What Does Mark 3:16 Mean in the King James?
And Simon he surnamed Peter;
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Simon is not merely given a label: Mark names him Πέτρος (Pétros, “stone”), making the name itself a nature-image.
THE MEANING
The verse holds naming as disclosure: Simon bears the name Πέτρος (Pétros, “stone”), an image of firmness beside a name associated with hearing. A name here is more than a label; it makes a nature visible in the present.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A name is only a convenient label, with no connection to the nature it reveals.
THE ROOT
Πέτρον
Pétron
GROWS FROM
πετρ-
πετρ- (petr-): rock, stone.
“Peter” in this verse is Pétron. Πέτρον (Pétron, “stone”) is the form of the name used in this verse, built on the Greek rock-stem πετρ- (petr-, “rock, stone”). The proper name can make that image disappear in English: Simon is named through a word that carries the substance of stone.
ALSO GROWS
pétra: Rock, cliff, or rocky mass.
πέτρα
It shares the πετρ- (petr-) stem, making the rock-image in Peter’s name audible.
petrṓdēs: Rocky, stony.
πετρώδης
It shares the πετρ- (petr-) stem and shows the same root describing a stony nature.
שִׁמְעוֹן
Shim'on
GROWS FROM
שמע
שמע (shamaʿ): hear, listen.
Simon is the Greek form of שִׁמְעוֹן (Shim’on, “he has heard”), whose root שמע (shamaʿ, “hear, listen”) remains inside the name. The verse places a name associated with hearing beside Πέτρον (Pétron, “stone”), joining receptivity and firmness in one person.
ALSO GROWS
shamaʿ: Hear, listen.
שָׁמַע
It shares the root שמע (shamaʿ) and reveals the hearing carried by Simon’s name.
shemuʿah: A report, something heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
It shares the consonants שמע (shamaʿ), linking Simon’s name to what is heard and received.
ὄνομα
ónoma
GROWS FROM
ὀνομ-
ὀνομ- (onom-): name, designation.
Mark’s Greek makes the act explicit with ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”): Simon is given a name that carries an image of nature. The verse lets the name disclose how Simon is seen, as stone.
ALSO GROWS
onomázō: Name, call.
ὀνομάζω
It shares the ὀνομ- (onom-) stem and shows the name as something spoken over a person.
onomastós: Named, renowned.
ὀνομαστός
It shares the ὀνομ- (onom-) stem, carrying the name into the way a person is known.
THE PATTERN
A spoken name can disclose the nature by which a person is known.
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.THE THREAD
And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.John makes Mark’s stone-image plain: Κηφᾶς (Kēphâs, “stone”) is interpreted as “A stone,” corresponding to Πέτρος (Pétros, “stone”). Mark records the name as given; John lets the nature inside it be heard.
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