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Bible Dictionaries
Rock
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or 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 ( Judges 7:25 , Isaiah 10:26 ), Etam ( Judges 15:8 ), Rimmon ( Judges 20:45; Judges 21:13 ), the crags Bozez and Seneh ( 1 Samuel 14:4 ), Sela-hammahlekoth ( 1 Samuel 23:28 ). In 2 Kings 14:7 , Isaiah 16:1; Isaiah 42:11 ‘the Rock’ (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘ Sela ’) is a proper name. Sela or Petra, the rock-city par excellence; in Judges 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 ( Proverbs 30:28 ); cf. Psalms 104:18 , Psa 30:19 refers to the mysterious gliding of the serpent over a rock; Amos 6:12 , to the proverbial impossibility of horses running over crags. Deuteronomy 32:13 emphasizes the fact that in Palestine even the rocks are the home of bees ( Psalms 81:16 , Isaiah 7:19 ), and the rocky soil produces olives ( Job 29:6 ). Besides this natural marvel, we have the miracles of Exodus 17:6 , Numbers 20:8 etc. In 1 Corinthians 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 Numbers 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 Deuteronomy 2:12 ), and were used for sepulchres ( Isaiah 22:16 , Mark 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 Judges 6:20; Judges 13:16 the rock is a natural monolithic altar; in Judges 6:26 tr. [Note: translate or translation.] ‘strong-hold’ with RV [Note: Revised Version.] . Rocks as dangers to ships are mentioned in Acts 27:29 , and metaphorically in Judges 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 2 Peter 2:13 ]. The barrenness and desolation of a rock is the point of Ezekiel 26:4; Ezekiel 26:14 , with a pun on Tyre (= rock); cf. the unfruitful ‘rock’ ( Luke 8:6 ), or ‘rocky places’ ( Matthew 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 ( Numbers 24:21 , 1 Samuel 13:6 , Isaiah 2:19 , Jeremiah 48:28; Jeremiah 49:16 , Obadiah 1:6 ); cf. ‘feet on rock’ ( Psalms 27:5; Psalms 40:2 ) In Isaiah 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 ( Deuteronomy 32:4 ff. [6 times], Psalms 18:2 etc., Isaiah 17:10; Isaiah 30:29 , Habakkuk 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. Psalms 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 Numbers 1:5-6; Numbers 1:10; Numbers 3:35 . ‘Great Rock’ is a common title of Asshur and Bel in Assyria. In Deuteronomy 32:31 , Isaiah 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 ( 1 Kings 19:11 , Job 14:18 , Jeremiah 23:29 , Nahum 1:6 , Matthew 27:51 ), and in Jeremiah 5:3 it is a symbol of obstinacy. In Matthew 7:24 it represents the sure foundation; cf. Matthew 16:18 and art. Power of the Keys, p. 742 b . The name ‘Peter’ is a tr. [Note: translate or translation.] of the Aram. [Note: Aramaic.] Cephas , the Heb. form of which is used Jeremiah 4:29 , Job 30:6 (see art. Peter). For the ‘rock of offence or stumbling,’ see Isaiah 8:14; Isaiah 28:16 , Rom 9:33 , 1 Peter 2:6 . Precipitation from a rock was a form of execution ( 2 Chronicles 25:12 [? 2 Samuel 21:8; 2 Samuel 21:10 ], cf. Luke 4:29 ).
C. W. Emmet.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Rock'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/r/rock.html. 1909.
