30/01/2026
Peter? A rock?
The main point often missed when explaining the word rock in the Bible is this: It does not usually mean a stone or a boulder, as we understand the word today in modern Hebrew or English.
When we examine the biblical usage, we find that in a very large percentage of cases, the word refers to prominent natural strongholds — elevated peaks or isolated mountains that dominate their surroundings.
A few examples:
Judges 1:10 — “from the rock and above.”
2 Kings 14:7 — King Amaziah captures “the rock” in his war with the Edomites.
1 Samuel 23:25 — Saul pursues David around “the rock.”
In all these cases, the reference is not to a stone, but to a natural fortress — often a solitary mountain with a broad, defensible top.
For this same reason, the city of Petra bears its name — rock in Greek.
This, in my view, is also how the name of Simon, later called Peter, should be understood:
not as a small stone, but as a strong, elevated natural stronghold.
When Jesus says to Peter, “Upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18), He is not speaking about a rock in the modern sense, but about a fortress-like formation — something solid, dominant, and unshakable.
The Gospel of Matthew is very precise about the setting of this conversation:
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi…” (Matthew 16:13)
The Greek expression used here — τὰ μέρη Καισαρείας τῆς Φιλίππου — means the area or the surroundings of Caesarea Philippi, not the city itself.
Mark reinforces this by situating the event among the villages of Caesarea Philippi (Mark 8:27), underscoring a rural, open landscape.
Just outside Caesarea Philippi, on the road climbing toward Mount Hermon, there is exactly such a “rock” — a natural fortress towering over its surroundings. Centuries later, in 1275 AD, the Mamluk ruler Baybars built his fortress on top of it, known as The Fortress of the Cliffs (Arabic: قلعة الصبيبة Qal'at al-Subeiba, Ni**od Fortress or Ni**od Castle).
The next time you come to Israel to tour with us, God willing, we will stand there together.
