and, 'A stone of stumbling'
This phrase refers to Jesus Christ as a "stone" that causes people to stumble. The Greek word for "stone" is "λίθος" (lithos), which is often used metaphorically in Scripture to represent strength, foundation, or a cornerstone. In the context of 1 Peter, it draws from Isaiah 8:14, where God Himself is described as a sanctuary and a stone of offense. Historically, the Jewish leaders and many of the people stumbled over Jesus because He did not meet their expectations of the Messiah. Instead of a political liberator, He came as a suffering servant. This stumbling is not just a physical tripping but a spiritual failure to recognize and accept Jesus as the Messiah.

and a rock of offense
The term "rock" in Greek is "πέτρα" (petra), which signifies a large mass of rock, more substantial than a mere stone. This imagery emphasizes the magnitude of the offense taken by those who reject Christ. The "offense" comes from the Greek word "σκάνδαλον" (skandalon), meaning a trap or snare. In a spiritual sense, Jesus becomes a "rock of offense" to those who refuse to believe, as His teachings and His very nature challenge human pride and self-reliance. Historically, this was evident in the rejection of Jesus by the religious authorities of His time, who saw His claims as blasphemous and His teachings as a threat to their power.

They stumble because they disobey the word
The act of stumbling is directly linked to disobedience. The Greek word for "disobey" is "ἀπειθέω" (apeitheo), which means to refuse to be persuaded or to willfully disbelieve. This disobedience is not merely a passive lack of understanding but an active choice to reject the truth of the Gospel. The "word" here refers to the message of Christ, the Gospel, which calls for repentance and faith. Historically, this disobedience was seen in the Jewish leaders' rejection of Jesus, despite the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies in His life and work.

to which they were appointed
This phrase can be challenging, as it touches on the theological concept of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. The Greek word for "appointed" is "τίθημι" (tithēmi), meaning to set, place, or lay down. In a conservative Christian perspective, this does not imply that God predestines individuals to disobedience but rather that God, in His foreknowledge, knows who will reject Him. This appointment is not to disobedience itself but to the consequences of that disobedience—stumbling over the cornerstone, Jesus Christ. Historically, this reflects the broader biblical narrative where God’s chosen people, Israel, often turned away from Him, leading to judgment and exile, yet always with a remnant preserved by grace.

(8) And a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence.--Another quotation, no doubt suggested by the word "a stone," but conveying a totally different metaphor. Here there is no thought whatever of the stone as a material for building; the thought is that of a mass of rock on the road, on which the terror-stricken fugitives stumble and fall. The words are taken from Isaiah 8:14, and are translated directly from the Hebrew. The LXX. not only makes nonsense, but can again be hardly acquitted of "guile" (1Peter 2:1) in its endeavour to make out the best possible case for Israel by deliberately inserting the word "not" twice over. We shall find St. Peter in 1Peter 3:14 quoting the verses which immediately precede our present citation, and again the point lies in the context. The words are no mere phrase hastily caught up to serve the turn. They come out of the great Immanuel section of Isaiah, and immediately involve, like the quotation in 1Peter 2:6, the sharp contrast between the Jews who trust in Immanuel (the presence of God with Israel) and the Jews who do not, but rely on "confederacies." To the one party, the Lord of Hosts will be "for a sanctuary;" but to the other party, who are described as "both houses of Israel," and specially as the "inhabitant of Jerusalem," He will be "for a stone of striking, and for a rock of stumbling over," and also "for a snare." The "sanctuary" does not seem to mean a temple (though this would connect it with the preceding words of St. Peter), but rather such a "sanctuary" as that of Bethel (Genesis 28:18), a consecrated stone to which a man might flee as an asylum. In the flight of terror before the face of the Assyrians the very stone which afforded right of sanctuary to those who recognised and trusted it, was a vexatious and dangerous obstacle, a trap full in the way to those who did not. Once more, therefore, the Hebrews of the Dispersion, in separating themselves from "both houses of Israel" and the "inhabitant of Jerusalem," were obeying the warnings of the Immanuel prophecy, which every Hebrew recognised as Messianic. Though the coupling of these passages of the Old Testament together certainly seems to show traces of the influence of St. Paul (comp. Romans 9:32-33), yet St. Peter must have been present and heard "the Lord of Hosts" Himself put them together (Luke 20:17-18), and probably St. Paul's use of the passages is itself to be traced back to the same origin. . . . Verse 8. - And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. St. Peter combines Isaiah 8:14 with his first quotations, as St. Paul also does (Ram. 9:33), both apostles quoting from the Hebrew, not from the Septuagint, which is quite different, inserting two negatives. The living Stone is not only made the Head of the corner to the confusion of the disobedient, but becomes also to their destruction a Stone of stumbling; they fall on that Stone, and are broken (Matthew 21:44). That Stone is a Rock (πέτρα), the Rock of Ages, the Rock on which the Church is built; but to the disobedient it is a Rock of offense (πέτρα σκανδάλου). Σκάνδαλον (in Attic Greek σκανδάληθρον) is properly the catch or spring of a trap, which makes animals fall into the trap; then a stumbling-block - anything which causes men to fall. We cannot fail to notice how St. Peter echoes the well-remembered words of our Lord, recorded in Matthew 16:18, 23. Peter was himself then a πέτρα σκανδάλου, a rock of offense. Even to them which stumble at the Word, being disobedient; literally, who being disobedient stumble at the Word - the relative referring back to "them which be disobedient" in ver. 7. This seems better than (with Huther and others) to take τῷ λόγῳ with ἀπειθοῦντες, "who stumble, being disobedient to the Word." Ἀπειθοῦντες, literally," unbelieving," contains here, as frequently, the idea of disobedience, willful opposition. St. Peter seems to come very near to St. John's use of Λόγος for the personal Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. Whereunto also they were appointed. "Whereunto" (εἰς ὄ) cannot refer back to ver. 5; God had appointed them to be built up in his spiritual house, but they were disobedient. It must refer either to ἀπειθοῦντες - sin is punished by sin; for sin in God's awful judgment hardens the heart; the disobedient are in danger of eternal sin (Mark 3:29, according to the two oldest manuscripts) - or, more probably, to προσκόπουσιν; it is God's ordinance that disobedience should end in stumbling; but that stumbling does not necessarily imply condemnation (see Romans 11:11). The word, the preaching of Christ crucified, was to the Jews a stumbling-block (1 Corinthians 1:23). But not all stumbled that they might fall. Nevertheless, perseverance in disobedience must end in everlasting death.

Parallel Commentaries ...


and,
Καὶ (Kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

“A stone
Λίθος (Lithos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3037: A stone; met: of Jesus as the chief stone in a building. Apparently a primary word; a stone.

of stumbling
προσκόμματος (proskommatos)
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 4348: A stumbling-block, an occasion for falling, a moral embarrassment. From proskopto; a stub, i.e. occasion of apostasy.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

a rock
πέτρα (petra)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4073: A rock, ledge, cliff, cave, stony ground. Feminine of the same as Petros; a rock.

of offense.”
σκανδάλου (skandalou)
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 4625: A snare, stumbling-block, cause for error. Scandal; probably from a derivative of kampto; a trap-stick, i.e. Snare.

[They]
Οἳ (Hoi)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3739: Who, which, what, that.

stumble [because]
προσκόπτουσιν (proskoptousin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 4350: From pros and kopto; to strike at, i.e. Surge against; specially, to stub on, i.e. Trip up.

they disobey
ἀπειθοῦντες (apeithountes)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 544: To disobey, rebel, be disloyal, refuse conformity. From apeithes; to disbelieve.

the
τῷ (tō)
Article - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

message—
λόγῳ (logō)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3056: From lego; something said; by implication, a topic, also reasoning or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, the Divine Expression.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

to
εἰς (eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

[this]
ὃ (ho)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3739: Who, which, what, that.

they were appointed.
ἐτέθησαν (etethēsan)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 5087: To put, place, lay, set, fix, establish. A prolonged form of a primary theo to place.


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NT Letters: 1 Peter 2:8 And a stone of stumbling (1 Pet. 1P iP i Pet)