Some of the multifarious readers of "N. & Q." may feel interested in the
suggestion of an original solution on Matt. xvi. 16-19. I submit it (not
presumptuously, but hopefully), that its examination and discussion, by
your learned readers, may throw more light upon my humble endeavour to
elucidate a passage which seems to have been darkened "by a multitude of
words."
The solution I propose is an extract from my MS. annotations on the Hebrew
Old Testament, and forms a portion of a note on Habakkuk ii. 11. It will be
desirable, for the readier comprehension of my exposition, to give the
original, with a literal translation, of the verse alluded to:
[Hebrew: KY 'BN MQYR TZ`Q]
[Hebrew: WKPYS M`TS Y`NNH:]
"For the [_Ebhen_] stone shall cry out of the wall,
And the [_Caphis_] fastening shall testify out of the timber."[1]
This verse has passed into a proverb amongst the Jews in every part of the
world. It is invariably quoted to express the impossibility of secrecy or
concealment; or to intimate the inevitable publicity of a certain fact. In
short, the proverb implies the same meaning which our Lord's answer to the
Pharisees expressed, viz., "If these should hold their peace, the stones
would immediately cry out" (Luke xix. 40.). I have myself heard the words
under note used as a proverb, in this manner, amongst the Jews of Europe,
Asia, and Africa. I am, moreover, inclined to believe that it was already
one of the national proverbs in the days of our Lord.
All this may appear irrelevant to the critical exposition of this verse;
but the consideration may help to clear up an apparently obscure passage in
the New Testament, namely, Matt. xvi. 16-19. When Simon made the
declaration in verse 16., "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,"
he might have thought of or expressed the inspired proverb:
[Hebrew: KY 'BN MQYR TZ`Q]
[Hebrew: WKPYS M`TS Y`NNH:]
"For the [_Ebhen_] stone shall cry out of the wall,
And the [_Caphis_] fastening shall testify out of the timber."
Thinking, or expressing, that concealment of the Messiahship of Jesus was
impracticable.
"And Jesus [to whom word, thought, and deed were alike patent] answered
and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood
hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I
say also unto thee, That thou art _Caphis_; and upon the _Ebhen_ I will
build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt _bind_ on earth, shall be _bound_ in heaven," &c.
The play (if so common an expression might be used in so sacred a theme) is
not on the word _Peter_, but on the word [Hebrew: KPYS] (_Caphis_), which
signifies a rafter, a cross beam, a _binder_; or, as the margin (on Habak.
ii. 11.) has it, "a fastener," from the verb [Hebrew: KPS] (_Caphas_), to
_bind_, to connect, to join.
That our Lord never used the Greek word [Greek: su ei Petros] all must
admit; that [Greek: Kephas] is not the Syriac word for stone is well known
to every Oriental scholar. The proper Syriac word for stone is [Syriac:
K'P']. However, there is a resemblance between the respective words, which
may have been the origin of Simon's second surname--I mean to that of
Cephas--Peter.
The import of Matt. xvi. 16-19. seems to me to be this: Christ acknowledges
Simon to be part and parcel of the house, the Church; nay, more, He tells
Simon that He intends him to be a "master-builder," to join, or bind, many
members to that Church, all of which would be owned of Him. But the Church
itself must be built upon the _Ebhen_, the _Stone_; by which Jesus
evidently alluded to Ps. cxviii. 22.:
[Hebrew: 'BN M'SW HBWNYM]
[Hebrew: HYTH LR'SH PNH:]
"The _Ebhen_ which the builders refused
Is become the head stone of the corner."
(Compare Matt. xxi. 42.)
May I ask whether the words [Greek: ho ermeneutai Petros] are to be
considered as the words of St. John, or of his transcribers? The question
may appear startling to some, but my copy of the Syriac New Testament is
_minus_ that sentence.