Texts in Conversation
1 Peter uses Isaiah’s image of a cornerstone to describe Jesus as a foundation that others have rejected, but God has chosen. In Isaiah, it symbolizes stability, which 1 Peter applies to people facing shame and difficulty, assuring them of future honor.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Isaiah 28:16
Septuagint
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you afflicted men, and you princes of this people that is in Jerusalem. 15 Because you have said, We have made a covenant with Hades, and agreements with death; if the rushing storm should pass, it shall not come upon us: we have made falsehood our hope, and by falsehood we will be protected: 16 Therefore thus says the Lord, Look, I lay for the foundations of Sion a costly stone, a choice, a corner-stone, a precious stone, for its foundations; and he that believes on him shall by no means be ashamed. 17 And I will cause judgment to be for hope, and my compassion shall be for just measures, and you that trust vainly in falsehood: for the storm shall by no means pass by you, 18 except it also take away your covenant of death, and your trust in Hades shall by no means stand: if the rushing storm should come upon you, you shall be beaten down by it.
1 Peter 2:6
New Testament
4 So as you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it says in scripture, “Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and whoever believes in him will never be put to shame.” 7 So you who believe see his value, but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, 8 and a stumbling-stone and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
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Notes and References
"... Particularly interesting is the application of Psalm 118:22-23 first to Jesus and then seamlessly to the situation of believers in 1 Peter 2:4-8 ... The author has described Jesus in 1 Peter 2:4 as a “stone ... rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight,” a description combining echoes of Psalm 118:22-23 with Isaiah 28:16. This second passage, which is then explicitly quoted in 1 Peter 2:6, ends by promising that “whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” The addressees of 1 Peter, currently being intentionally shamed by their neighbors (see above), are thus told that their trust in Jesus will result in their future vindication. Verse 7 makes this conclusion even more explicit: “Honor, then, is for you who believe,” just as honor came to the One who had been “rejected by mortals.” ..."
DeSilva, David A.
Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture
(p. 54) InterVarsity Press, 2000
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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