Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
Twelve is the number of the tribes, and appropriate to the Church: three by four: three, the divine number, multiplied by four, the number for world-wide extension. Twelve by twelve implies fixity and completeness, which is taken a thousandfold in 144,000. A thousand implies the world perfectly pervaded by the divine; for it is ten, the world number, raised to the power of three, the number of God.
of all the tribes--literally, "out of every tribe"; not 144,000 of each tribe, but the aggregate of the twelve thousand from every tribe.
children--Greek, "sons of Israel." Revelation 3:12; Revelation 21:12, are no objection, as ALFORD thinks, to the literal Israel being meant; for, in consummated glory, still the Church will be that "built on the foundation of the (Twelve) apostles (Israelites), Jesus Christ (an Israelite) being the chief corner-stone." Gentile believers shall have the name of Jerusalem written on them, in that they shall share the citizenship antitypical to that of the literal Jerusalem.
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Song of Solomon 5:14
Ezekiel 9:6
Ezekiel 37:9
Zechariah 4:7
Revelation 1:5
Revelation 9:4
Revelation 9:12
Revelation 9:15
Revelation 11:3
Revelation 11:12
Revelation 12:5
Revelation 12:6
Revelation 12:14
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