Peter and Jeremiah

In a 1975 article in JBL, one Bruce Dahlberg suggests that the background to Matthew 16:13-23 is less Isaiah 22 (the “key” of Eliakim’s shoulder) than Jeremiah 1, the call of the prophet. Some of his arguments rely on extrabiblical associations of keys with the temple (this has a biblical source – 2 Chron 9:26 refers to the keeper of the temple keys), and Jeremiah with temple keys (found in 2 Maccabees). But there are a couple of striking biblical connections.

First, Yahweh promises to make Jeremiah a fortified city and a bronze wall, as Peter is going to be a rock. Second, in Matthew 16, the promise of protection is immediately followed by Jesus’ announcement that he is heading to Jerusalem to die; Jeremiah, likewise, is a persecuted prophet, assaulted because of his denunciations of the temple.

Finally, Jeremiah the fortified city is going to be assaulted by those who are in the “gates of Jerusalem,” so we have the unusual image of gates assaulting a city. Of course, this is the same unusual image used in Matthew 16 – with one adjustment: Jesus says that Peter the rock will be assaulted not by the “gates of Jerusalem” but by the “gates of Hades.” It’s likely, I think, that Jesus adjusted the language because Jerusalem had by His time become not merely a den of thieves but a den of demons, the place of the dead.