Nazis on Petra and Petros

This is from the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, by Gerhard Kittel . An esteemed biblical scholar who is famous for his lecture in 1933 called "The Jewish Question." Kittel was not only a Nazi, but was a trusted source of biblical scholarship by Adolf Hitler himself during the 3rd Reich. This is a word for word rewritten selection from his dictionary, I did not write in the footnotes although they are numerous, either from German secondary sources in theological and classical inquiry, or direct citations from various primary sources from the classical era such as Josephus, Philo, many rabbis, different biblical manuscripts and translations, Church Fathers, and Roman and Greek poetic and historical sources such as Homer, Xenophon, and Plato. He always discusses the history of the word. This is rewritten, by hand, carefully according to each comma and where he capitalized everything. [x] is my added note for plebs. You'd have to buy this as a physical copy otherwise. This Nazi here below writes about how the Roman Catholic Church is correct about the following verse.

 That thou art Peter [Petros], and upon this rock [petra] I will build my church.
Volume VI pages 98-112

95-96
>The  feminine πέτρα [petra] is used predominately in secular [Attic] Greek for a large and solid "rock". It may denote equally well the individual cliff or a stony and rocky chain. The masculine Πέτρος [petros] is used more for isolated rocks or small stones, including flints and pebbles for slings. Since there is such a great difference in content the emphasis should be noted, though in practice one cannot differentiate too strictly between  πέτρα and Πέτρος; they are often used interchangeably.

>In the LLX [Septuagint, Koine Greek] πέτρα bears the following senses: a. rock, cliff b. place name or geographical note c. of unbending character or the hardened mind d. occasionally a name for God...The main Hebrew equivalents of πέτρα are צוּר [Tzoor meaning cliff, large rock, sharp rock edge, or rock] and סֶלַע [Selah meaning cliff, large rock, craggy rock, or rock];אֶבֶן [Even, meaning rock, large or small] on the other hand is almost always rendered as λίθος [lithos, meaning usually small rock, but it is allowed to be used otherwise] Since Aram. כפא [kapha] normally means "weight" and corresponds to the Heb. שֶׁקֶל [shekel] the Targumim use כֵּיפָא [Kaypha; name "Peter" in Heb.] for סֶלַע. This is equivalent to צוּר. On the other hand, the Aram. טורא‎‎ [Toora] corresponds more to the Heb. הַר‏‎ [Har, mountain]. It is also true that כֵּיפָא embraces both the originally more specific meanings of  πέτρα and Πέτρος (λίθος). Thus it is very unlikely that the simple meaning כֵּיפָא = λίθος underlies the play on  πέτρα and Πέτρος in Mt. 16:18, which rests on a basic כֵּיפָא.

98-99
>The obvious pun which has made it's way into the Greek text as well suggests a material identity between πέτρα and Πέτρος, the more so as it is impossible to differentiate strictly between the meanings of the two words. On the other hand, only the fairly assured Aramaic original of the saying enables us to assert with confidence the formal and material identity between  πέτρα and Πέτρος:  πέτρα = כֵּיפָא = Πέτρος. Elsewhere in the NT the individual Christian is never called πέτρα, though he is λίθος [lithos] in the spiritual building, the body of Christ (1 Peter 25). Rightly understood, Christ alone is πέτρα . If, then Mt. 16:18 forces us to assume a formal and material identity between πέτρα and Πέτρος, this shows how fully the apostolate, and in it to a special degree the position of Peter, belongs to and is essentially enclosed within, the revelation of Christ. Πέτρος [Petros/Peter] himself is this πέτρα [petra/rock], not just his faith or his confession. He is of course, only as the Simon whom Christ has taken in hand. But in this way, like the one who walked on the sea, he is truly this Πέτρος. If Christ is to build this spiritual house, the ἐκκλησία [Ecclesia meaning Church], on this πέτρα, Πέτρος is the foundation of this ἐκκλησία [Church] on the basis of the saying of Christ: "Thou art Peter." This foundation, however, is a supremely historical entity - the uniqueness of the apostolate and of the place of Peter in it.

>Since however, כֵּיפָא carries with it the distinctive content of πέτρα, it is from the very first highly improbable that it is to be in the sense of λίθος. This possibility is indeed ruled out by a Rabbinical analagon: "When God looked upon Abraham, who was to arise, he said: Lo, I have found a rock on which I can build and found the world. For this reason he called Abraham a rock." In a way which transcends the Rabbinical view of Abraham, Peter is brought into this picture of Abraham as the cosmic rock. He takes the place of Abraham, but he does so as the foundation of Israel, Κατα πνευμα [Kata Pneuma meaning "according to the Spirit"], the community of the new covenant which Christ builds on the Rock Peter.

101
>According to the Synoptists Peter assumed a special position in the group around Jesus. With the sons of Zebedee and his brother Andrew he belonged to the innermost and most intimate circle of those associated with Jesus. Even    in this inner most circle (Mark 9:5), however, he had an important position of precedence, so that the Synoptic Gospels always portray him as standing in the forefront, Mark 9:5. Thus Jesus only allows Peter and the sons of Zebedee to go with Him into the house of of the ruler of the synagogue (Mark 5:37).... He acts as spokesman for the Twelve.

>The special position of Peter does not mean that he leads the other disciples during the lifetime of Jesus. For a while the guidance of the developing community does in fact fall on him after the death of Jesus.

107-108 The killer blow
>Since Peter, the rock of the Church, is thus given by Christ Himself, the master of the house (Isaiah 22:22, Revelations 3:7), the keys of the kingdom of heaven, he is the human mediator of the resurrection, and he has the task of admitting the people of God into the Kingdom of the resurrection. Jesus Himself has given him power to open entry to the coming kingdom of God, or to close it, like the Pharisees, who with their mission close the door to the kingdom of heaven, Mt 23:13. Hence what Peter does on earth will be valid in heaven. This power is expressed in the words "to bind and to loose." The best interpretation is that Peter has the power to forgive sins, though the laying down of precepts cannot be ruled out completely.
>The idea of the Reformers that He is referring to the faith of peter is quire inconceivable in view of probably different setting of the story. For there is no reference here to the faith of Peter. Rather, the parallelism of "thou art Rock" and "on this rock I will build" shows  that the second rock can only be the same as the first. It is thus evident that Jesus is referring to Peter, the impulsive, enthusiastic, but not persevering man in the circle, to be the foundation of His ecclesia. To this extent Roman Catholic exegesis is right and all Protestant attempts to evade this interpretation are to be rejected. A supposed reference to "disciple" does not improve matters, for there is no mention of "disciples" in the text. The meaning of the logion rests on the two words Peter and the one rock.