Bible Dictionaries
Caesarea Philippi

　　CaeSAREA PHILIPPI.—The town called Caesarea Philippi in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 16:13, Mark 8:27, cf. Josephus Ant. xx. ix. 4, BJ iii. ix. 7, vii. ii. I) bore at one time, certainly as early as b.c. 198 (Polybius, Hist. xvi. 18, xxviii. 1), the name Panias (τὸ Πάνειον, because sacred to Pan and the Nymphs. In the face of the cliff there are still several niches with inscriptions in which Pan is mentioned. From the cave (Mugharet Ras en-Neba’), now partly filled with fallen stone, issues a strong stream of water which has long been reckoned one of the chief sources of the Jordan (Josephus Ant. xv. x. 3). On the hill above, Herod built a white marble temple in honour of Augustus (Josephus Ant. xv. x. 3, BJ i. xxi. 3), and here the Crusaders built a castle, the ruins of which still stand some fifteen hundred feet above the town, and about a mile and a quarter to the east (Kula’t Subeibeh). Philip enlarged and beautified Panias, and called it Caesarea (Καισάρεια τῆς Παλαιστίνης), it was commonly called Caesarea Philippi ( [Note: GHL Historical Geog. of Holy Land.] pp. 473, 480) is not certain (Buhl, GAPεἰς τὰς κώμας). In the territory of which Caesarea was the chief city there were smaller towns, and it was through these that Jesus moved with His disciples and others who followed Him. St. Luke alone (Luke 9:18 ff.) of the Synoptists seems to have lost the touch of local colour fixed so indelibly upon the narratives of Mt. and Mk.—an authenticating element whose force even those who question the Synoptic tradition at this point find it difficult to escape (cf. Wrede, Messiasgeheimnis, p. 239). The narrative in Lk. lends itself, however, to the setting of Mt. and Mk., both by the way in which it is introduced without definite localization (οἱ ὄχλοι) say that I am?’ St. Matthew, however, gives it in the third person, and introduces the title ‘Son of Man’—‘Who do men say that the Son of man is?’* before א f., Mark 8:38, Luke 6:22, Luke 9:22; John 21:15-17 and יוֹחָנָן (cf. 1 Chronicles 26:3). Zahn attributes the difference between Mt. and Jn. to a confusion by the Greek translator of Mt. of the two Hebrew words (Kommentar, p. 537). Wellhausen gives his verdict briefly: ‘Jona ist Jona und keine Ahnung von Johanan, und Mt wird nicht bloss gegen das Hebraerevangelium, ein spates Machwerk, recht haben, sondern anch gegen das vierte Evangelium’ (Evang. Matt. p. 83 f.).] Jesus declares him to be blessed in the possession of a faith which, transcending the human sphere of flesh and blood, has its origin in the heavenly sphere and from His Father. In thus describing the revelation-character of Peter’s faith, Jesus does not define more nearly the process or time of origin, the psychological moment, but treats his faith simply as a definite fact of the past. Continuing with the emphatic ‘But I,’ Jesus makes Peter’s confession the occasion of revealing His plan for the future, and the part that Peter is to fulfil in it. With the words ‘Thou art Peter,’ Jesus recalls the name He had given to His disciple and apostle (cf. John 1:42, Mark 3:16, Matthew 10:2, Luke 6:14). The Greek πέτρα) differ in form, but in Aramaic the same form was probably used. The Pesh. has kiphâ in both instances (cf. also Matthew 27:60; in Matthew 7:24 f. šû‘â is used). The rock intended by Jesus to be the future foundation of His Church is Peter, realizing the character indicated in his name. The function thus assigned to Peter is indeed not apart from his confession, nor is the fact that he evidently spoke in a representative capacity to be overlooked. The address of Jesus, however, is distinctly to Peter, and it is his name that is interpreted. The confession which precedes is indeed closely related to the words of Jesus, but it cannot be understood as the rock-foundation intended by Jesus. In itself it furnishes the occasion rather than the ground of Jesus’ promise. It cannot therefore be treated abstractedly as something separate from Peter, but must be regarded as a manifestation and, in its measure, a realization of the character which Jesus saw in Peter when He gave him his name. The content of Peter’s faith, moreover, was entirely inadequate when measured by Jesus’ conception of what His Messiahship involved. Much had still to be learned in the school of experience (Mark 8:31 ff; Mark 14:66 ff., Luke 22:31, John 21:15 ff., 1 Corinthians 15:5), but the character was fixed in principle. Jesus saw its strength, and chose the man for the work He had for him to do. The opening chapters of the Acts of the Apostles give some account of the way in which he accomplished his charge.

　　The figure of a rock-foundation, used to describe Peter’s future function in the Church, suggests naturally a single rock underlying a whole structure, and not one stone among a number built together into a foundation (cf. Matthew 7:24 ff.). Neither the figure nor the function thus assigned to Peter excludes the work of the other Apostles (Ephesians 2:20), much less the work of Jesus (1 Corinthians 3:10 f.), which is clearly indicated in ἐκκλησία, regularly used in the LXX Septuagint to translate [Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred] x. 318), but its use has an adequate basis in the teaching of Jesus, and is naturally motived here not simply by the confession of Peter, but also by Jesus’ thought of the future, controlled as it is by the revelation of His Passion which He is about to make to His disciples.

　　So permanent and strong will be the structure built by Jesus on Peter, the rock-foundation, that the gates of Hades—a figurative expression used to suggest the idea of the very greatest strength, since they withstand all effort to force them open (Isaiah 38:10, Wisdom of Solomon 16:13, 3 Maccabees 5:51)—shall not surpass (κατισχύσουσινὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστὸς. The authenticity of this and similar commands, especially in the Gospel of Mk., has, indeed, been called in question (Wrede, Das Messiasgeheimnis); but the command is quite natural here, and cannot be regarded as having its origin solely in the general apologetic purpose of St. Mark. It has reference to the form in which Peter’s confession was made, and to deny its authenticity would necessitate a complete reconstruction of the account which the Gospels give us of Jesus’ life and work.

　　The climax of the scene at Caesarea is reached in Jesus’ announcement of His Passion. Both Mt. and Mk. signalize His words as the beginning of instruction on this subject (Mk. εἰπὼν ὅτι δεῖ τ. ἀ. ἐληλυθυῖαν) in power. It seems thus to be conceived as a future but actually existing state or fact rather than event. In Mt. the same experience is described, but the fact of the Kingdom’s presence is associated with or described in terms of the Son of Man’s coming ( [Note: GHL Historical Geog. of Holy Land.] , 473–480; Buhl, GAP [Note: Dictionary of the Bible.] ; ‘Caesarea’ (G. A. Smith), ‘Ministry,’ ‘Simon Peter’ (Schmiedel) in Encyc. Bibl.; ‘Gaulanitis’ and ‘Palastina’ (Guthe), ‘Kirche’ (Köstlin), ‘Petrus, der Apostel’ (Sieffert) in Herzog’s PRE