“Simon, son of Jonas” ([John xxi, 15]).
“Thou art Simon the son of John” (John, New Ver., [i, 42]; [xxi, 15]).
There is no relation whatever between “Jona,” or “Jonas,” and “John.” Jona (Jonah), or Jonas, means a dove; John means the grace of God.
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Jesus gave Simon (Peter) the name of Cephas. What meaning did he attach to the word Cephas?
“Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone” ([John i, 42]).
“Thou shalt be called Cephas (which is by interpretation, Peter)” (Ibid, New Ver.).
Here Jesus is represented as interpreting the meaning of an Aramaic word, with which his hearers were familiar, by the use of a Greek word of whose meaning they were ignorant, the incongruity of which must be apparent to every reader.