Revelation 17:5

And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
upon	ἐπὶ epi	G1909	properly · preposition
her	αὐτῆς autēs	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular feminine
forehead	μέτωπον metōpon	G3359	the forehead (as opposite the countenance) · noun — accusative singular neuter
name	ὄνομα onoma	G3686	a "name" (literally or figuratively) (authority · noun — nominative singular neuter
written	γεγραμμένον, gegrammenon	G1125	to "grave" · verb — perfect passive participle, nominative singular neuter
MYSTERY	μυστήριον, mustērion	G3466	a secret or "mystery" (through the idea of silence impo… · noun — nominative singular neuter
BABYLON	Βαβυλὼν Babulōn	G897	Babylon · noun — nominative singular feminine, a place
GREAT	μεγάλη, megalē	G3173	big (literally or figuratively · adjective — nominative singular feminine
MOTHER	μήτηρ mētēr	G3384	a "mother" (literally or figuratively · noun — nominative singular feminine
HARLOTS	πορνῶν pornōn	G4204	a strumpet · noun — genitive plural feminine
AND	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
ABOMINATIONS	βδελυγμάτων bdelugmatōn	G946	a detestation · noun — genitive plural neuter
EARTH	γῆς. gēs	G1093	soil · noun — genitive singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Revelation 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of t…
Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the h…
Revelation 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to gi…
Revelation 17:7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, whic…
Isaiah 3:9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for the…
2 Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
Revelation 19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath ave…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 17:1-6

Here we have a new vision, not as to the matter of it, for that is contemporary with what came under the three last vials; but as to the manner of description, etc. Observe, 1. The invitation given to the apostle to take a view of what was here to be represented: Come hither, and I will show thee the judgment of the great whore, etc., Rev 17:1. This is a name of great infamy. A whore [in this passage] is one that is married, and has been false to her husband's bed, has forsaken the guide of her youth, and broken the covenant of God. She had been a prostitute to the kings of the earth, whom she had intoxicated with the wine of her fornication. 2. The appearance she made: it was gay and gaudy,…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 17:5

upon . . . forehead . . . name--as harlots usually had. What a contrast to "HOLINESS TO THE LORD," inscribed on the miter on the high priest's forehead! mystery--implying a spiritual fact heretofore hidden, and incapable of discovery by mere reason, but now revealed. As the union of Christ and the Church is a "great mystery" (a spiritual truth of momentous interest, once hidden, now revealed, Eph 5:31-32), so the Church conforming to the world and thereby becoming a harlot is a counter "mystery" (or spiritual truth, symbolically now revealed). As iniquity in the harlot is a leaven working in "mystery," and therefore called "the mystery of iniquity," so when she is destroyed, the iniquity h…

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Adam Clarke on Revelation 17:5

And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and Abominations of the Earth - This inscription being written upon her forehead is intended to show that she is not ashamed of her doctrines, but publicly professes and glories in them before the nations: she has indeed a whore's forehead, she has refused to be ashamed. The inscription upon her forehead is exactly the portraiture of the Latin Church. This Church is, as Bishop Newton well expresses it, A Mystery of iniquity. This woman is also called Babylon the Great; she is the exact antitype of the ancient Babylon in her idolatry and cruelty, but the ancient city called Babylon is only a drawing o…

The Church Fathers

And on her forehead was a name written, Mystery, etc. This corruption is immediately shown on the very face to be the nurse of vices, but because it is discerned only by prudent reasoning, being most ornately adorned, it is indicated to be a mystical name.
— Bede, Commentary on Revelation

The writing on the forehead indicates the shamelessness of the fullness of sins and of the confusion of the heart. She is mother because for those cities ruled by her she is the teacher of their spiritual fornication, giving birth to transgressions that are loathsome to God.
— Andreas of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 17:5

Nor does he want to openly say that the Roman empire must be destroyed, which those who rule it regard as eternal. Therefore, according to the Apocalypse of John, on the forehead of the purple-clad prostitute, the name of blasphemy is written, that is, the eternal Rome. For if he had openly and boldly said that the Antichrist would not come unless the Roman empire was first destroyed, it would have seemed like a just cause for persecution to then arise against the Church in the east.
— Jerome, Letter 121, Chapter 11

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Antichrist — Against Christ, or an opposition Christ, a rival Christ. The word is used only by the apostle John. Referring to false teachers, he says (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7), “Even now are there many…
Babylon — The Greek form of BABEL; Semitic form Babilu, meaning “The Gate of God.” In the Assyrian tablets it means “The city of the dispersion of the tribes.” The monumental list of its kings reaches back to…
Harlot — (1.) Heb. zonah (Gen. 34:31; 38:15). In verses 21, 22 the Hebrew word used in kedeshah, i.e., a woman consecrated or devoted to prostitution in connection with the abominable worship of Asherah or…
Babylon · A type of Antichrist — A type of Antichrist
Horn · SYMBOLI — SYMBOLI
Idolatry · .Licentiousness of — .Licentiousness of

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Revelation 17:5

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 17:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 17:5

Adam Clarke on Revelation 17:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Revelation 17:5

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 17:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 17:5

Adam Clarke on Revelation 17:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Revelation 17:5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Revelation 17:5