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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadJames Hastings Dictionary of the Bible: Rock
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ROCK represents various Heb. words, which, generally speaking, have the same ideas as the Eng.—strength, security, height, etc. (cf. Stanley, SP [Note: P Sinai and Palestine.] , Appendix). The rocks named in OT are Oreb (Jdg_7:25, Isa_10:26), Etam (Jdg_15:8), Rimmon (Jdg_20:45; Jdg_21:13), the crags Bozez and Seneh (1Sa_14:4), Sela-hammahlekoth (1Sa_23:28). In 2Ki_14:7, Isa_16:1; Isa_42:11 ‘the Rock’ (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘Sela’) is a proper name. Sela or Petra, the rock-city par excellence; in Jdg_1:36 (RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘Sela’) the identification is doubtful; es-Safieh, ‘a bare and dazzling white sandstone promontory 1000 ft. high,’ near the south of the Dead Sea, is probably intended. Rocks were the haunt of the eagle (Job_39:28), of the wild goat (v. 1), or the coney (Pro_30:28); cf. Psa_104:18, Psa 30:19 refers to the mysterious gliding of the serpent over a rock; Amo_6:12, to the proverbial impossibility of horses running over crags. Deu_32:13 emphasizes the fact that in Palestine even the rocks are the home of bees (Psa_81:16, Isa_7:19), and the rocky soil produces olives (Job_29:6). Besides this natural marvel, we have the miracles of Exo_17:6, Num_20:8 etc. In 1Co_10:4 St. Paul follows a wide-spread Jewish haggâdâh, which can be traced to the 1st century a.d., according to which the rock (perhaps originally the well) followed Israel; when the Tabernacle was pitched, the water gushed out afresh, the princes singing the song of Num_21:17. The epithet ‘spiritual’ does not deny the literal reality of that to which it refers; the manna was literal to St. Paul, and the water and rock must have been so too. He sees in the literal fact a foreshadowing of the Christian sacraments. Further, he identifies the rock with Christ, implying His pre-existence and care for His people; cf. Philo’s identification of it with the Wisdom and Word of God.
Rocks, particularly the soft sandstone of Edom, were primitive dwelling places (Job_24:8; Job_30:6; cf. cave-dwellers of Deu_2:12), and were used for sepulchres (Isa_22:16, Mar_15:46). Job_19:24 refers to the permanence of the rock inscription; Job_28:9 (a somewhat unusual word, ‘flinty rock’ RV [Note: Revised Version.] ) to mining. In Jdg_6:20; Jdg_13:16 the rock is a natural monolithic altar; in Jdg_6:26 tr. [Note: translate or translation.] ‘strong-hold’ with RV [Note: Revised Version.] . Rocks as dangers to ships are mentioned in Act_27:29, and metaphorically in Jud_1:12 RV [Note: Revised Version.] [but RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] and Bigg retain ‘spots’ of AV [Note: Authorized Version.] , which has the support of the parallel 2Pe_2:13]. The barrenness and desolation of a rock is the point of Eze_26:4; Eze_26:14, with a pun on Tyre (= rock); cf. the unfruitful ‘rock’ (Luk_8:6), or ‘rocky places’ (Mat_13:5 RV [Note: Revised Version.] ) of the parable of the Sower; i.e. rock with a thin layer of earth. The rock meets us continually as a place of refuge, literal or metaphorical (Num_24:21, 1Sa_13:6, Isa_2:19, Jer_48:28; Jer_49:16, Oba_1:6); cf. ‘feet on rock’ (Psa_27:5; Psa_40:2) In Isa_32:2 it is a shade from the heat. And so it is a frequent title for God, as the unvarying strength and support of His people (Deu_32:4 ff. [6 times], Psa_18:2 etc., Isa_17:10; Isa_30:29, Hab_1:12). It is often represented by ‘God,’ and vague terms (‘help,’ etc.) in the ancient versions, as well as AV [Note: Authorized Version.] and Pr. Bk. [Note: r. Bk. Prayer Book.] (e.g. Psa_95:1). A sufficient explanation of the use is found in the natural scenery of Palestine. It is doubtful how far ‘Rock’ (Zur) was a definite name for God. It has been found in compounds in two S. Arabian inscriptions, and occurs in the proper names of Num_1:5-6; Num_1:10; Num_3:35. ‘Great Rock’ is a common title of Asshur and Bel in Assyria. In Deu_32:31, Isa_31:9 the title is given to heathen gods, but in the latter passage the word sela is used. And the fact that this word is freely employed in this connexion side by side with zur rather contradicts the supposition that the latter was technically a proper name. Convulsions of nature and the power of God are connected with breaking the rock (1Ki_19:11, Job_14:18, Jer_23:29, Nah_1:6, Mat_27:51), and in Jer_5:3 it is a symbol of obstinacy. In Mat_7:24 it represents the sure foundation; cf. Mat_16:18 and art. Power of the Keys, p. 742b. The name ‘Peter’ is a tr. [Note: translate or translation.] of the Aram. [Note: Aramaic.] Cephas, the Heb. form of which is used Jer_4:29, Job_30:6 (see art. Peter). For the ‘rock of offence or stumbling,’ see Isa_8:14; Isa_28:16, Rom_9:33, 1Pe_2:6. Precipitation from a rock was a form of execution (2Ch_25:12 [? 2Sa_21:8; 2Sa_21:10], cf. Luk_4:29).
C. W. Emmet.