the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Revelation 7:4
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Then I heard how many people had God's mark on their foreheads. There were 144,000. They were from every tribe of the people of Israel:
And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel,
And I herde the nombre of them which were sealed and there were sealed an C. and xliiii. M. of all the trybes of the chyldren of Israhell.
I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Yisra'el:
And I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
Then I heard how many people were marked with the sign. There were one hundred forty-four thousand from every tribe of the people of Israel.
And I heard the number of those that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel:
And I heard the number of them who were sealed: [and there were] sealed a hundred [and] forty four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:
And I heard the number of them that were sealed; an hundred forty four thousand were sealed out of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
When the sealing was finished, I heard how many were sealed out of the tribes of the descendants of Israel. They were 144,000.
And I herde the noumbre of men that weren markid, an hundrid thousynde and foure and fourti thousynde markid, of euery lynage of the sones of Israel;
And I heard the number of them which were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel.
And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel:
Then I heard how many people had been marked on the forehead. There were one hundred forty-four thousand, and they came from every tribe of Israel:
And I heard how many were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand; [twelve thousand] sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:
And there came to my ears the number of those who had the mark on their brows, a hundred and forty-four thousand, who were marked out of every tribe of the people of Israel.
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And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred [and] forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of [the] sons of Israel:
I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000. Those who were sealed were from every tribe of Israel:Revelation 9:16; 14:1;">[xr]
And I heard the number of them who were sealed, an hundred and forty and four thousands, sealed of every tribe of Israel:
And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed from every tribe of Israelites.
And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundreth and fourty and foure thousand, of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:
I heard how many there were who received the mark of God. There were 144,000 people of the twelve family groups of Israel.
And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel:
And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
And I heard the number of them, which were sealed, and there were sealed an hundreth and foure and fourtie thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
And I heard the number of those who were sealed: and it was a hundred and forty and four thousand, of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
And I heard the number of them that were signed. An hundred forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel.
And I hearde the number of them which were sealed: And there were sealed an C. and xliiii. thousande, of all the tribes of the chyldren of Israel.
And I was told that the number of those who were marked with God's seal on their foreheads was 144,000. They were from the twelve tribes of Israel,
And I heard the number of the sealed:
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 children of Israel.
And I heard the number of the ones who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
And I heard the number of those having been sealed: one hundred forty four thousands, having been sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel:
And I heard the number of those sealed, (144 thousands were sealed out of all the tribes of the sons of Israel):
And I herde the nombre of them which were sealed, and there were sealed an c. and xliiij. M. of all the trybes of the children of Israell.
And I heard the number of those who were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred forty and four thousand, of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
I heard the count of those who were sealed: 144,000! They were sealed out of every Tribe of Israel: 12,000 sealed from Judah, 12,000 from Reuben, 12,000 from Gad, 12,000 from Asher, 12,000 from Naphtali, 12,000 from Manasseh, 12,000 from Simeon, 12,000 from Levi, 12,000 from Issachar, 12,000 from Zebulun, 12,000 from Joseph, 12,000 sealed from Benjamin.
Now I heard the number of those who were marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed from all the tribes of the people of Israel:
And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
And I heard the tally of those given the brand. There were 144,000 marked with the brand of God from the twelve tribes of Israel. The tallies were:
And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
I heard: Revelation 9:16
an: Revelation 14:1, Revelation 14:3, Genesis 15:5, Romans 9:27, Romans 11:5, Romans 11:6
all: Ezekiel 47:13, Ezekiel 48:19, Ezekiel 48:31, Zechariah 9:1, Matthew 19:28, Luke 22:30, Acts 26:7, James 1:1
Reciprocal: Genesis 28:14 - thy seed Genesis 35:22 - Now the sons Genesis 49:28 - every one Exodus 1:1 - General Exodus 28:21 - according to the twelve Numbers 1:5 - Elizur Numbers 1:17 - General Numbers 1:46 - General Numbers 26:55 - by lot 1 Kings 18:31 - twelve stones 2 Chronicles 11:3 - to all Israel Ezra 6:17 - according to Psalms 115:14 - Lord Ezekiel 36:38 - the waste Luke 14:22 - and yet Acts 3:26 - first Ephesians 1:10 - he Ephesians 3:15 - the whole Revelation 9:4 - which Revelation 21:12 - and names Revelation 21:17 - an
Cross-References
Now, no bush of the field, as yet - was in the earth, and, no herb of the field, as yet had sprung up, - because Yahweh God had not sent rain on the earth, and, man, was there none to till the ground;
And Yahweh said - My spirit shall not rule in man to times age - abiding, for that, he also, is flesh, - Yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.
And Yahweh said - I must wipe off man whom I created from off the face of the ground, from man unto beast unto creeping thing, and unto the bird of the heavens, - for I am grieved that I made them.
So God said unto Noah: the end of all flesh, hath come in before me, for, filled, is the earth with violence, because of them, - behold me, then, destroying them with the earth.
And, I, behold me! bringing in the flood - even waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh wherein is the spirit of life, from under the heavens, - everything that is in the earth, shall cease to breathe:
And it came to pass, in the seven days, - that the waters of the flood, came on the earth.
In the six hundredth year, the year of the life of Noah. in the second month on the seventeenth day of the month on this day, were burst open all the fountains of the great roaring deep, and the windows of the heavens, were set open.
(And it came to pass that the heavy rain was on the earth, - forty days and forty nights.)
And it came to pass, that the flood was forty days on the earth, - and the waters increased and bare up the ark, and it was lifted high above the earth,
And all flesh ceased to breathe that moved on the earth, of birds and of tame-beasts and of wild-beasts, and of all the swarming things that swarm on the earth, - land all mankind.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And I heard the number of them which were sealed,.... And therefore could be sure of the exact number, which did not depend upon his sight, and telling them, in which some mistake might have been made, but he heard the number expressed:
[and there were] sealed an hundred [and] forty, [and] four thousand: which is a square number arising from twelve, the square root of it, being just twelve times twelve thousand; and may denote their being the true and genuine offspring of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, holding their doctrine, and being built on their foundation; see
Revelation 21:14; and these were
of all the tribes of the children of Israel; not that these were all Jews in a literal sense, for the time of their conversion in great numbers is not yet come. Dr. Goodwin thinks these sealed ones design the believers of the Greek and Armenian churches, and his reasons are not despicable; but this is to limit and restrain them to a particular part of the church of Christ; whereas they take in all the saints within this long tract of time, even all that are the true Israel of God, who are Jews inwardly, of what nation, kindred, tongue, and people soever; and is a certain and determinate number for an uncertain and indeterminate one; and only intends a large number of persons known to God and Christ; see the Apocrypha:
"Arise up and stand, behold the number of those that be sealed in the feast of the Lord;'' (2 Esdras 2:38)
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And I heard the number of them which were sealed - He does not say where he heard that, or by whom it was communicated to him, or when it was done. The material point is, that he heard it; he did not see it done. Either by the angel, or by some direct communication from God, he was told of the number that would be sealed, and of the distribution of the whole number into twelve equal parts, represented by the tribes of the children of Israel.
And there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel - In regard to this number, the first and the main question is, whether it is meant that this was to be the literal number, or whether it was symbolical; and, if the latter, of what it is a symbol:
I. As to the first of these inquiries, there does not appear to be any good reason for doubt. The fair interpretation seems to require that it should be understood as symbolical, or as designed not to be literally taken; for:
(a)The whole scene is symbolical - the winds, the angels, the sealing.
- It cannot be supposed that this number will include all who will be sealed and saved. In whatever way this is interpreted, and whatever we may suppose it to refer to, we cannot but suppose that more than this number will be saved.
- The number is too exact and artificial to suppose that it is literal. It is inconceivable that exactly the same number - precisely twelve thousand - should be selected from each tribe of the children of Israel.
- If literal, it is necessary to suppose that this refers to the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. But on every supposition this is absurd. Ten of their tribes had been long before carried away, and the distinction of the tribes was lost, no more to be recovered, and the Hebrew people never have been, since the time of John, in circumstances to which the description here could be applicable. These considerations make it clear that the description here is symbolical. But,
II. Of what is it symbolical? Is it of a large number, or of a small number? Is it of those who would be saved from among the Jews, or of all who would be saved in the Christian church - represented as the “tribes of the children of Israel?” To these inquiries we may answer:
(1) That the representation seems to be rather that of a comparatively small number than a large one, for these reasons:
(a) The number of itself is not large.
(b) The number is not large as compared with those who must have constituted the tribes here referred to - the number twelve thousand, for example, as compared with the whole number of the tribe of Judah, of the tribe of Reuben, etc.
(c) It would seem from the language that there would be some selection from a much greater number. Thus, not all in the tribes were scaled, but those who were sealed were “of all the tribes” - ἐκ πάσης φυλῆς ek pasēs phulēs; that is, out of these tribes. So in the specification in each tribe - ἐκ φυλῆς Ἰούδα, Ρουβὴν ek phulēs Iouda, Roubēn, etc. Some out of the tribe, to wit, twelve thousand, were sealed, It is not said of the twelve thousand of the tribes of Judah, Reuben, etc., that they constituted the tribe, but that they were sealed out of the tribe, as a part of it preserved and saved. “When the preposition ἐκ ek, or “out of,” stands after any such verb as sealed, between a definite numeral and a noun of multitude in the genitive, sound criticism requires, doubtless, that the numeral should be thus construed as signifying, not the whole, but a part taken out” (Elliott, i. 237). Compare Exodus 32:28; Num 1:21; 1 Samuel 4:10. The phrase, then, would properly denote those taken out of some other and greater number - as a portion of a tribe, and not the whole tribe. If the reference here is to the church, it would seem to denote that a portion only of that church would be sealed.
(d) For the same reason the idea would seem to be, that comparatively a small portion is referred to - as twelve thousand would be comparatively a small part of one of the tribes of Israel; and if this refers to the church, we should expect to find its fulfillment in a state of things in which the largest proportion would not be scaled; that is, in a corrupt state of the church in which there would be many professors of religion, but comparatively few who had real piety.
(2) To the other inquiry - whether this refers to those who would be sealed and saved among the Jews, or to those in the Christian church - we may answer:
(a) that there are strong reasons for supposing the latter to be the correct opinion. Long before the time of John all these distinctions of tribe were abolished. The ten tribes had been carried away and scattered in distant lands, never more to be restored; and it cannot be supposed that there was any such literal selection from the twelve tribes as is here spoken of, or any such designation of twelve thousand from each. There was no occasion - either when Jerusalem was destroyed, or at any ether time - on which there were such transactions as are here referred to occurring in reference to the children of Israel.
(b) The language is such as a Christian, who had been by birth and education a Hebrew, would naturally use if he wished to designate the church. Compare the notes on James 1:1. Accustomed to speak of the people of God as “the twelve tribes of Israel,” nothing was more natural than to transfer this language to the church of the Redeemer, and to speak of it in that figurative manner. Accordingly, from the necessity of the case, the language is universally understood to have reference to the Christian church. Even Prof. Stuart, who supposes that the reference is to the siege and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, interprets it of the preservation of Christians, and their flight to Pella, beyond Jordan. Thus interpreted, moreover, it accords with the entire symbolical character of the representation.
(c) The reference to the particular tribes may be a designed allusion to the Christian church as it would be divided into denominations, or known by different names; and the fact that a certain portion would be sealed from every tribe would not be an unfit representation of the fact that a portion of all the various churches or denominations would be sealed and saved. That is, salvation would be confined to no one church or denomination, but among them all there would be found true servants of God. It would be improper to suppose that the division into tribes among the children of Israel was designed to be a type of the sects and denominations in the Christian church, and yet the fact of such a division may not improperly be employed as an illustration of that; for the whole church is made up not of any one denomination alone, but of all who hold the truth combined, as the people of God in ancient times consisted not solely of any one tribe, however large and powerful, but of all combined. Thus understood, the symbol would point to a time when there would be various denominations in the church, and yet with the idea that true friends of God would be found among them all.
(d) Perhaps nothing can be argued from the fact that exactly twelve thousand were selected from each of the tribes. In language so figurative and symbolical as this, it could not be maintained that this proves that the santo definite number would be taken from each denomination of Christians. Perhaps all that can be fairly inferred is, that there would be no partiality or preference for one more than another; that there would be no favoritism on account of the tribe or denomination to which anyone belonged; but that the seal would be impressed on all, of any denomination, who had the true spirit of religion. No one would receive the token of the divine favor because he was of the tribe of Judah or Reuben; no one because he belonged to any particular denomination of Christians. Large numbers from every branch of the church would be sealed; none would be sealed because he belonged to one form of external organization rather than to another; none would be excluded because he belonged to any one tribe, if he had the spirit and held the sentiments which made it proper to recognize him as a servant of God. These views seem to me to express the true sense of this passage. No one can seriously maintain that the writer meant to refer literally to the Jewish people; and if he referred to the Christian church, it seems to be to some selection that would be made out of the whole church, in which there would be no favoritism or partiality, and to the fact that, in regard to them, there would be some something which, in the midst of abounding corruption or impending danger, would designate them as the chosen people of God, and would furnish evidence that they would be safe.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Revelation 7:4. I heard the number of them which were sealed — In the number of 144,000 are included all the Jews converted to Christianity; 12,000 out of each of the twelve tribes: but this must be only a certain for an uncertain number; for it is not to be supposed that just 12,000 were converted out of each of the twelve tribes.
