4073. petra
Lexical Summary
petra: Rock, large stone, cliff

Original Word: πέτρα
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: petra
Pronunciation: peh'-trah
Phonetic Spelling: (pet'-ra)
KJV: rock
NASB: rock, rocks, rocky
Word Origin: [feminine of the same as G4074 (Πέτρος - Peter)]

1. a (mass of) rock
{literally or figuratively}

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
rock.

Feminine of the same as Petros; a (mass of) rock (literally or figuratively) -- rock.

see GREEK Petros

HELPS Word-studies

4073 pétra (a feminine noun) – "a mass of connected rock," which is distinct from 4074 (Pétros) which is "a detached stone or boulder" (A-S). 4073 (pétra) is a "solid or native rock, rising up through the earth" (Souter) – a huge mass of rock (a boulder), such as a projecting cliff.

4073 (petra) is "a projecting rock, cliff (feminine noun) . . . 4074 (petros, the masculine form) however is a stone . . . such as a man might throw" (S. Zodhiates, Dict).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. word
Definition
a (large mass of) rock
NASB Translation
rock (10), rocks (3), rocky (2).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 4073: πέτρα

πέτρα, πέτρας, , from Homer down; the Sept. for סֶלַע and צוּר; a rock, ledge, cliff;

a. properly: Matthew 7:24; Matthew 27:51, 60; Mark 15:46; Luke 6:48; 1 Corinthians 10:4 (on which see πνευματικός, 3 a.); a projecting rock, crag, Revelation 6:15f, rocky ground, Luke 8:6, 13.

b. a rock, large stone: Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8 (7).

c. metaphorically, a man like a rock, by reason of his firmness and strength of soul: Matthew 16:18 (some interpretations regard the distinction (generally observed in classic Greek; see the commentaries and cf. Schmidt, Syn., chapter 51, §§ 4-6) between πέτρα, the massive living rock, and πέτρος, a detached but large fragment, as important for the correct understanding of this passage; others explain the different genders here as due first to the personal then to the material reference. Cf. Meyer, Keil, others; Green, Critical Note on John 1:43).

Topical Lexicon
Physical and Cultural Context

In the Mediterranean world “rock” evokes immovable bedrock rather than a loose stone. Houses hewn into limestone hillsides, fortified cities set on rocky heights, and tombs carved from solid strata all reflect this image. A structure resting on bedrock survived storms; a grave cut into rock deterred thieves and beasts. Scripture takes that everyday reality and lifts it into theology and discipleship.

Foundational Stability

Matthew 7:24-25; Luke 6:48 present the obedient hearer as one who “built his house on the rock.” The imagery stresses not mere profession but active submission to Christ’s words.
• When Jesus promises, “on this rock I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18), He identifies an unassailable base for His assembly. The immediate context links the rock to Peter’s Spirit-given confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Thus the church’s permanence rests on the person and work of Christ confessed by true faith, not on shifting human authority.
• The Apostle Paul draws on Israel’s wilderness experience: “they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). Just as literal bedrock yielded water, Christ supplies life-giving grace to every generation of believers.

Christological Fulfillment

Old Testament passages such as Psalm 18:2 and Isaiah 26:4 already hail the Lord as “Rock.” The New Testament applies the title directly to Jesus. He is the Rock who follows His people (1 Corinthians 10:4), the tested cornerstone (Romans 9:33), and the enduring basis of the church (Matthew 16:18). This unifies the testaments: what Yahweh is called in the Hebrew Scriptures, Jesus embodies in the gospel era.

Stumbling and Judgment

Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:8 quote Isaiah to explain why many Israelites rejected Messiah: the very Rock meant for salvation became a “rock of offense.” The fault lies not in the Rock but in unbelief. Those who refuse to submit to God’s righteousness trip over the One who fulfills it. The dual aspect—secure foundation for faith, stumbling block for unbelief—underscores the moral gravity of responding to Christ.

Burial and Resurrection Setting

The term frames the burial of Jesus (Matthew 27:60; Mark 15:46). Joseph of Arimathea laid the body in a tomb “cut out of the rock.” The same word appears when “the rocks were split” at the crucifixion (Matthew 27:51), testifying that Creation itself responded to the atoning death. The stable finality symbolized by a rock-hewn tomb was overturned by resurrection, reinforcing Christ’s triumph over the seemingly immovable barrier of death.

Apocalyptic Terror and Refuge

Revelation 6:15-16 depicts kings and slaves alike crying to “the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne.’” The imagery reverses the usual sense of refuge; when divine wrath arrives, former shelters become instruments of dread. The passage presses the necessity of finding protection in the Rock, not from Him.

Discipleship and Heart Soil

Luke 8:6, 13 employs “rock” for shallow soil. Seed springs up quickly but withers for lack of depth, illustrating an emotional yet rootless response to the word. Genuine discipleship demands the deep penetration of truth into the heart, paralleling the house built on rock (Luke 6:48) rather than on sand.

Occurrence Survey

Matthew 7:24, 25; 16:18; 27:51, 60

Mark 15:46

Luke 6:48; 8:6, 13

Romans 9:33

1 Corinthians 10:4 (twice)

1 Peter 2:8

Revelation 6:15, 16

Historical and Archaeological Notes

First-century builders often excavated to bedrock before laying a foundation, a labor-intensive process accentuating Jesus’ call to diligent obedience. Tombs outside Jerusalem’s walls, including the traditional site of the Holy Sepulcher, exhibit chambers chiseled from limestone, aligning with the gospel descriptions. Early Christian art depicts Christ as the stricken rock pouring living water, a visual catechism rooted in 1 Corinthians 10:4.

Pastoral and Homiletical Insights

1. Proclaim Christ as the sole permanent foundation amid cultural flux.
2. Urge hearers to move from admiration of Jesus’ words to practiced obedience, digging down until life rests on bedrock truth.
3. Warn that neutrality toward Christ is impossible: He is either sanctuary or stumbling stone.
4. Comfort believers with the assurance that the church, anchored in the Rock, cannot be overthrown by Hades, persecution, or death.
5. Invite the weary to drink from the rock that still gives water, confident that “whoever believes in Him will never be put to shame” (Romans 9:33).

Forms and Transliterations
πετρα πέτρα πέτρᾳ πετραι πέτραι πετραις πέτραις πετραν πέτραν πετρας πέτρας πετρίνας πετροβόλοις πετρόβολον πετροβόλους πετρών petra pétra petrai pétrai pétrāi petrais pétrais petran pétran petras pétras
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Matthew 7:24 N-AFS
GRK: ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν
NAS: built his house on the rock.
KJV: house upon a rock:
INT: upon the rock

Matthew 7:25 N-AFS
GRK: ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν
NAS: for it had been founded on the rock.
KJV: it was founded upon a rock.
INT: upon the rock

Matthew 16:18 N-DFS
GRK: ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ οἰκοδομήσω μου
NAS: and upon this rock I will build
KJV: upon this rock I will build my
INT: this the rock I will build my

Matthew 27:51 N-NFP
GRK: καὶ αἱ πέτραι ἐσχίσθησαν
NAS: shook and the rocks were split.
KJV: did quake, and the rocks rent;
INT: and the rocks were split

Matthew 27:60 N-DFS
GRK: ἐν τῇ πέτρᾳ καὶ προσκυλίσας
NAS: he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled
KJV: in the rock: and
INT: in the rock and having rolled

Mark 15:46 N-GFS
GRK: λελατομημένον ἐκ πέτρας καὶ προσεκύλισεν
NAS: hewn out in the rock; and he rolled
KJV: hewn out of a rock, and rolled
INT: cut out of a rock and he rolled

Luke 6:48 N-AFS
GRK: ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν πλημμύρης δὲ
NAS: a foundation on the rock; and when a flood
KJV: on a rock: and
INT: on the rock a flood moreover

Luke 8:6 N-AFS
GRK: ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν καὶ φυὲν
NAS: [seed] fell on rocky [soil], and as soon as it grew
KJV: upon a rock; and
INT: upon the rock and having sprung up

Luke 8:13 N-GFS
GRK: ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας οἳ ὅταν
NAS: Those on the rocky [soil are] those who,
KJV: They on the rock [are they], which,
INT: upon the rock those who when

Romans 9:33 N-AFS
GRK: προσκόμματος καὶ πέτραν σκανδάλου καὶ
NAS: OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE,
KJV: and rock of offence:
INT: of stumbling and rock of offense and

1 Corinthians 10:4 N-GFS
GRK: πνευματικῆς ἀκολουθούσης πέτρας ἡ πέτρα
NAS: from a spiritual rock which followed
KJV: that spiritual Rock that followed them:
INT: a spiritual following rock and the rock

1 Corinthians 10:4 N-NFS
GRK: πέτρας ἡ πέτρα δὲ ἦν
NAS: which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
KJV: and that Rock was
INT: rock and the rock moreover was

1 Peter 2:8 N-NFS
GRK: προσκόμματος καὶ πέτρα σκανδάλου οἳ
NAS: OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE;
KJV: and a rock of offence,
INT: of stumbling and a rock of offense who

Revelation 6:15 N-AFP
GRK: εἰς τὰς πέτρας τῶν ὀρέων
NAS: and among the rocks of the mountains;
KJV: and in the rocks of the mountains;
INT: in the rocks of the mountains

Revelation 6:16 N-DFP
GRK: καὶ ταῖς πέτραις πέσετε ἐφ'
NAS: to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall
KJV: to the mountains and rocks, Fall on
INT: and to the rocks Fall on

Strong's Greek 4073
15 Occurrences


πέτρᾳ — 4 Occ.
πέτραι — 1 Occ.
πέτραις — 1 Occ.
πέτραν — 5 Occ.
πέτρας — 4 Occ.

4072
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