Revelation 21:12

And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	τέ té	G5037	both or also (properly
had	ἔχουσα echousa	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active participle, nominative singular feminine
wall	τεῖχος teichos	G5038	a wall (as formative of a house) · noun — accusative singular neuter
great	μέγα mega	G3173	big (literally or figuratively · adjective — accusative singular neuter
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
high	ὑψηλόν, hupsēlon	G5308	lofty (in place or character) · adjective — accusative singular neuter
had	ἔχουσα echousa	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active participle, nominative singular feminine
twelve	δώδεκα dōdeka	G1427	two and ten · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
gates	πυλῶνας pulōnas	G4440	a gate-way · noun — accusative plural masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
at	ἐπὶ epi	G1909	properly · preposition
gates	πυλῶσιν pulōsin	G4440	a gate-way · noun — dative plural masculine
twelve	δώδεκα, dōdeka	G1427	two and ten · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
angels	ἀγγέλους angelous	G32	compare G34 (ἀγέλη)) (to bring tidings) · noun — accusative plural masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
names	ὀνόματα onomata	G3686	a "name" (literally or figuratively) (authority · noun — accusative plural neuter
thereon	ἐπιγεγραμμένα, epigegrammena	G1924	to inscribe (physically or mentally) · verb — perfect passive participle, accusative plural neuter
which	ἅ ha	G3739	the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun · relative pronoun — nominative plural neuter
are	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
twelve	δώδεκα dōdeka	G1427	two and ten · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
tribes	φυλῶν phulōn	G5443	an offshoot · noun — genitive plural feminine
children	υἱῶν huiōn	G5207	a "son" (sometimes of animals) · noun — genitive plural masculine
Israel	Ἰσραήλ· Israēl	G2474	Israel (i.e. Jisrael) · noun — genitive singular masculine, a place

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

Ezekiel 48:31-34 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, on…
Revelation 7:4-8 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the chil…
Revelation 21:17-21 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
Isaiah 54:12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
Revelation 21:25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
Psalms 122:7 Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.
Numbers 2:2-32 Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house: far off about the tabernacle o…
Nehemiah 12:27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedi…

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 21:9–end

We have already considered the introduction to the vision of the new Jerusalem in a more general idea of the heavenly state; we now come to the vision itself, where observe, I. The person that opened the vision to the apostle - one of the seven angels, that had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, Rev 21:9. God has a variety of work and employment for his holy angels. Sometimes they are to sound the trumpet of divine Providence, and give fair warning to a careless world; sometimes they are to pour out the vials of God's anger upon impenitent sinners; and sometimes to discover things of a heavenly nature to those that are the heirs of salvation. They readily execute every commissio…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 21:12

And--A and B omit. Eze 48:30-35, has a similar description, which implies that the millennial Jerusalem shall have its exact antitype in the heavenly Jerusalem which shall descend on the finally regenerated earth. wall great and high--setting forth the security of the Church. Also, the exclusion of the ungodly. twelve angels--guards of the twelve gates: an additional emblem of perfect security, while the gates being never shut (Rev 21:25) imply perfect liberty and peace. Also, angels shall be the brethren of the heavenly citizens. names of . . . twelve tribes--The inscription of the names on the gates implies that none but the spiritual Israel, God's elect, shall enter the heavenly cit…

Read the whole note in the console

Adam Clarke on Revelation 21:12

Had a wall great and high - An almighty defense. Twelve gates - A gate for every tribe of Israel, in the vicinity of which gate that tribe dwelt; so that in coming in and going out they did not mix with each other. This description of the city is partly taken from Eze 48:30-35. In Synopsis Sohar, p. 115, n. 27, it is said: "In the palace of the world to come there are twelve gates, each of which is inscribed with one of the twelve tribes, as that of Reuben, of Simeon, etc.: he, therefore, who is of the tribe of Reuben is received into none of the twelve gates but his own; and so of the rest."

The Church Fathers

Having twelve gates. These gates are the apostles, who, by their writings or deeds, originally opened the entrance to the Church to all nations.
— Bede, Commentary on Revelation

And at the gates twelve angels. That is, the teachers following the footsteps of the apostles in the mystery of faith and the word.
— Bede, Commentary on Revelation

And names written, etc. This signifies the memory of the ancient fathers implanted in the hearts of the preachers. Hence, the high priest entering the tabernacle is commanded to carry the memorial of the fathers on the breastplate of judgment.
— Bede, Commentary on Revelation

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

Wall — Cities were surrounded by walls, as distinguished from “unwalled villages” (Ezek. 38:11; Lev. 25:29-34). They were made thick and strong (Num. 13:28; Deut. 3:5). Among the Jews walls were built of…
Israel · .Names of, seen in — .Names of, seen in
Jerusalem · NEW — NEW
Walls, Of The Cities · .Of the new — .Of the new

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 21:12

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 21:9–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 21:12

Adam Clarke on Revelation 21:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Revelation 21:12

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Revelation 21:9–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Revelation 21:12

Adam Clarke on Revelation 21:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Revelation 21:12

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Revelation 21:12-14