Petros — Meaning & Usage in the Bible

Πέτρος is a masculine Greek noun meaning 'a rock' or 'a piece of rock,' larger than a λίθος (a stone or pebble). In everyday Greek it could describe a detached piece of stone or a rock formation. In the New Testament, however, the word is used almost exclusively as a proper name.

The name Πέτρος is the Greek equivalent of the Aramaic Κηφᾶς, and both mean 'rock.' Jesus gave this name to Simon bar-Jona, one of the first disciples he called. From that point on, the man is consistently identified as 'Simon Peter' or simply 'Peter' in the Gospels, Acts, and the epistles that bear his name.

Because Πέτρος literally means 'rock,' the word naturally carries that imagery wherever it appears, and Matthew 16:18 in particular turns on the contrast between Peter (Πέτρος) and the larger bedrock (πέτρα) on which Jesus says he will build his church.

In the Gospels, Πέτρος appears most often as the personal name of the apostle Simon Peter. He is introduced in Matthew 4:18 as 'Simon who is called Peter,' fishing with his brother Andrew when Jesus calls them. From then on, the name Πέτρος (in its declined forms such as Πέτρου, Πέτρῳ, Πέτρον) appears throughout the narratives as a way of identifying this disciple.

The name dominates scenes where Peter speaks on behalf of the disciples or responds directly to Jesus. He is the one who asks Jesus to explain the parable (Matthew 15:15), makes the central confession that Jesus is 'the Christ, the Son of the living God' (Matthew 16:16), tries to dissuade Jesus from the cross and is rebuked as a stumbling-block (Matthew 16:22-23), offers to build three tabernacles on the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17:4), and asks how often one should forgive (Matthew 18:21). In Matthew 16:18 Jesus renames him and declares, 'thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,' a verse that is inseparable from the meaning of the word.