What Does Mark 3:16 Mean?
And upon Simon he set the name, the stone, Peter.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And Simon he surnamed Peter;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.
“the 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.
“set the name” in this verse is ónoma. 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.
No longer shall your name be called Abram, but Abraham, father of multitudes, for I have set you as a father of many nations.And the nations shall see your alignment, and all kings your weight; and you shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.And he led him to Jesus. And Jesus, fixing his gaze on him, said, You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas, the rock.THE THREAD
And he led him to Jesus. And Jesus, fixing his gaze on him, said, You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas, the rock.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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