The Berean Codex™Scripture Research Project
Research library · Reception history · Dependency analysis

Matthew 16:18 — the precise referent of “this rock” remains seriously disputed

A reusable research record with provenance and relationships kept separate from the presentation layer.

INTERPRETIVE_CLAIMINT_MAT_16_ROCK_REFERENT

Evidence state: disputed

Statement layerBerean synthesis
ConfidenceDisputed
Curation stateCurated Human Reviewed
Claim

Peter is undeniably the immediate addressee and the Petros/petra wordplay makes him relevant, but serious readings identify the rock primarily as Peter, Peter in relation to his confession, the confession/faith itself, Christ, or a representative/corporate combination. v57 therefore refuses to collapse the referent question into a single unstated premise.

Interpretive Evidence Audit

Disputed · Curated Pass With Limits

Inference depth: Moderate · Original-meaning weight: Disputed

Publish with the stated classification and boundaries. Reception records remain separate from original-meaning evidence, and later doctrinal arrows remain visible rather than being folded into Matthew 16.

Open complete evidence audit

Quality-gate boundary: This audit measures evidentiary support and inferential distance. It does not make the Codex infallible or convert scholar/tradition authority into evidence.
Interpretation Dependency Profile

Disputed Weighting Of Textual Data

Premises mapped: 3 · Development threads: 2

Curated chronology: v57 curated corpus · Historical Origin Unknown

This profile distinguishes the current Archive evidence chain from historical origin. The earliest loaded witness is not a claim that the idea originated there.

Open complete dependency profile

Chronology boundary: “Earliest in the curated Codex corpus” is not a claim of historical origin. Missing earlier records cannot be treated as evidence that a premise did not exist.

Supporting evidence

Id: INT_MAT_16_PETROS_PETRA

Role: direct lexical relationship

Id: PASSAGE_MAT_16_13_20

Role: immediate narrative

Counterevidence / challenges

Id: HISTINT_MAT_16_ORIGEN_XII

Note: early extension beyond Peter alone

Id: HISTINT_MAT_16_CHRYSOSTOM_H54

Note: confession-centered rock

Id: HISTINT_MAT_16_AUGUSTINE_TRACT124

Note: Christ/confession-centered rock

What this does not establish

That Peter is irrelevant to the saying.
That one patristic interpretation settles the grammar.
That identifying Peter as rock automatically establishes succession, Rome, jurisdiction, or supremacy.
Release Introduced
v57
Passage Id
PASSAGE_MAT_16_13_20
Evidence Classification
disputed
Status
CURATED_PUBLIC