Kepa

Kepa is the original Aramaic form of the name that appears in the Greek New Testament as "Kefas" and in the English Bible as "Cephas," or Peter. In Aramaic, ‘Kepa’ refers to a rock. 
In the Bible Jesus Christ used the word to nickname one of his disciples such as in John 1, 42, "and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas'".
Since ‘Cephas’ in Aramaic is translated to ‘rock’ and ‘Peter’ in English, this translation can be applied when reading the Bible verses Matthew 16: 13 - 19. Here it was Simon Barjona who was able to reveal who Jesus was, and he was commended and aliased 'Peter' which means ‘rock’ when translated from the Aramaic word 'Kepa’. Thus, Jesus Christ meant 'rock', as in a big stone for the foundation of a house, when he renamed Simon to Peter. If you were to look at Matthew 16, 17 - 18 and replace ‘Peter’ with ‘rock’, you would then read "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah (Son of Jonah), for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven, And I also say to you that you are Peter/Kepa/rock and on this Kepa/rock I will build my Church..."
Category:New Testament
Category:Aramaic