Petros vs. Petra

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In Matthew 16, Jesus says to Peter “You are Petros, and on this petra I will build my Church.” I understand how both Greek words mean the same thing and that Petra could not have been used for Peter’s new name. However, why doesn’t it just say “You are Petros, and on this petros I will build my Church”? Thanks! 😃
 
In Matthew 16, Jesus says to Peter “You are Petros, and on this petra I will build my Church.” I understand how both Greek words mean the same thing and that Petra could not have been used for Peter’s new name. However, why doesn’t it just say “You are Petros, and on this petros I will build my Church”? Thanks! 😃
Because Jesus actually said “You are kepha, and on this kepha I will build my Church.” He wasn’t speaking Greek, He spoke Aramaic.
 
What I meant was why did Matthew not use Petros both times when writing in Greek.🙂
 
What I meant was why did Matthew not use Petros both times when writing in Greek.🙂
“petra” meaning “rock” is a feminine name. Peter was a male and therefore Matthew had to use the masculine version “Petros” to describe his name.

Consider a modern example. Suppose I have a great devotion to St. Joseph and therefore I want to name my child after him. However, suppose the child happened to be a girl. I could not possibly name her Joseph, so I would have to name her Josephine (feminine version of Joseph). In the same way, Matthew names him “Petros” (masculine version of Petra).
 
What I meant was why did Matthew not use Petros both times when writing in Greek.🙂
Matthew didn’t write his Gospel in Greek either, He wrote it in the Hebrew tongue, Aramaic. Someone else translated it into Greek and had difficulity translating the Kepha/Kepha into Greek and used the Petra/Petros to designate the thing and the name. Poor translation choice.
 
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