi quia tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversum eam.”(Matthew 16:18)

Note two observations of the Greek and Latin translations of Matthew 16:18. In Greek, the name of Peter is Petros.

Rock means petra. In Latin, Peter is Petrus and rock means petra. Unlike English, nouns in said languages have gender.

Masculine includes (-os or -us). Feminine (-or -am). The word for rock in both languages is feminine. Peter (male) cannot have a feminine ending in his name. It is like calling him “Rockette” instead of “Rocky.” Henceforth, it is only in language that the gender is different.

Peter comes from the Latin word PETRUS. PETRA is the Latin word for “stone”. These are two different words. However, the two are very similar.

Analysis of Matthew 16:18 in Aramaic

Here is the Peshitta Aramaic text of Matthew 16:18.

This is the pronunciation and translation in English.

 ‘aph ‘ena’ ‘amar-na’ lak   da'(n)t-(h)uw ke’pha’

 and I say – I  to thee  that-thou-art Kephas

 we`’al  hade’ ke’pha’  ‘ebneyh   le`i(d)tiy

 and upon this rock  I will build her  namely my church

The word for Peter, ke’pha’, is the same word for rock. If the words are compared, Peter is the rock.

In said verse, the same word is used for his name ܟܐܦܐ “Kepha” and what our Lord said he would build His Church upon ܟܐܦܐ “The Kepha” , The Rock, or The Stone which is categorical is the same name he gave to Simon.

What our Lord said “I will build my Church upon this Kepha (Rock/Stone), referring back to Kepha (The Rock/The Stone) cannot be misconstrued.

The meaning rests on the two words for “rock.” If Matthew wrote that Christ used the same word for the proper name of Peter and foundation on which Christ says he will build the church, it means that the foundation of the church is Peter.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is mentioned several times in the New Testament as The Kepha. The Rock,  is perceived as Christ Himself. Christ called him “The Rock”.  Simon was asked to feed or, pasture his sheep, as servant of all servants of Christ (John 21:15-17). He is a servant and not the Lord of all others. He nourishes them spiritually. He leads by example as Christ leads them.

In St. John 1:42, the Aramaic translation of Simon’s new name, Kephas means “rock.”  Let us say that Anti-Catholics are correct and Peter was only a “little stone” (petros). In that case, the Aramaic word should have been “evna” and not “cephas.”

“Cephas” (John 1:42 and Matthew 16:18) comes from the Aramaic word כיפה /kefa/ (Classic Galilean spelling is כיפא or in Syriac ܟܐܦܐ).

In the Sacred Scriptures, name changes take place if something very important happens. Anyway, Christ would not have changed Simon’s name to Petros. It is a name that was never said before!

For the information of everyone , many persons interested in this issue presume that the argument is arguable because the biblical manuscripts are not in Aramaic. It is not really 100% true. Some of ancient biblical manuscripts are in this dialect.

The standard Syriac edition of the bible is called “Peshitta.” The Old Testament version was translated in the 2nd century. The New Testament was interpreted during the 4th century.

It is is based on the demands of Greek noun intonation. It also explains the number of references to Peter as Cephas in Paul’s letters. The Greek transcription of the Aramaic/Syriac word ܟܺܐܦܳܐ is κῆφα. The word “Cephas” is the Latin transcription of the Greek word.

Analysis of Matthew 16:18 in Greek

Here is the Greek  text of Matthew 16:18.

κἀγὼ δέ σοι λέγω ὅτι σὺ εἶ Πέτρος, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴνἐκκλησίαν, καὶ πύλαι ἅ|δου οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς.(Matthew 16:18, Greek New Testament)

The gender is not related to its meaning. Greeks would not have thought about male or female in using such words.

Petros is translated into Greek from the original Aramaic Kephas.

Jesus refers to Peter when he said “on this rock I found my church”.  There is no argument here.  Probably, Greek is used as adjective referring to Peter since Peter is masculine.

Matthew 16:18 – You are Peter (petros) and on this rock (petra) I will build my church. He is called Petros because he is male and not female. His Aramaic name Kephas from Petros is similar to the Greek “kephale” κεφαλή. 

Jesus built his church and started with Peter.  The foundation must be laid by someone. It simply cannot build itself. In this case, Jesus put in place the cornerstone since He is the founder of the Church. On the other hand, Peter is the keystone on which He constructed the Catholic Church. It is not complicated. There is no contradiction at all since these are the exact words of Jesus. 

Think About This!

My name is Bernard which can also be translated as Bernardo. I am male so you will not call me Bernarda since it is feminine. The author cannot use Petra incorrectly since this can cause embarrassment to the person.

Yet, it is beside the point.  The actual conversation is in Aramaic. Simon became kephas in Aramaic. You can see this in the Gospel of John and Letters to Saint Paul.

The arguments of Anti-Catholics and Eli Soriano are unfounded since the conversation was not in Greek. The real point of the conversation is the opposite. Jesus gave Simon a new name which is Peter. This is like God giving important personalities in the Old Testament new names after establishing a new covenant with them.  This covenant identifies Simon as the rock. Jesus gives him the keys which symbolize his authority so Peter can act in his place. Anti-Catholics and Eli Soriano just do not believe in this as they do not recognize or accept the Pope.