III.

Source of Peter's Name

Scholars have had considerable difficulty in advancing from these traditions to the historical Peter, but one of the most important of the traditional elements is also one of the most historically secure: Peter was the first to receive a revelation of the risen Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 15:3; Luke 24:34). From this point other aspects of the picture of Peter have been developed, notably the change of his name from Simon to Peter.

From the references to Peter in the Gospels it is known that the name he received at birth and with which he grew up was Simon. The Greek word petros (“rock”) and its Aramaic equivalent, cephas, were not in use as personal names. “Peter” is thus a metaphorical or symbolic designation that came in time to function as the name of the man in question. The symbolic name in its Aramaic form may have arisen in connection with the affirmation that the resurrected Lord appeared first to Simon, that appearance and thus Simon himself serving as a sort of foundation stone of the church.