“you will be called Cephas.” Jesus changed Peter’s name from Simon to Cephas (“Peter” in Greek), which means “rock.” In the biblical culture, when a king or someone who had authority changed someone’s name, it meant that he had some kind of control over the person’s life or was in a special relationship with the person. When given by God or godly people, the new name also generally reflected some important aspect of the person’s personality and ministry, and/or pointed to something important about the person’s future. For example, “Abraham” means “Father of a multitude,” and that is indeed what Abraham became.
In the Old Testament, God, as well as other rulers, changed people’s names. For example, God changed Abram to Abraham (Gen. 17:5); Sarai to Sarah (Gen. 17:15); Jacob to Israel (Gen. 32:28), and Solomon to Jedediah (2 Sam. 12:25). Sometimes God gave a person a different name to indicate the person was evil or against Him. For example, God changed Pashhur, an Egyptian name that means “Son of Horus,” to Magor-missabib, “Terror on every side” (Jer. 20:3).
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In Genesis, a pharaoh ruled over Joseph, and changed his name to Zaphenath-Paneh (Gen. 41:45). Pharaoh Neco ruled over Eliakim, king of Judah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:34). Nebuchadnezzar changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17), and the chief of eunuchs for Nebuchadnezzar changed “Daniel” to “Belteshazzar,” “Hananiah” to “Shadrach,” “Mishael” to “Meshach,” and “Azariah” to “Abednego.” He may have done that so that after their training they would fit better into Babylonian society (Dan. 1:7). The apostles called Joseph, who apparently was very pastoral and encouraging, “Barnabas” (Son of Encouragement). Sometimes names were changed for other reasons. Gideon’s name was changed to “Jerubaal” when Gideon tore down the altar of Baal (Judg. 6:32).
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Jesus changed Peter’s name from “Simon” or Simeon (Acts 15:14; 2 Peter 1:1) to “Cephas” (an Aramaic name that means “rock”). Simon is the Greek form of the Hebrew shimon, a diminutive of shimeel, “The Lord heard”). The fact that Peter immediately accepted the new name Jesus gave him shows us that Peter was a deeply spiritual man, and immediately willing to become a disciple of Jesus.
[For more information on Peter’s call to be Jesus’ disciple, see commentary on Matthew 4:20.]
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