Verse 42.
Cephas. This is a Syriac word, meaning the same as the Greek word Peter, a stone. See Peter |Mt 16:17|.
The stone, or rock, is a symbol of firmness and steadiness of character -- a trait in Peter's character
after the ascension of Jesus that was very remarkable. Before the death of Jesus he was rash, headlong, variable; and it is one proof of the omniscience of Jesus that he saw that Peter would possess a character that would be expressed appropriately by the word stone or rock. The word Jonas is a Hebrew word, whose original signification is a dove
. It may be that Jesus had respect to that when he gave Simon the name Peter. |You now bear a name emblematic of timidity and inconstancy. You shall be called by a name denoting firmness and constancy.|
{k} |thou shalt be called Cephas| Mt 16:18 {7} |A Stone| or, |Peter|