A (piece of) rock (larger than ); as a name, Petrus, an apostle
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G4074 names Peter, the disciple also called Simon, whom Jesus renames and then patiently forms through confession, resistance, failure, witness, and restoration. John does not let Peter become a flat symbol of boldness or failure.
Reader summary
Full entry for Πέτρος (G4074) · Open the biblical lexicon
G4074 names Peter, the disciple also called Simon, whom Jesus renames and then patiently forms through confession, resistance, failure, witness, and restoration. John does not let Peter become a flat symbol of boldness or failure.
The BSB source-word alignment has 155 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Peter (132), to Peter (6), Peter’s (5), Peter) (2), - (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 4:18. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (56), John (34), Matthew (23), Luke (19).
This entry includes 3 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
G4074 names Peter, the disciple also called Simon, whom Jesus renames and then patiently forms through confession, resistance, failure, witness, and restoration. John does not let Peter become a flat symbol of boldness or failure. Andrew brings him to Jesus, Peter confesses that Jesus has the words of eternal life, resists the footwashing, reaches for a sword, denies association with Jesus, runs to the empty tomb, and is questioned beside the sea by the risen Lord.
The name therefore helps readers see discipleship under Jesus' searching care. Peter is prominent, but Jesus remains central: He names, washes, corrects, preserves, restores, and commissions His servant.
G4074 follows Peter in John from Jesus' naming to confession, resistance, denial, empty-tomb witness, and restoration by the risen Lord.
Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter).
Jesus looks at Simon and names him Cephas, translated Peter. His identity as disciple begins under Jesus' naming authority.
Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Peter answers for the disciples that Jesus has the words of eternal life. His confession is strong because it clings to Jesus when others turn away.
“Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him. Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”
Peter refuses the footwashing until Jesus exposes what is at stake. Zeal must be humbled under the cleansing Jesus gives.
At this, the servant girl watching the door said to Peter, “Aren’t you also one of this man’s disciples?” “I am not,” he answered.
Peter denies being one of Jesus' disciples. John does not hide the collapse of the man who had promised loyalty.
Simon Peter arrived just after him. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there.
Peter enters the tomb and sees the linen cloths. His witness is drawn into the resurrection evidence before full understanding is complete.
Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things,” he replied. “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
Jesus asks Peter a third time about love and sends him to feed His sheep. Restoration includes grief, love, and commissioned care.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. a (piece of) rock (larger than ); as a name, Petrus, an apostle
:--Peter, rock.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 162 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Peter
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Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 5 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 156 lexical occurrence verses.
Πέτρος is a primary word - no further derivation.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
G4074 matters because John gives Peter a whole-disciple portrait. Peter is named by Jesus before he has proved himself. He confesses that Jesus has the words of eternal life, but he also resists Jesus' washing and overestimates his own loyalty. In the courtyard he denies what he had claimed he would defend. At the tomb he sees evidence before understanding fully comes.
Beside the sea, Jesus does not erase the wound; He asks about love and entrusts Peter with care for His sheep. This makes Peter useful for preaching, but only when Jesus stays central. The good news is not Peter's temperament. It is the Lord who names, exposes, forgives, restores, and sends weak disciples.
John.21.17
G4074 is a personal name. Do not build the whole theology from etymology or from the name alone. In John, Peter's meaning for readers comes from the scenes where Jesus names, questions, corrects, and restores him.
Scripture often shows God calling flawed servants and restoring them for service. John applies that pattern through the risen Jesus, who restores Peter without pretending denial was small.