As chaves do reino em Mateus 16,19 à luz de Gênesis 12,3: abertura salvífica para as nações

Abstract

This thesis presents a study on the meaning of the keys given to Simon Peter in Mt 16:19 in the light of the promise that God made to Abraham in Gen 12:3. Normally when we talk about a lock and its corresponding key, the image that is evoked is that of the instrument that serves to close and guard some good that needs to be protected. However, when Matthew's Gospel was written, the modern key models so common today did not exist. So, the question must be raised: what type of lock was used in the first century to close the doors? And the keys used in this mechanism, what were they like? This research shows that the keys used in this type of lock were usually made of wood, whose purpose was to unlock the bolt that kept the door closed. Even the word used in Hebrew to describe a key is maptêah. This word has an etymological root whose basic meaning is that of openness, freedom, brokenness, etc. The word used by Mt 16:19 to describe the keys given to Peter is kleis (kleidas, accusative feminine plural), which is a Greek term. However, Jesus would certainly not have used this word, since his mother tongue was Aramaic. His listeners in the episode in question were also Aramaic-speaking. It follows, therefore, that the term kleidas was the translation of what Jesus would have uttered in the Semitic language, whose etymology is linked to the root pth, which always presupposes openness. This fact completely changes the understanding we have of the Matthean keys, and consequently points to new hermeneutical, pastoral and ecumenical possibilities. This new understanding of the Matthean keys, as an instrument of openness, reflects the Abrahamic promise of Gen 12:3 when God himself says to the patriarch: "Through you all the clans of the earth shall be blessed"