Return to Answer

רעי, רָעָה  (b. h.) [to join, arrange, cmp. דבר,] to lead, pasture, feed; (neut. verb) to graze. Ex. R. s. 2 כשהיה משה … רוֹעֶה צאנו וכ׳ when Moses … was feeding Jethro’s flock in the desert &c.; חייך אתה תִרְעֶה וכ׳ as thou livest, thou shalt lead my flock, Israel. Ib. והיה מוציא הקטנים לִרְעוֹת כדי שיִרְעוּ וכ׳ he (David) took out the young first that they might eat the tender grass &c. Yoma VI, 1 יִרְעֶה עד שיסתאב, v. סָאַב; Bekh. II, 9 ירעו עד וכ׳; a. fr. Hif. - הִרְעָה to lead to pasture, feed. Erub. 17ᵃ; B. Kam. 81ᵃ top שיהו מַרְעִין וכ׳, v. חוֹרֶשׁ; a. e. Pi. - רִיעָה, רֵעָה (v. Jud. XIV, 20) to associate, make a friend, companion. Cant. R. to II, 9 (ref. to רעיתי, ib. 10) בתו של יצחק שריעה אותי וייפה אותי וכ׳ the daughter of Isaac who declared me (the Lord) his friend and beautified me (the faith in God) on the altar. Lam. R. introd. (R. Josh. 1) שתָּרֵיעַ לקבל וכ׳ (some ed. שתָּרֵיעוּ; from רעע, v. רֵיעַ) that thou (you) form a partnership &c., v. שָׂרַע.

רְעֵי, רְעָא I ch. same , to feed; to graze. Targ. Gen. XXX, 31; 36. Targ. Ex. XXXIV, 3; a. fr.—Ber. 56ᵃ ורַעֲיֵי וכ׳, v. שָׁקְצָא. -- Jastrow, רֵעוּת, London, Luzac, 1903 https://www.sefaria.org/Jastrow%2C_%D7%A8%D6%B0%D7%A2%D6%B5%D7%99?lang=bi

רָעָה , רעי (b. h.) [to join, arrange, cmp. דבר,] to lead, pasture, feed; (neut. verb) to graze. ... Hif. הִרְעָה to lead to pasture, feed. ... Pi. רִיעָה, רֵעָה (v. Jud. 14:20) to associate, make a friend, companion ... רְעֵי, רְעָא I ch. same, to feed; to graze. ... -- Jastrow, M. (1903). In A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature and II (Vol. 1, p. 1486). Luzac & Co.; G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

רְעוּת f. (v. רֵעַ) friend, neighbor; another.... Ibid.

Hebrew usually uses th particle to express the equivalent of English present tense, thus רֹעֶה for for the second homonym, or meaning, “that I love/(am associated with) you.” But, the same phrase if interpreted as with the first homonym means, “that I am shepherd with you,” or “that I graze you.”

Hebrew usually uses the participle to express the equivalent of English present tense, thus רֹעֶה for for the second homonym, or meaning, “that I love/(am associated with) you.” But, the same phrase if interpreted as with the first homonym means, “that I am shepherd with you,” or “that I graze you.”

While רֵעַ is the most common Hebrew word for friend in the Old Testament, it is more commonly used in the sense of neighbor and is used almost as often for countryman as it is for friend. Thus, the verb has the connotation common loyalty or association. In a sense Peter was saying “My loyalty still belongs to you in spite of denying you.”

רָעָה … vb. prob. associate with -- Brown, F., Driver, S. R., & Briggs, C. A. (1977). In Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (p. 945). Clarendon Press.

While רֵעַ is the most common Hebrew word for friend in the Old Testament (Olyan, S. M. (2017). Friendship in the Hebrew Bible. (J. J. Collins, Ed.) (p. 4). New Haven; London: Yale University Press.), it is more commonly used in the sense of neighbor and is used almost as often for countryman as it is for friend. Thus, the verb has the connotation common loyalty or association. In a sense Peter was saying “My loyalty still belongs to you in spite of denying you.”

רָעָה … vb. prob. associate with -- Brown, F., Driver, S. R., & Briggs, C. A. (1977). In Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (p. 945). Clarendon Press.

These words are also in Talmudic Aramaic:

רעי, רָעָה (b. h.) [to join, arrange, cmp. דבר,] to lead, pasture, feed; (neut. verb) to graze. Ex. R. s. 2 כשהיה משה … רוֹעֶה צאנו וכ׳ when Moses … was feeding Jethro’s flock in the desert &c.; חייך אתה תִרְעֶה וכ׳ as thou livest, thou shalt lead my flock, Israel. Ib. והיה מוציא הקטנים לִרְעוֹת כדי שיִרְעוּ וכ׳ he (David) took out the young first that they might eat the tender grass &c. Yoma VI, 1 יִרְעֶה עד שיסתאב, v. סָאַב; Bekh. II, 9 ירעו עד וכ׳; a. fr. Hif. - הִרְעָה to lead to pasture, feed. Erub. 17ᵃ; B. Kam. 81ᵃ top שיהו מַרְעִין וכ׳, v. חוֹרֶשׁ; a. e. Pi. - רִיעָה, רֵעָה (v. Jud. XIV, 20) to associate, make a friend, companion. Cant. R. to II, 9 (ref. to רעיתי, ib. 10) בתו של יצחק שריעה אותי וייפה אותי וכ׳ the daughter of Isaac who declared me (the Lord) his friend and beautified me (the faith in God) on the altar. Lam. R. introd. (R. Josh. 1) שתָּרֵיעַ לקבל וכ׳ (some ed. שתָּרֵיעוּ; from רעע, v. רֵיעַ) that thou (you) form a partnership &c., v. שָׂרַע.

רְעֵי, רְעָא I ch. same , to feed; to graze. Targ. Gen. XXX, 31; 36. Targ. Ex. XXXIV, 3; a. fr.—Ber. 56ᵃ ורַעֲיֵי וכ׳, v. שָׁקְצָא. -- Jastrow, רֵעוּת, London, Luzac, 1903 https://www.sefaria.org/Jastrow%2C_%D7%A8%D6%B0%D7%A2%D6%B5%D7%99?lang=bi