John 1:42-43

1:42 Andrew brought Simon ¹  to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. ²  You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). ³ 

The Calling of More Disciples

1:43 On the next day Jesus ⁴  wanted to set out for Galilee. ⁵  He ⁶  found Philip and said ⁷  to him, “Follow me.”

¹ tn Grk “He brought him”; both referents (Andrew, Simon) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tc The reading “Simon, son of John” is well attested in Ì^66,75,106 א B* L 33 pc it co. The majority of mss (A B² Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï) read “Simon, the son of Jonah” here instead, but that is perhaps an assimilation to Matt 16:17.

³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The change of name from Simon to Cephas is indicative of the future role he will play. Only John among the gospel writers gives the Greek transliteration (Κηφᾶς, Khfas) of Simon’s new name, Qéphâ (which is Galilean Aramaic). Neither Πέτρος (Petros) in Greek nor Qéphâ in Aramaic is a normal proper name; it is more like a nickname.

⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Jesus is best taken as the subject of εὑρίσκει (Jeuriskei), since Peter would scarcely have wanted to go to Galilee.

⁵ sn No explanation is given for why Jesus wanted to set out for Galilee, but probably he wanted to go to the wedding at Cana (about a two day trip).

⁶ tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁷ tn Grk “and Jesus said.”