Some of the multifarious readers of "N. & Q." may feel interested in the suggestion of an original solution on Matt. xvi. 16-19. I submit it (not presumptuously, but hopefully), that its examination and discussion, by your learned readers, may throw more light upon my humble endeavour to elucidate a passage which seems to have been darkened "by a multitude of words."
The solution I propose is an extract from my MS. annotations on the Hebrew Old Testament, and forms a portion of a note on Habakkuk ii. 11. It will be desirable, for the readier comprehension of my exposition, to give the original, with a literal translation, of the verse alluded to:
כי אבן מקיר תזעק
וכפיס מעץ יעננה׃
"For the [Ebhen] stone shall cry out of the wall,
And the [Caphis] fastening shall testify out of the timber."[[1]]
This verse has passed into a proverb amongst the Jews in every part of the world. It is invariably quoted to express the impossibility of secrecy or concealment; or to intimate the inevitable publicity of a certain fact. In short, the proverb implies the same meaning which our Lord's answer to the Pharisees expressed, viz., "If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out" (Luke xix. 40.). I have myself heard the words under note used as a proverb, in this manner, amongst the Jews of Europe, Asia, and Africa. I am, moreover, inclined to believe that it was already one of the national proverbs in the days of our Lord.
All this may appear irrelevant to the critical exposition of this verse; but the consideration may help to clear up an apparently obscure passage in the New Testament, namely, Matt. xvi. 16-19. When Simon made the declaration in verse 16., "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," he might have thought of or expressed the inspired proverb: