The Fallible Study Bible

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Matthew16:13–20

Peter’s Confession of Christ

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Matthew 16:13–20 — Peter’s Confession of Christ. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

13

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de ho Iēsous Elthōn eis ta merē Kaisareias tēs Philippou ērōta autou tous mathētas legōn Tina hoi anthrōpoi legousin ton Huion tou anthrōpou einai

Word by word24 · parsed
δὲdeWhenG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἘλθὼνElthōncameG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
érchomai: to come, to go An aorist participle setting the frame: the arrival is complete, the questioning (imperfect, i 10) then unfolds. Ellicott traces the route from Tyre and Sidon around the lake to this point and reads the whole movement as “an obvious withdrawal from the populous cities” that had rejected him.
εἰςeistoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὰtatheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Plural
μέρηmerēregionG3313
√ μέρος — a division or share (literally or figuratively, in a wide application)NounAccusative Neuter Plural
méros: a part, a division, a share Not the city but its districts. Cambridge notes the cliffs near this spot “bear marks of the worship of Baal and of Pan,” and Ellicott records that the old name Paneas witnessed to the cave dedicated to Pan. The confession of the living God is made on ground saturated with dead gods.
ΚαισαρείαςKaisareiasof CaesareaG2542
√ Καισάρεια — Cæsaria, the name of two places in PalestineNounGenitive Feminine Singular
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
ΦιλίππουPhilippouPhilippiG5376
√ Φίλιππος — fond of horsesNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ἠρώταērōtaHe questionedG2065
√ ἐρωτάω — to interrogateVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
erōtáō: to interrogate, to ask Imperfect: a sustained questioning, not a single query. Gill and Poole both insist the question is not born of ignorance; Poole says it was asked “to draw out Peter's following confession,” and Gill that Christ wished “to make way for another” question.
αὐτοῦautouHisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τοὺςtousG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Plural
μαθητὰςmathētasdisciplesG3101
√ μαθητής — a learner, iNounAccusative Masculine Plural
λέγωνlegōnG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
ΤίναTinaWhoG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Masculine Singular
οἱhoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ἄνθρωποιanthrōpoi{do} peopleG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounNominative Masculine Plural
ánthrōpos: man, human being With the article, a class noun. This word is the hinge of the verse: the same lexeme names both the many whose opinions are canvassed (i 17) and the singular title of the one asking (i 22). What “the men” say about “the Man” is precisely what the passage is about.
λέγουσινlegousinsayG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ΥἱὸνHuionSonG5207
√ υἱός — a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinshipNounAccusative Masculine Singular
huiós: a son The accusative of the title, object of εἶναι. Ellicott and Cambridge both read the question as already loaded: interpreted with Daniel 7:13 in view, the title itself assumes the claim, and Cambridge asks whether the people take it “in the sense which Daniel intended or in a lower sense.”
τοῦtouofG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἀνθρώπουanthrōpouManG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounGenitive Masculine Singular
ánthrōpos: man, human being Genitive in the Semitic idiom “son of man.” Gill takes it of the reality and lowliness of his humanity, and connects it to the promise of the seed of the woman and to Psalm 80:17; Pulpit, pulling the other way, says that to Jewish ears the title “connoted Divinity,” citing Luke 22:69, 70 and John 3:13. ⚙ The two readings are not rivals: Daniel's figure is a man who receives an everlasting kingdom from the Ancient of Days.
εἶναιeinaiisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Infinitive Active
eimí: to be, to exist Present infinitive in indirect discourse, the neutral copula of report: men say the Son of Man to be someone. The same infinitive returns in v. 15, where the object of the verb shifts from the title to the bare pronoun “me.”
14

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Hoi eipan Hoi men Iōannēn ton Baptistēn de alloi Ēlian de heteroi Ieremian ē hena tōn prophētōn

Word by word18 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ΟἱHoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
εἶπανeipanThey repliedG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ΟἱHoiSomeG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
μὲνmen[say]G3303
√ μέν — properly, indicative of affirmation or concession (in fact)Conjunction
mén: indeed, in fact The first half of a Greek correlative pair; a function word carrying structure, not content.
ἸωάννηνIōannēnJohnG2491
√ Ἰωάννης — Joannes (iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ΒαπτιστήνBaptistēnBaptistG910
√ Βαπτιστής — a baptizer, as an epithet of Christ's forerunnerNounAccusative Masculine Singular
Baptistḗs: a baptizer The office by which the forerunner was known. Pulpit notes the awkwardness of the theory: John did no miracle (John 10:41) and lived a life in contrast to Christ's (Matthew 11:18, 19), yet Herod Antipas had floated it (Matthew 14:1, 2) and the rumour outlived him.
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἄλλοιalloiothers [say]G243
√ ἄλλος — "else," iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἨλίανĒlianElijahG2243
√ Ἡλίας — Helias (iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
Hēlías: Elijah Poole grounds this guess in prophecy rather than mere fancy: it “respected the prophecy, Malachi 4:5,” and he cites the tradition in John 1:21. Ellicott notes the irony that the crowd had first seen the Tishbite in John, who disclaimed the role, so the expectation moved on to the one who continued his work.
δὲdeand stillG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἕτεροιheteroiothersG2087
√ ἕτερος — (an-, the) other or differentAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
héteros: other, of a different kind A deliberate lexical change from ἄλλοι two words earlier. ⚙ Matthew is not padding: the men who name Jeremiah are marked as a differently minded party, and it is their answer that no other Gospel preserves.
ἸερεμίανIeremianJeremiahG2408
√ Ἱερεμίας — Hieremias (iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
Ieremías: Jeremiah Rare (three verses in all). Gill reports the rabbinic parallel drawn between Moses and Jeremiah on Deuteronomy 18:18, and says the people supposed either transmigration or resurrection. Ellicott adds the vision of 2 Maccabees 15:13-16 in which the prophet appears as guardian of the people. ⚙ A man of sorrows was being identified with the prophet of tears, which is nearer the mark than the guessers knew and still short of the truth.
ἢēorG2228
√ ἤ — disjunctive, orConjunction
ἕναhenaoneG1520
√ εἷς — oneAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
τῶνtōnof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
προφητῶνprophētōnprophetsG4396
√ προφήτης — a foreteller ("prophet")NounGenitive Masculine Plural
prophḗtēs: a foreteller, prophet Genitive plural after “one of.” Gill's summary is the point of the whole verse: every answer is respectful, every answer is wrong, and “they came short of the true knowledge of him.” Pulpit says the four opinions prove two facts at once, a high reputation and no Messiahship.
15

“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Hymeis Legei autois tina legete me einai

Word by word8 · parsed
δὲdeBut [what about]G1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὙμεῖςHymeisyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 2nd Person Plural
sý: thou, you The emphatic pronoun that turns the whole unit. Ellicott hears in it the tone of John 6:67, and JFB is blunt that the question is new: he “had never put this question before,” and the crisis he was entering made it fitting now. ⚙ Second-hand report is allowed to stand for one verse; then it is taken away.
ΛέγειLegei[Jesus] askedG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτοῖςautoisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
τίναtinaWhoG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Masculine Singular
λέγετεlegetedo you sayG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Plural
légō: to say, to lay forth Present indicative plural, matching λέγουσιν of the crowd in v. 13. The same verb is asked of both parties, so the contrast is not between hearsay and knowledge but between two confessions, one of which will be owned in heaven.
μεmeIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 1st Person Singular
egṓ: I, me Accusative subject of the infinitive. The dropping of “the Son of Man” here is not carelessness; Gill takes it as evidence that among the Twelve the humanity was not in question.
εἶναιeinaiamG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Infinitive Active
eimí: to be Present infinitive, as in v. 13: the predicate is identity, not activity. Pulpit calls the inquiry momentous because on the answer “hung the foundation of the Christian Church.”
16

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Simōn Petros Apokritheis eipen Sy ei ho Christos ho Huios tou tou zōntos Theou

Word by word15 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ΣίμωνSimōnSimonG4613
√ Σίμων — Simon (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
ΠέτροςPetrosPeterG4074
√ Πέτρος — a (piece of) rock (larger than G3037 (λίθος))NounNominative Masculine Singular
ἈποκριθεὶςApokritheisansweredG611
√ ἀποκρίνομαι — to conclude for oneself, iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
apokrínomai: to answer, to conclude for oneself Aorist passive participle in an idiom of solemn reply. Poole notes that Peter speaks first not from any priority of office but because he “was of a more quick and fervid temper than the rest,” and that the others “silently agreed to what he said.”
εἶπενeipenG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ΣὺSyYouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 2nd Person Singular
εἶeiareG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
eimí: to be, to exist Present indicative, 2nd singular. The copula that the unit has been reaching for since v. 13: the infinitives of report become a direct address.
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΧριστὸςChristosChristG5547
√ Χριστός — anointed, iNounNominative Masculine Singular
Christós: anointed With the article: the Anointed promised. Gill unpacks the title as including all three offices, prophet, priest and king, and Poole reads it as “the person of old promised to the world,” citing Daniel 9:25, 26. Ellicott records that Mark has only “Thou art the Christ” and Luke “The Christ of God,” so Matthew's is the fullest of the three reports.
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΥἱὸςHuiosSonG5207
√ υἱός — a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinshipNounNominative Masculine Singular
huiós: a son Answering “Son of Man” in v. 13; Cambridge sets the two side by side as an antithesis: the Son of Man is the Son of God. Barnes says the appellation “was understood as implying divinity,” pointing to John 10:29-36, and Gill denies sonship by creation, adoption or office, insisting on nature.
τοῦtouofG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
τοῦtoutheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ζῶντοςzōntoslivingG2198
√ ζάω — to live (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Singular
záō: to live A present participle, so the divine life is being predicated as ongoing act. ⚙ The covenant formula “the living God” is the standing Old Testament contrast to gods that cannot act (Joshua 3:10; Psalm 42:2; Hosea 1:10). Peter does not merely identify a man; he names whose Son that man is, and the God named is the one who acts.
ΘεοῦTheouGodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounGenitive Masculine Singular
theós: God Genitive after Υἱὸς. Pulpit calls this verse “a compendium of the Catholic faith,” yet adds honestly that Peter need not have understood how the attributes were united: “He was content to accept and acknowledge the truth, waiting patiently for further light.”
17

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de ho Iēsous Apokritheis eipen autō Makarios ei Simōn Bariōna hoti ouk apekalypsen soi sarx kai haima all’ mou ho Patēr ho en tois ouranois

Word by word25 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἈποκριθεὶςApokritheisrepliedG611
√ ἀποκρίνομαι — to conclude for oneself, iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
εἶπενeipen. . .G2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτῷautō. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ΜακάριοςMakariosBlessedG3107
√ μακάριος — supremely blestAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
makários: supremely blest The word of the Sermon on the Mount, now spoken to one man. Ellicott sets it against the rebukes Peter had already received, “without understanding,” “of little faith,” and says that here at last was found the unshaken faith that was the condition for the kingdom's appearing as a visible society.
εἶeiare youG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
ΣίμωνSimōnSimonG4613
√ Σίμων — Simon (iNounVocative Masculine Singular
ΒαριωνᾶBariōnason of JonahG920
√ Βαριωνᾶς — son of Jonas (or Jonah)NounVocative Masculine Singular
Bariōnâs: son of Jonas Vocative. JFB reads the patronymic as deliberate contrast: the name “denoting his humble fleshly extraction” is named just here to set off “the spiritual elevation to which divine illumination had raised him.” Pulpit presses the parallel further: Peter is son of Jonah as truly as Christ is Son of God. Gill, going the other way, says Peter is blessed by second birth and not by descent at all, since no dove-like spirit passes by natural generation.
ὅτιhotiFor [this]G3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
οὐκoukvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
ἀπεκάλυψένapekalypsenwas not revealedG601
√ ἀποκαλύπτω — to take off the cover, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
apokalýptō: to uncover, to unveil Aorist active, and the theological pivot of the unit. The subject of the negated verb is flesh and blood; the contrasting agent is the Father. ⚙ Matthew has used this verb before for what the Father hides from the wise and unveils to infants (Matthew 11:25-27), and Paul's account of his own calling uses the same pairing: God revealed his Son in him, and he did not confer with flesh and blood (Galatians 1:16), a text Ellicott, Barnes, Poole and Pulpit all cite here.
σοιsoito youG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
σὰρξsarx{by} fleshG4561
√ σάρξ — flesh (as stripped of the skin), iNounNominative Feminine Singular
sárx: flesh Nominative, subject of the verb with αἷμα. Not a slur on the body but the standing Jewish name for humanity in its whole natural capacity, including its best reasoning.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
αἷμαhaimabloodG129
√ αἷμα — blood, literally (of men or animals), figuratively (the juice of grapes) or specially (the atoning blood of Christ)NounNominative Neuter Singular
haîma: blood The second half of the idiom, and neuter where σάρξ is feminine, which is why the verb stays singular. Geneva's gloss keeps the doctrine of the fall in view: this manner of speech means man's natural procreation on earth, the man who was made “not being destroyed, but deformed through sin.”
ἀλλ’all’but [by]G235
√ ἀλλά — properly, other things, iConjunction
μουmouMyG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΠατήρPatērFatherG3962
√ πατήρ — a "father" (literally or figuratively, near or more remote)NounNominative Masculine Singular
patḗr: a father Nominative, the true agent of the revealing. JFB notes a pattern in the Gospels: Jesus says “your Father” or “My Father,” never “our Father,” and here it is “My Father,” answering Peter's “Son of the living God.” Pulpit draws the conclusion: Christ thereby accepts Peter's definition of him.
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τοῖςtoisG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Plural
οὐρανοῖςouranoisheavenG3772
√ οὐρανός — the skyNounDative Masculine Plural
ouranós: the sky, heaven Plural, in the Semitic idiom Matthew prefers. The word will recur four times in v. 19 as the sphere where earthly decisions are ratified, so the geography set here is not decoration.
18

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de kagō legō soi hoti sy ei Petros kai epi tautē tē petra oikodomēsō mou tēn ekklēsian kai pylai hadou ou katischysousin autēs

Word by word23 · parsed
δέdeAndG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
κἀγὼkagōIG2504
√ κἀγώ — so also the dative case , and accusative case and (or also, even, etcPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
kagṓ: and I, I also An emphatic answering pronoun. The structure of the verse is reciprocal: Peter said “You are,” and now Jesus says “you are.”
λέγωlegōtellG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
σοιsoiyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
ὅτιhotithatG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
σὺsyyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 2nd Person Singular
εἶeiareG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
ΠέτροςPetrosPeterG4074
√ Πέτρος — a (piece of) rock (larger than G3037 (λίθος))NounNominative Masculine Singular
Pétros: a piece of rock The name already given at the first call (John 1:42), now explained. Poole: “I did not give thee the name of Cephas, or Peter, for nothing.” Barnes reads the naming as fulfilled in Acts 2 and Acts 10, where Peter opens the gospel first to Jews and then to Gentiles.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐπὶepionG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
ταύτῃtautēthisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounDative Feminine Singular
τῇtēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
πέτρᾳpetrarockG4073
√ πέτρα — a (mass of) rock (literally or figuratively)NounDative Feminine Singular
pétra: a mass of rock Dative after ἐπί, with the demonstrative ταύτῃ: this rock. The three ancient readings are all represented in the brief. Ellicott decides for Christ himself, citing 1 Corinthians 10:4, 1 Corinthians 3:11 and the Old Testament poetry of the Rock (Deuteronomy 32:4, 18; 2 Samuel 22:3; Psalm 18:2). Henry and Poole decide for the confession as doctrine. Barnes decides for Peter the man, and says plainly that had Rome not abused the text no other reading would have been sought. Cambridge suggests the phrase is drawn from Isaiah 28:16. ⚙ The Greek gender shift (masculine Πέτρος, feminine πέτρᾳ) is real and is an argument; the probable Aramaic kepha in both slots is an argument the other way, as Ellicott, JFB, Geneva and Pulpit all concede. We state the tension rather than resolve it.
οἰκοδομήσωoikodomēsōI will buildG3618
√ οἰκοδομέω — to be a house-builder, iVerbFuture Indicative Active1st Person Singular
oikodoméō: to be a house-builder Future active, 1st singular, and the subject is Christ. Poole makes the grammar carry the doctrine: “Christ calls it his church, not Peter's, and saith, I will build, not, thou shalt build.” The verb is the same family as the wise man's house on the rock in Matthew 7:24.
μουmouMyG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ἐκκλησίανekklēsianchurchG1577
√ ἐκκλησία — a calling out, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
ekklēsía: a calling out, an assembly Only here and Matthew 18:17 in the Gospels. Cambridge draws out two implications: that Jesus was founding an organised society and not only preaching a doctrine, and that the Jewish assembly was its point of departure and in part its prototype. Gill insists the materials are persons chosen, hewn and made living stones, so that the building is a people, not a structure.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πύλαιpylai[the] gatesG4439
√ πύλη — a gate, iNounNominative Feminine Plural
pýlē: a gate Nominative plural, the subject of the attack. Gates are where a city's strength stands and where its elders judge; Benson notes both, that gates and walls were the strength of cities and that courts sat in them. Geneva reads the gates as the whole apparatus of a strong enemy kingdom, “whatever Satan can do by cunning or strength.”
ᾅδουhadouof HadesG86
√ ᾅδης — properly, unseen, iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
hádēs: the unseen Rare (ten verses). Strong's gives the proper sense as “unseen,” and the commentators split accordingly: JFB takes “the gates of Hades” as the gates of Death, so that the promise is “It shall never perish,” while Geneva and others take it of the assault of the powers of darkness. Cambridge equates it with Hebrew Sheol. ⚙ The Old Testament speaks in the same idiom: the gates of Sheol (Isaiah 38:10), the gates of death (Job 38:17; Psalm 9:13). The one who says this will himself go behind those gates and come back holding their keys (Revelation 1:18).
οὐouvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
κατισχύσουσινkatischysousinwill not prevail againstG2729
√ κατισχύω — to overpowerVerbFuture Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
katischýō: to overpower A rare compound of κατά and ἰσχύς, in three verses only. Cambridge sets the promise in its sharpest form: “The gates of Hades prevail over all things human, but the Church shall never die.” ⚙ Luke uses this same rare verb for the crowd whose shouts did prevail, against Jesus, at the trial (Luke 23:23): what overcame him will not overcome those he builds.
αὐτῆςautēsitG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Feminine 3rd Person Singular
19

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

dōsō soi tas kleidas tēs basileias tōn ouranōn kai ho ean dēsēs epi tēs gēs estai dedemenon en tois ouranois kai ho ean lysēs epi tēs gēs estai lelymenon en tois ouranois

Word by word32 · parsed
δώσωdōsōI will giveG1325
√ δίδωμι — to give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figurativelyVerbFuture Indicative Active1st Person Singular
dídōmi: to give Future indicative: a promise, not yet a bestowal. Pulpit is careful about this: “It seems to have been at this time only promised, not conferred upon Peter,” the actual gift coming after the resurrection (John 20:22).
σοιsoiyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
τὰςtastheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Plural
κλεῖδαςkleidaskeysG2807
√ κλείς — a key (as shutting a lock), literally or figurativelyNounAccusative Feminine Plural
kleís: a key Rare (six verses). Two symbol-fields converge here, as Ellicott sets out: the chamberlain's key of the royal house (Isaiah 22:22; Revelation 3:7) and the scribe's key of knowledge (Luke 11:52). Gill turns the same image against Roman claims: Christ “has the key of David, with which he opens, and no man shuts … and this he keeps in his own hand, and gives it to none,” and the keys of hell and death are his alone.
τῆςtēsof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
βασιλείαςbasileiaskingdomG932
√ βασιλεία — properly, royalty, iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
basileía: royalty, kingdom Genitive, with the heavens also genitive plural: the keys belong to a kingdom that is not the keyholder's. Barnes takes the kingdom of heaven here to mean the church on earth and reads the gift as the honour of first opening the door of faith to Jews (Acts 2:14-36) and Gentiles (Acts 10); Gill takes it of the gospel itself, shut up to the Jews by their own teachers and to the Gentiles by darkness, and defines the keys as “abilities to open and explain the Gospel truths, and a mission and commission from Christ to make use of them.” ⚙ Gill's language answers the woe of Matthew 23:13, where the same Matthean phrase appears and the scribes shut the kingdom in men's faces. What is handed to the confessor is the exact reverse of the key of knowledge taken away (Luke 11:52).
τῶνtōnofG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
οὐρανῶνouranōnheavenG3772
√ οὐρανός — the skyNounGenitive Masculine Plural
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὃhoWhateverG3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
ἐὰνeanvvvG1437
√ ἐάν — a conditional particleConjunction
δήσῃςdēsēsyou bindG1210
√ δέω — to bind (in various applications, literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active2nd Person Singular
déō: to bind Aorist subjunctive in a conditional relative clause. Henry and Barnes and Cambridge and Benson all converge on the rabbinic usage: to bind is to declare forbidden, to loose is to declare permitted, and Barnes and Cambridge cite the same formula, the school of Shammai binds it, the school of Hillel looses it.
ἐπὶepionG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
γῆςgēsearthG1093
√ γῆ — soilNounGenitive Feminine Singular
ἔσταιestaiwill beG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
δεδεμένονdedemenonboundG1210
√ δέω — to bind (in various applications, literally or figuratively)VerbPerfect Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Neuter Singular
déō: to bind (perfect participle) The perfect participle inside a future periphrasis. ⚙ Poole is the most honest of the voices here: whatever the church's power is, “Christ doth not here bind himself to confirm the erroneous actions of men,” and Henry says flatly that pretensions of any man to absolve or retain sins are blasphemous and absurd.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τοῖςtoisG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Plural
οὐρανοῖςouranoisheavenG3772
√ οὐρανός — the skyNounDative Masculine Plural
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὃhowhateverG3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
ἐὰνean. . .G1437
√ ἐάν — a conditional particleConjunction
λύσῃςlysēsyou looseG3089
√ λύω — to "loosen" (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active2nd Person Singular
lýō: to loosen The paired verb. Ellicott gives the historical illustration from Peter's own later career: when he resisted the attempt to put a yoke on the disciples' neck (Acts 15:10) “he was loosing what was also loosed in heaven.”
ἐπὶepionG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
γῆςgēsearthG1093
√ γῆ — soilNounGenitive Feminine Singular
ἔσταιestaiwill beG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
λελυμένονlelymenonloosedG3089
√ λύω — to "loosen" (literally or figuratively)VerbPerfect Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Neuter Singular
lýō: to loosen (perfect participle) Matching δεδεμένον. The two perfect participles frame the promise symmetrically, and Matthew 18:18 will repeat the whole formula to the assembled disciples, which is why JFB calls the Roman claim of supreme authority for Peter “baseless and impudent” and Gill, Poole, Barnes, Cambridge and Pulpit all note the extension.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τοῖςtoisG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Plural
οὐρανοῖςouranoisheavenG3772
√ οὐρανός — the skyNounDative Masculine Plural
20

Then He admonished the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Tote diesteilato tois mathētais hina eipōsin mēdeni hoti autos estin ho Christos

Word by word12 · parsed
ΤότεToteThenG5119
√ τότε — the when, iAdverb
διεστείλατοdiesteilatoHe admonishedG1291
√ διαστέλλομαι — to set (oneself) apart (figuratively, distinguish), iVerbAorist Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
diastéllomai: to set apart, to charge strictly A rare verb (seven verses). ⚙ Mark uses this same verb for the silence commanded after Jairus's daughter is raised (Mark 5:43), after the deaf man is healed (Mark 7:36), and coming down from the transfiguration (Mark 9:9). The lexical thread is the messianic secret itself, and this is the point where it passes from miracles to the title.
τοῖςtoistheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Plural
μαθηταῖςmathētaisdisciplesG3101
√ μαθητής — a learner, iNounDative Masculine Plural
ἵναhinaG2443
√ ἵνα — compare G3588 (ὁ))Conjunction
εἴπωσινeipōsinnot to tell anyoneG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Plural
épō: to speak, to say Aorist subjunctive after ἵνα, with μηδενί: the content of the charge, and the same verb Matthew used in v. 14 for what the crowd said. Ellicott names the motive: crowds could have been gathered by such a watchword, but “it was not such homage, however, that He sought.” ⚙ The unit began by asking what men say and ends by forbidding the disciples to say it, which is not a retraction of v. 16 but a refusal to let the true title circulate as one more opinion in the list of v. 14. Pulpit adds the pastoral reason: they were “not sufficiently familiar with the true notion of the Messiah, especially a suffering Messiah, to be competent to preach him to others,” as Peter's remonstrance two verses later proves.
μηδενὶmēdeni. . .G3367
√ μηδείς — not even one (man, woman, thing)AdjectiveDative Masculine Singular
ὅτιhotithatG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
αὐτόςautosHeG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἐστινestinwasG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ΧριστόςChristosChristG5547
√ Χριστός — anointed, iNounNominative Masculine Singular
Christós: anointed The single word placed under embargo, and the same word Peter had just confessed in v. 16. Benson and Gill give converging political reasons (Roman suspicion of a rival king, John 6:15) and one theological reason that matters more: the proof was not yet given. Benson: the disciples were not to announce it “till the grand proof of it was given, namely, his resurrection.” Poole lists five possible reasons and declines to choose, adding “We are not able to give an account of all our Saviour's particular actions.”

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The question asked at the edge of the map — 13-14

Matthew sets the scene with geographical precision and no comment: τὰ μέρη Καισαρείας τῆς Φιλίππου, the districts of Caesarea Philippi. Ellicott traces the whole itinerary from Tyre and Sidon around the lake to this point and reads it as “an obvious withdrawal from the populous cities” that had rejected him, adding that Jesus came here “not as a Preacher of the kingdom, but simply for retirement and perhaps for safety.” Barnes, JFB, Gill, Benson, Poole, Geneva, Cambridge and Pulpit all supply the same civic history: Paneas renamed by Philip the tetrarch for Tiberius, the grotto of Pan at the Jordan's source, Herod's temple to Augustus. Cambridge is the one who draws the theological point out of the topography: the cliffs near this spot, “where the Messiah was first acknowledged, bear marks of the worship of Baal and of Pan.” Pulpit adds a political reason for the choice of ground: he meant to announce his claim where it would not embroil him with the Judaean authorities.

The question itself is doubly loaded in the Greek. The imperfect ἠρώτα makes it a sustained probing, and the article before ἄνθρωποι sets “men, as such” against what Ellicott calls “God's revelation.” Gill and Poole both refuse to let the question imply ignorance: Poole says it was asked “to draw out Peter's following confession.” The answers that come back are a catalogue of respectful error. Poole grounds the Elijah guess in Malachi 4:5 and the tradition of John 1:21; Cambridge explains Jeremiah as standing first among the Prophets in the Jewish canon; Ellicott and Pulpit both retail the legend from 2 Maccabees that Jeremiah had hidden the ark and would return to reveal it. Gill's verdict on the whole list is the fairest: these were not the sworn enemies but the crowd who thought well of him, and still “they came short of the true knowledge of him.” Matthew records a lexical detail no translation shows: the third group are ἕτεροι, others of a different kind, and theirs is the answer no other Gospel preserves.

ii. The pronoun that ends the survey — 15-17

One emphatic pronoun turns the passage: Ὑμεῖς δέ. Ellicott notes it is “doubly emphasised in the Greek” and hears the tone of John 6:67; JFB observes that Jesus “had never put this question before.” Gill notices that the title “Son of Man” is dropped and only με remains, and reads the omission generously: among the Twelve the humanity was not in doubt. Gill also draws the pastoral line the verse invites, that it was not enough to believe, they must confess.

Peter's answer is two articled titles in apposition, ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ζῶντος Θεοῦ. JFB hears in the form not a prosaic acknowledgment but “the language of adoration.” Barnes supplies the covenant background of the participle: “living” was the standing name of the true God against idols, and he cites Joshua 3:10, 1 Samuel 17:26, 36 and Jeremiah 10:9-10; Poole cites the same contrast with gods that “had eyes and saw not.” Cambridge states the whole movement in a sentence: the confession sees not only the promised Messiah but “the divine nature.” Ellicott is careful about which article carries the weight: they recognised one who was not “a son” only but “the Son of the living God.”

The answering beatitude turns on one active verb. Ellicott corrects the English directly: “Better, It was not flesh and blood that revealed.” ἀπεκάλυψέν is active, its subject is flesh and blood, and its contrasting agent is “my Father.” Gill documents from rabbinic usage that “flesh and blood” was the ordinary Jewish way of naming men in distinction from God; Poole says it means “man, and the reason and wisdom of man”; Geneva's gloss keeps the fall in view, calling it man's natural procreation, the man who was made “not being destroyed, but deformed through sin.” The Reformed reading follows at once: Geneva's heading is “Faith is of grace, not of nature,” and Poole builds the doctrine out of the verb, that faith “must be an assent to a proposition upon the authority of God revealing it.” JFB and Gill both point out that the fleshly patronymic Bar-Jonah is named at exactly the moment the revelation is said not to have come by flesh at all. ⚙ The unit's architecture is now visible: what men say, then what the Father unveils, and only the second one gets a beatitude.

iii. Petros, petra, and the contested clause — 18

Here the brief itself is divided, and it would be dishonest to hide it. The wordplay is real: Πέτρος is a piece of rock, πέτρα the rock mass. Henry states the fact plainly, that the word translated rock “is not the same word as Peter, but is of a similar meaning.” JFB notes that the pun is perfect only in a language with one word for both and points to French Pierre, pierre; Ellicott, JFB, Geneva and Pulpit all concede that in the Aramaic Jesus probably spoke there would have been no difference at all.

On the referent of “this rock,” four positions appear in this brief. Ellicott decides for Christ himself, marshalling 1 Corinthians 10:4, 1 Corinthians 3:11 and the Old Testament poetry that gives the name Rock to God and not to a man (Deuteronomy 32:4, 18; 2 Samuel 22:3; Psalm 18:2). Henry and Poole decide for the confession as doctrine, Henry calling it “Peter's confession is this rock as to doctrine” and Poole preferring “this solid and unmovable foundation of truth, which thou hast publicly made.” Barnes decides for Peter the man, and says with some asperity that the reading is obvious and that had Rome not abused the text “no other interpretation would have been sought for,” while himself denying supremacy and successors on the evidence of Acts 15 and Galatians 2:11. Cambridge suggests the image is drawn from Isaiah 28:16 and insists on the crucial qualification, that the words are spoken “to Peter with the great confession on his lips.” ⚙ We record the division and do not adjudicate it. What the grammar does settle is smaller and firmer: the builder is Christ, the building is his, and the tense is future. Poole puts the grammar to work: “Christ calls it his church, not Peter's, and saith, I will build, not, thou shalt build.”

The last clause is a promise about force. πύλαι ᾅδου are the gates of the unseen; Benson notes that gates were both a city's strength and its court of judgment, and Geneva reads them as an enemy kingdom's fortifications, “whatever Satan can do by cunning or strength,” while JFB prefers the gates of Death and paraphrases the promise “It shall never perish.” Cambridge equates Hades with Sheol and gives the promise its sharpest form: “The gates of Hades prevail over all things human, but the Church shall never die.” The verb κατισχύσουσιν occurs in only three verses in the New Testament, and Luke uses it of a crowd whose shouting did prevail (Luke 23:23).

iv. Keys, things bound, and a sealed mouth — 19-20

Two symbol-fields meet in κλεῖδας. Benson, Barnes, Poole and Geneva take the steward's key, all four citing Isaiah 22:22, where the key of the house of David is laid on a servant's shoulder. Ellicott adds the second field, the scribe's key of knowledge handed over at admission to office (Luke 11:52; Matthew 13:52), and draws the conclusion that the gift made Peter “not a priest … but a teacher and interpreter.” Cambridge says the same: Peter “was to be a Scribe in the kingdom of heaven.” Gill turns the image into a polemic that is also a christology: the key of David stays in Christ's own hand, and “Peter is not the door-keeper of heaven to let in, nor keep out, whom he pleases.”

On binding and loosing the voices are unusually unanimous about the Jewish idiom. Henry: the phrase “signified to forbid and to allow, or to teach what is lawful or unlawful.” Barnes and Cambridge both quote the same formula, the school of Shammai binds it and the school of Hillel looses it. Barnes insists on the neuter relative, “whatsoever, not whosoever”; Cambridge states it as a rule, “The power is over things, not persons.” Ellicott illustrates it from Peter's own later career at Acts 15:10. Every voice in the brief that touches the Roman claim also notes that the identical formula is given to all the disciples at Matthew 18:18: JFB calls the claim of supreme authority “baseless and impudent,” Poole, Gill, Barnes, Cambridge and Pulpit all record the extension, and Pulpit collects patristic support from Tertullian, Cyprian and Augustine that the keys were given to the unity of the church rather than to one man. Henry's limit is the plainest: “None can forgive sins but God only.” Poole's is the most candid: Christ does not here bind himself “to confirm the erroneous actions of men.”

Then the mouth is shut. διεστείλατο is a rare verb of strict, distinct charge; Benson notes Luke's wording is stronger still and Pulpit that Mark's implies rebuke on infringement. The reasons offered are several and mostly political: Gill fears Roman jealousy of a rival king, Benson quotes Locke at length to the same effect, Cambridge fears Galilean enthusiasm, Ellicott fears a homage with no root. Poole lists five possibilities and refuses to choose, saying “We are not able to give an account of all our Saviour's particular actions.” Benson names the reason that is not political at all: the proof was not yet given, and that proof was the resurrection.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ This is the tool's own fallible reading, offered to be tested by Scripture and not to be received on its authority. Read the unit as one argument about the two sources of knowledge, and its shape becomes plain. Verse 13 canvasses the men (with the article, as Ellicott insists); verse 14 gives their best guesses, four of them, each honourable, each drawn from Scripture or tradition, each wrong. Then the pronoun turns (v. 15), the confession comes (v. 16), and verse 17 states the whole case negatively before it states it positively: flesh and blood did not unveil this. Every guess in verse 14 was flesh and blood at its most devout. Reverent inference from the prophets got as far as Elijah and Jeremiah and stopped. What flesh and blood cannot reach is not a fact about history but a person's identity, and that the Father gives.

Two consequences follow, and both are guarded in the text itself. First, the church rests on nothing generated from below. Whether the rock is Christ (Ellicott), the confession (Henry, Poole), or Peter as the confessor (Barnes, with Cambridge's qualification that it is Peter with the confession on his lips), no reading available in this brief makes the foundation a human achievement, because verse 17 has already excluded that. The builder is Christ, the building is his, the verb is future. Second, the authority given in verse 19 is derivative and bounded. It is stewardship, keys belonging to a kingdom that is not the steward's; the objects are neuter, things and not persons; and Matthew 18:18 repeats the whole formula to the company. ⚙ The ordering of the clauses is, in our reading, the strongest internal check on every later claim made from this passage: authority is granted three verses after it has been said that the confessor contributed nothing to the content of his own confession.

And then the silence of verse 20, which is the hardest part to hold. The confession is right, is blessed, is called revelation, and is immediately embargoed. Benson gives the reason we find most persuasive because it is theological rather than tactical: the grand proof had not yet been given. A Christ confessed before the cross could still be the crowd's king (John 6:15), which is why the next verse of Matthew begins to speak of suffering. ⚙ The unit therefore ends unfinished on purpose. The title is true, the revelation is genuine, and the disciples are told to wait until the resurrection makes the confession sayable without turning it into something else.

Flesh and blood reached Elijah and Jeremiah, and stopped; the Father gave the one Name that no reverence could infer.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The keys and the gates change hands verbal / quotation: confirmed

Two rare words dominate v. 18 and v. 19: ᾅδης (G86, ten verses) and κλείς (G2807, six verses). Both reappear together in one sentence of the Apocalypse, where the risen Christ says he holds the keys of death and of Hades, and in Revelation 3:7 the key of David opens and shuts with no one to reverse it. The Verifier confirms the shared lexemes. Gill reaches for exactly this text when resisting Roman claims on v. 19: the key of David is in Christ's hand “and this he keeps in his own hand, and gives it to none”; Cambridge cites Revelation 1:18 in the same breath as the gates of Hades. ⚙ The two images in Matthew 16 are one image seen from opposite sides: the gates that cannot overpower the assembly are the gates whose keys its builder will be carrying.

Revelation 1:18 · Revelation 3:7

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G86 ᾅδης (rare, in 10 vv) and G2807 κλείς (rare, in 6 vv), plus G2198 ζάω (in 124 vv) and G1577 ἐκκλησία (in 111 vv); Greek to Greek, rare lexemes in both members, so a genuine verbal link and not a quotation formula

The rare verb that did prevail, once verbal / quotation: confirmed

κατισχύω (G2729, “to overpower”) occurs in only three verses in the New Testament, and Matthew 16:18 is one of them. Luke uses it of the crowd at the trial, whose voices prevailed and got Jesus condemned, and again in the warning to pray for strength to prevail and stand before the Son of Man. The Verifier records the shared lexeme in both. ⚙ The verb's small career is its own commentary: the force that overcame him at Pilate's judgment seat is the force that is promised never to overcome what he builds, and the middle term between the two is the resurrection which v. 20 is waiting for. Cambridge states the promise in the same key: the gates of Hades prevail over all things human, but the church shall never die.

Luke 23:23 · Luke 21:36

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G2729 κατισχύω (rare, in 3 vv, of which Matthew 16:18 is one); Luke 21:36 also shares G5207 υἱός (in 344 vv). All members are Greek New Testament, and the rarity of the lexeme carries the link; no quotation is claimed

Jeremiah named three times, all in Matthew verbal / quotation: confirmed

Ἱερεμίας (G2408) appears in just three verses of the New Testament, and Matthew has all three: here in the crowd's guess, and twice in his own formula citations (Matthew 2:17, Matthew 27:9). The Verifier confirms the shared lexeme with both, along with G4396 προφήτης. Cambridge's note on this very verse sends the reader to Matthew 27:9, and Ellicott mentions the tradition that Jeremiah's spirit had passed into Zechariah in the same connection. ⚙ Matthew alone records that some identified Jesus with Jeremiah, and Matthew alone quotes Jeremiah by name, twice, at the slaughter of the infants and at the price of blood. A Gospel that hears the prophet of lamentation at the beginning and end of the passion also preserves the guess that this was the prophet of lamentation come back.

Matthew 2:17 · Matthew 27:9

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G2408 Ἱερεμίας (rare, in 3 vv, all in Matthew), with G4396 προφήτης (in 138 vv) and, at Matthew 27:9, G5207 υἱός (in 344 vv); all members Greek within one Gospel

The verb of the imposed silence verbal / quotation: confirmed

The charge of v. 20 uses διαστέλλομαι (G1291, “to set apart,” hence to order strictly), a verb of only seven verses. The Verifier finds it shared with three Markan silences: after Jairus's daughter is raised, after the deaf man is healed, and coming down from the mountain of transfiguration, where the embargo is explicitly timed “until the Son of Man should have risen.” ⚙ That last parallel is what makes the thread more than a word count: the same rare verb governs a silence that is elsewhere dated by the resurrection, which is precisely the reason Benson gives here, that the disciples were not to announce it until the grand proof was given. Barnes and Pulpit both note that the synoptic parallels to our verse use a stronger word still.

Mark 9:9 · Mark 7:36 · Mark 5:43

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G1291 διαστέλλομαι (rare, in 7 vv); Mark 5:43 also shares G1325 δίδωμι (in 378 vv) and G3367 μηδείς (in 87 vv), Mark 7:36 shares G3367, Mark 9:9 shares G5207 υἱός (in 344 vv). Greek to Greek, no quotation claimed

Son of Man: the title the question presupposes structural / thematic: confirmed

Both Ellicott and Cambridge read v. 13 against Daniel's night vision, where one like a son of man comes with the clouds to the Ancient of Days and receives dominion that shall not pass away. Cambridge frames the question as asking whether the people take the title “in the sense which Daniel intended or in a lower sense,” and Ellicott says that interpreted with Daniel 7:13 in view the question already assumes the claim to be the Christ. Ezekiel's repeated address to the prophet as son of man supplies the other, humbler usage, and Gill takes the title that way here, of real humanity and low estate. ⚙ The link cannot be verified by shared Strong's numbers: Matthew is Greek and Daniel and Ezekiel are Hebrew and Aramaic, so no lexeme can be computed across the pair. The basis is the shared figure and title, which is why this is tiered structural and not verbal.

Daniel 7:13 · Ezekiel 2:1

basis: Cross-Testament, so no shared Strong's lexeme is computable (Greek to Hebrew/Aramaic). The recorded basis is the shared title and figure, named in this brief by Ellicott (on v. 13 and v. 16, citing Daniel 7:13) and Cambridge (on v. 13). No quotation formula appears in the BSB text

Elijah must come first structural / thematic: confirmed

The second guess in v. 14 is not folklore but exegesis. Poole grounds it directly: the Elijah answer “respected the prophecy, Malachi 4:5,” and he adds the tradition attested at John 1:21 that Elijah should come before the Messiah. Ellicott notes the awkward history of the expectation, that the crowd had first seen the Tishbite in John, who denied it, so the expectation transferred to the one continuing his work; Pulpit and Gill say the same, Gill adding that Malachi's Elijah was to come in power and spirit before the great day. ⚙ The crowd had the right prophecy and the wrong slot: they cast Jesus in the forerunner's role. The thread is structural because Matthew makes no citation here; the connection is the shared expectation, and the Greek to Hebrew pair excludes any computed lexeme.

Malachi 4:5 · Matthew 11:14

basis: Cross-Testament for Malachi, so no shared Strong's lexeme is computable; the basis is the shared expectation, cited on this verse by Poole, Ellicott, Pulpit and Gill. Matthew 11:14 is included because Gill's own note here refers the reader to it. Tiered structural, not verbal, because the refs mix Old and New Testament and the BSB text carries no citation formula

The tried stone and the living God: whose titles these are structural / thematic: confirmed

Two Old Testament title-fields stand behind vv. 16 and 18, and the voices in this brief supply both. For the rock, Cambridge says the expression is probably drawn from Isaiah 28:16, the precious cornerstone laid in Zion; Ellicott gathers the poetry that gives the name Rock to God and not to a man (Deuteronomy 32:4, 18; 2 Samuel 22:3; Psalm 18:2) and argues from it that the foundation here is Christ; Poole and Barnes cite Isaiah 28:16 alongside 1 Corinthians 3:11 and 1 Peter 2:6. For “the Son of the living God,” Barnes lists the covenant occurrences (Joshua 3:10; 1 Samuel 17:26, 36; Jeremiah 10:9-10) and Poole the contrast with idols that have eyes and see not. ⚙ Both titles are borrowed, deliberately, from texts about God's own sufficiency, and Peter puts them on the man beside him. Neither is a quotation, and neither can be tested by shared lexemes across the Testaments.

Isaiah 28:16 · Joshua 3:10 · Psalm 118:22

basis: Cross-Testament, so no shared Strong's lexeme is computable (Greek to Hebrew). Basis: shared title and motif, cited on these verses by Cambridge (Isaiah 28:16), Ellicott (Deuteronomy 32:4, 18; Psalm 18:2), Barnes (Joshua 3:10; 1 Samuel 17:26) and Poole. Psalm 118:22 is included as the stone-rejected motif standing behind the same building image; it is the weakest member of the three and is claimed only thematically

The key laid on a servant's shoulder structural / thematic: confirmed

Four voices in this brief send the reader to the same place for v. 19. Benson: “See note on Isaiah 22:22.” Geneva calls the keys “a metaphor taken from stewards who carry the keys: and here is set forth the power of the ministers of the word, as Isa 22:22 says.” Poole quotes it, that the key of the house of David shall be laid on his shoulder, and observes that the text is applied to Christ at Revelation 3:7. Barnes and Pulpit cite it too, Pulpit remarking that there “the figure is similar.” Ellicott builds his whole reading on it, with Eliakim son of Hilkiah as the pattern of the chief officer over the household. ⚙ The steward's key is the one image every commentator here agrees on, and the point of the Isaiah text is that the office is delegated and revocable. The link is cross-Testament, so it cannot be tiered verbal and no shared lexeme exists to compute.

Isaiah 22:22

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew), so no shared Strong's lexeme is computable and the tier cannot be verbal. Basis: the shared steward-and-key image, cited on this verse by Benson, Geneva, Poole, Barnes, Pulpit and Ellicott. The BSB text of Matthew 16:19 contains no citation formula

The parallel reports, and what Matthew alone adds flagged: verify source

The Verifier links v. 14 to Mark 8:28 and Luke 9:19 through G910 Βαπτιστής and G2491 Ἰωάννης, the synoptic parallels to this very scene. The differences are recorded in the brief itself rather than inferred: Cambridge notes that Mark omits “the Son of the living God” and the whole blessing on Peter, and that Luke has “the Christ of God” and also omits the blessing; Ellicott says the variations bear on the question of literal inspiration while not affecting the meaning; Pulpit observes that Mark and Luke give the confession but not the promise, which in its view shows that “the chief aim of the passage was not Peter, but Christ.” Gill and Cambridge both note that the Jeremiah answer is in Matthew only. ⚙ We flag rather than settle the text-critical questions this raises: the bracketed με of v. 13 is called “probably genuine” by Pulpit while JFB reports the evidence as “pretty nearly balanced,” and the word Ἰησοῦς in v. 20 is absent from many copies, Benson calling its insertion superfluous. Our synthesis follows the interlinear as given in the brief.

Mark 8:28 · Luke 9:19

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G910 Βαπτιστής (in 12 vv), G2491 Ἰωάννης (in 132 vv), G243 ἄλλος (in 136 vv). The verbal link between the parallels is secure; the flag is on the content, because the brief's own voices disagree about the text at Matthew 16:13 (με present or omitted) and 16:20 (Ἰησοῦς present or omitted), and a reader should check a critical apparatus rather than rely on this note

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The Son of Man who is the Son of the living God ancient/widely-held

⚙ The unit is built as a single christological equation, and Cambridge states it in one line on v. 13: the antithesis in Peter's answer is that the Son of man is the Son of God. Jesus asks about the title he uses of himself, the title of Daniel's vision; the answer comes back with the covenant name of Israel's God attached to it. Ellicott insists on the force of the second article, that they recognised not “a son” only but “the Son of the living God,” and that they identified him with the Son of Man of Daniel's vision. Barnes gives the title's Old Testament weight, “living” being the standing name of the true God over against idols that are lifeless blocks and stones, and notes that this appellation “was understood as implying divinity.” Poole says Peter means more than the sonship by grace that the prophets had. Gill refuses sonship by creation, adoption or office and insists on nature. Pulpit calls the confession a compendium of the catholic faith, and yet grants, honestly, that Peter need not have understood how the attributes cohered. This is the apostolic reading, recorded here by Ellicott, Barnes, JFB, Poole, Gill, Cambridge, Henry and Pulpit alike.

Daniel 7:13 · Matthew 16:16 · John 6:69

The Rock that is not laid by men ancient/widely-held

⚙ Whatever “this rock” refers to, the foundation of the church in this passage is not a human contribution, because v. 17 has already ruled that out. Ellicott argues the point from the Old Testament directly: the poetry of Israel associates the Rock with the greatness and steadfastness of God “not with that of a man,” citing Deuteronomy 32:4, 18; 2 Samuel 22:3; Psalm 18:2; Isaiah 17:10; Habakkuk 1:12, and he adds that Christ and not Peter is the Rock of 1 Corinthians 10:4 and the Foundation of 1 Corinthians 3:11. Henry says it without qualification: “Without doubt Christ himself is the Rock, the tried foundation of the church; and woe to him that attempts to lay any other.” Poole cites Isaiah 28:16 and 1 Peter 2:6 and grants that Christ is the foundation in one sense and the apostles in another, the second being their doctrine and not their persons. Cambridge names the same cornerstone text and adds that the Godhead of Christ is the keystone. Barnes, who alone here reads the rock as Peter the man, still calls Christ a rock from Isaiah 28:16 and 1 Peter 2:8 and denies that the text grants Peter successors. ⚙ The grammar seals what the voices argue: the builder is Christ, the assembly is his, and the promise of indestructibility is made by the one who will hold the keys of Hades.

1 Corinthians 3:11 · 1 Corinthians 10:4 · Isaiah 28:16 · 1 Peter 2:6

The silence that waits for the empty tomb ancient/widely-held

⚙ Verse 20 is the most christological verse in the unit precisely because it withholds. The confession has just been called revelation from the Father, and it is immediately embargoed with a rare verb of strict charge, the same verb Mark uses of a silence explicitly timed until the Son of Man should have risen. Benson gives the reason that is not merely political: this truth, however important, was not to be announced “till the grand proof of it was given, namely, his resurrection.” Gill, Cambridge and Ellicott add the political and pastoral reasons, and Poole declines to choose among five. Pulpit notes that until they received the Spirit they could not profitably preach “especially a suffering Messiah,” which is exactly what the next verse of Matthew introduces. ⚙ So the title Christ is true, blessed, and unsayable for the moment, because a Messiah confessed before the cross would be conscripted as a king (John 6:15). The passage leaves its own confession sealed until the one confessed can be preached crucified and raised. That reading of the silence as a deliberate withholding until the resurrection is held by Benson, Gill, Barnes, JFB and Pulpit in this brief; the further suggestion that it is therefore the structural hinge of Matthew's Gospel is our own and is offered as such.

Mark 9:9 · Matthew 16:21 · John 6:15

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text: BSB (CC0) with the Berean interlinear and Strong's numbers as supplied in the brief; parses, glosses and lexeme frequencies are the Verifier's, not ours. Two places in this unit have live text-critical questions, and the brief's own voices disagree about both. At v. 13 the pronoun με is bracketed: Pulpit judges it “probably genuine and emphatic,” JFB reports the manuscript evidence as “pretty nearly balanced,” and Ellicott notes that the article before ἄνθρωποι carries the emphasis either way. At v. 20 the word Ἰησοῦς is absent from many copies; Benson calls its insertion “superfluous, and apparently improper,” Barnes says it “is wanting in many manuscripts, and should probably be omitted,” and Gill reports its absence from the Syriac, Arabic and Persic versions. Our literal renderings follow the interlinear as given.

What is contested, not settled: the referent of “this rock” in v. 18. Four positions appear in this brief (Christ himself, the confession as doctrine, Peter as confessor, Peter the man), and we have recorded the division without adjudicating it. Several voices also read the passage inside a live polemic: Barnes, JFB, Poole, Cambridge, Geneva, Gill and Pulpit all write explicitly against Roman claims, and their exegetical judgments should be weighed with that in view; Pulpit's confidence that the creeds add nothing to Peter's words is likewise a theological verdict, not a datum. We have flagged both in editorial notes.

What we could not verify: the Aramaic behind Πέτρος and πέτρα. Ellicott, JFB, Geneva, Cambridge and Pulpit all assume Jesus spoke Aramaic and that kepha stood in both slots, which would erase the Greek gender distinction. The brief supplies no Aramaic text, so that reconstruction is theirs and we have not built on it. Likewise Ellicott's claim that the Pharisees taught a doctrine of transmigration is his historical reconstruction; Poole reports the same tradition more cautiously. The legends about Jeremiah come from 2 Maccabees and 2 Esdras, which are not Scripture and are cited here only as evidence of what first-century expectation looked like.

Cross-reference tiers: every Old Testament contact in this unit (Daniel 7, Malachi 4:5, Isaiah 28:16, Isaiah 22:22, Joshua 3:10, Psalm 118:22, the gates of Sheol) is tiered structural or thematic, never verbal, for two reasons: the BSB text of vv. 13-20 contains no formula quotation, and Greek to Hebrew pairs share no computable Strong's lexeme. The four verbal threads are Greek to Greek and rest on rare lexemes the Verifier computed (G86, G2807, G2729, G2408, G1291). The synoptic-parallel thread is flagged because its usefulness depends on the text-critical questions above.

Henry's commentary in this brief is a single entry covering 16:13-20, so the same paragraph stands behind several verses; we have drawn on it once, at v. 19, and noted the fact. Several long entries (Ellicott and Pulpit on v. 18, Gill on vv. 18-19, Poole on v. 19) are capped in the brief, and our notes rest only on the portions supplied.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)