Aramaic Word Study – Get Thee Behind Me – Labasatari – Lamed Beth Samek Teth Resh Yod

Matthew 16:23: “But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” KJV

Matthew 16:23: “Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” NLT 

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It is quite a charge to level at Peter, calling him Satan.  Practically all our modern translations walk in lockstep in saying that Jesus “said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan.”  Preachers have played around with this for years, trying to make it sound like Jesus was not really talking to Peter but Satan himself.  They take the route of the New Living Translation which sort of fudges with the syntax making it appear as if Jesus merely turned to Peter, but that when He spoke He spoke to Satan.  That doesn’t pan out with Greek or Aramaic syntax.

Some commentators try to explain this away by saying that the word Satan in Greek is Satana and means accuser and may not be a proper name. The only thing is, satana is an Aramaic word from the root word sata’ and yes, it does not have to be a proper name. It could apply to the devil or it could be just a regular noun which simply means accuser and not be one’s name.  It is cognate to the Hebrew and means accuser but in the Aramaic, the language that Jesus spoke it takes it a little further. Have you ever heard of “Fake News?” That is a good modern definition of satana.  It is one who is accused of using misinformation. 

The backstory to this accusation by Jesus against Peter is found in the prior two verses that led up to this accusation. Matthew 16:21-22: “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.(22) “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” Jesus was telling His disciples that he would suffer and die and Peter took Jesus aside and said: “Not on my watch.”  

You see, Peter, like many believed that the Messiah would come as a great military leader who would overthrow the Roman government and establish His own government on earth with Jesus being the new king. Jesus had to try to make Peter understand that this was not His mission here on earth, that He came to earth to suffer and die as an atonement for the sins of the world.

But did Jesus have to use such harsh language? “Get thee behind me, Satan.”  Some commentators say that Jesus was angry at Peter. Come on, give the guy a break, he meant well, he spoke to Jesus out of love and did not want Him to suffer, let alone die. But boy, to call him satan, that is a little rough. Yet, as indicated earlier, the word satana does not have to be a name or the identity of a devil. In fact, the word satana was a common word in that day. It was used for someone who using misinformation to make their point.  

In fact, the words “Get thee behind me Satan” in Aramaic is labasatari satana’.   Labasatri comes from the root word satar which means to conceal or hide. Literally, Jesus was saying: “Hide or conceal your knowledge for you are misinformed.”  Of course, we didn’t know what tone of voice Jesus used or if there was anger or irritation in His voice.  I personally have a problem thinking Jesus is harshly rebuking Peter. Maybe He was getting a bit positive with Peter but I tend to think the words themselves give us clues to the tone of voice and attitude of Jesus.  Say the words labasatari satana’ out loud.  Those words tend to have a rhythmic almost poetic flow.  It has been noted that a father in the first century often used this term for correcting their sons.  It is a colloquial or idiomatic expression.  We have such expressions in English where we try to make a point using a little rhyme in order to soften a rebuke. I have heard the expression used by a coach: “No pain, no gain.”  It is not angry, not harsh but it gets the point across without sounding like you scolding your player. 

I think we all as Christians at some time or another have picked up on misinformation and sort of ran with it not realizing that we were hindering the Gospel of Jesus.  God might have to whisper in our hearts a tender rebuke labasatari satana’ “Hey, conceal those thoughts of yours, it is misinformation and you are hindering the spread of the Gospel.”

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