Matthew’s ambiguous ‘rock’ quotation has been debated for centuries
Does the word refer to Peter, or what he said?
![Sculpture of St. Peter in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Sculpture of St. Peter in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F145909b8-6466-4fb6-8738-a77b58aa0bf3_4272x2848.jpeg)
Perhaps the meaning of no single word in the New Testament has been debated more over the centuries than the Greek word petra, nearly always translated as “rock” in Matthew 16:18: “I also tell you that you are Peter, and on …