📖 Biblical Definition
Petros and petra are the Greek words at the heart of Christ’s wordplay in Matthew 16:18: "That thou art Peter (Petros), and upon this rock (petra) I will build my church." The two words are deliberately distinct: petros is masculine and means a stone or small rock; petra is feminine and means bedrock, a massive ledge. Reformed exegesis (against Rome’s papal-foundation reading) recognizes that Christ is distinguishing Peter the man from the petra on which the church is built — the bedrock of the confession just made: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 16). Christ Himself is the rock (1 Corinthians 10:4; Ephesians 2:20), and confessing faith in Him is the foundation.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
The Matthew 16:18 wordplay: stone vs. bedrock.
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The deliberate Greek wordplay in Matthew 16:18: petros (a stone, masculine) and petra (bedrock, feminine). Reformed and Eastern exegesis identifies the petra not with Peter himself but with the confession he just made — Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
📖 Key Scripture
Matthew 16:16-18 — "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God... thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church."
1 Corinthians 3:11 — "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 2:20 — "Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Used by Roman Catholic theology to ground papal succession; Reformed exegesis insists the rock is the confession of Christ, not the man.
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The petros/petra wordplay is deliberate. Peter is the stone; the confession he makes is the bedrock. Christ Himself is the foundation; Peter is one of many living stones built upon the rock. Reformed theology preserves the apostolic centrality without making it papal.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek petros / petra.
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['Greek', 'G4074', 'Petros', 'Peter, stone']
['Greek', 'G4073', 'petra', 'rock, bedrock']
Usage
"The petra is the confession; Peter is a petros."
"Christ is the foundation; many living stones."