A large chunk of stone. In lands such as those of the Mediterranean basin, rocks are plentiful. They are a danger to ships when near shore (Acts 27:29), but on land they can be used as places of refuge for both animals (Prov 30:26) and human beings, to hide either from other human beings (1Sam 24:2) or from God (Isa 2:19; Isa 2:21). Moses used the cleft in a rock to protect himself from seeing God’s face, which would have cost him his life (Exod 33:20-23). It was by striking a rock at God’s bidding that Moses provided water for the Israelites in the desert (Exod 17:6). Paul later identified that rock with Christ to show that the Israelites had also been favored with participation in the sacraments (1Cor 10:4). Jesus spoke of rocks that hindered agriculture (Mark 4:5-6) and of a rock whose firmness resembled the foundation upon which those people built who accepted what he said (Matt 7:24-25). He resisted Satan’s temptation to turn rocks into bread to satisfy his own hunger (Matt 4:2-3) and identified Peter (whose name literally means “rock”) as the rock upon which his church would be built (Matt 16:18). Biblical faith often identified God as a rock (Deut 32:4; 2Sam 22:2; Ps 18:2; Ps 71:3).
