the Third Week after Easter
Click here to join the effort!
Bible Dictionaries
Rock
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words
or denotes "a mass of rock," as distinct from petros, "a detached stone or boulder," or a stone that might be thrown or easily moved. For the nature of petra, see Matthew 7:24,25; 27:51,60; Mark 15:46; Luke 6:48 (twice), a type of a sure foundation (here the true reading is as in the RV, "because it had been well builded"); Revelation 6:15,16 (cp. Isaiah 2:19 ,ff.; Hosea 10:8 ); Luke 8:6,13 , used illustratively; 1 Corinthians 10:4 (twice), figuratively, of Christ; in Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8 , metaphorically, of Christ; in Matthew 16:18 , metaphorically, of Christ and the testimony concerning Him; here the distinction between petra, concerning the Lord Himself, and Petros, the Apostle, is clear (see above).
"a rock or reef," over which the sea dashes, is used in Jude 1:12 , "hidden rocks," RV, metaphorical of men whose conduct is a danger to others. A late meaning ascribed to it is that of "spots," (AV), but that rendering seems to have been influenced by the parallel passage in 2 Peter 2:13 , where spiloi, "spots," occurs.
These files are public domain.
Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Rock'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ved/r/rock.html. 1940.
