Yeshu`a's response to Peter's confession, (Matthew 16v18)

Recovered Aramaic text

The original saying of Christ from Mt16v18 has been reconstructed from quotations made by several early Syriac authors as follows:

.h[NwNSXN )L lwY$d )LKwM*w ytd(L h{YNB) )P)K )dh l(w )P)K wh tN)

Translation

Here is my translation of this Aramaic text directly into English. I have indicated the grammatical gender of the words used:

"You are a pillar(f.) and upon this pillar(f.), my church(f.) will be built and the bars of Sheol they will not overcome it(f.)."

For comparison with this recovered Aramaic text from the gospel, here is my translation of the corresponding Greek text:

"You are Petros(= Peter m.) and on this rock (= petra f.) I will build my church(f.), and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it(f.)."

Notes on the translation from the Aramaic

In my translation of the Aramaic, I have translated 'pillar' from the feminine word 'kepha' which has several meanings in Syriac and it can also mean 'stone' or 'rock'. The reason I have chosen to translate both occurrences of the word 'kepha' as 'pillar' can be found in Galatians 2v9 and again in 1Timothy 3v15 where Paul understood the Aramaic word ‘kepha’ (= pillar) found in Matthew in this particular ambiguous way: either as a reference to Shem`on or as a reference to the church. The Aramaic is ambiguous, we are not sure whether Christ means that the pillar will prevail or that the church will prevail. Notice how the ambiguity in the Aramaic is mirrored in the two Pauline quotations. In his letter to the Galatians it was Shem`on whom Paul called a pillar, but in his letter to Timothy, it is the church that is called a pillar. This indicates that the gospel text Paul knew and alluded to in his letters was an Aramaic gospel text, very similar to the text I have recovered and translated above.

Comparing the Aramaic and the Greek texts

Consider the ‘pillar’ terminology Paul uses in 1Tim3v15 to describe the church. No-where in the Greek gospel text is the church called a 'pillar'. Hence, the Greek gospels cannot explain where Paul’s terminology came from. However, the Syriac gospel text of Matthew 16v18 provides us with a plausible origin for his terminology. This again demonstrates how the Aramaic gospels take us all the way back to Paul's day, but the Greek gospels do not. This indicates that the Greek gospels were created after c. AD 68 when Paul was martyred.

Next, notice that instead of 'bars of Sheol' found in the Aramaic text there are 'gates of Hades’ in the Greek. In the Aramaic there is a deliberate parallel drawn by Christ between the 'bars' of Sheol and the 'pillar' supporting his Church, because these are both cylindrical objects, but made from different materials. Thus, the semantic parallel between two cylindrical objects present in the Aramaic of Yeshu`a's words has been lost completely in the Greek translation. This is an example of a loss of important semantic information which often happens in a translation.

Consider the Greek version of the text which I have translated above. Notice that the Greek text contains a completely different parallel between the name ‘Petros’ and the word ‘petra’. From this different parallel introduced in the Greek text, we have an indication of where and when Matthew’s gospel was translated in antiquity from the primary Aramaic text into Greek. For, whoever translated this text chose to translate the first occurrence of the Aramaic word ‘kepha’ as the Greek proper name ‘Petros’ (Peter) and the second occurrence of the same word 'kepha' as 'petra' (stone). The connection the Greek translator wants his readers to make is between the proper name 'Petros' and the Greek noun 'petra' = 'stone'. Using this device, our ancient translator introduced the idea that the apostle Shem`on Bar Jona was being surnamed by Christ with the proper name 'Peter'. This of course reinforces the Roman case for leadership of the church, a very political spin on the Aramaic original and a spin which would sit better in a mid second century Roman context than it would in the first century Palestinian context of the original saying.

Commentary on the Aramaic text

Although 'bars' do not feature in the Greek text, the fragment of Aramaic gospel text recovered above comments upon the Old Testament and it relates to another gospel text. Thus, the Aramaic text recalls Psalm 107v14-16 where 'bars of iron' are a symbol of bondage and Luke 4v18 where Christ sets out his mission to release those held captive. Thus, in Mt16v18 the 'bars of Sheol' probably signify the bondage of death and the inability of any system of bondage to prevail against Christ's church, or his individual followers who believe in the divinity of Christ. In a time when Christian belief is being overcome by secularism and when the churches have capitulated to the bondage of legalism, we need to take this promise of Yeshu`a seriously. He teaches us how we can prevail in the world instead of being overcome by it!