Revelation 21:14 BSB

Revelation 21:14

The wall of the city had twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

KJV

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

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Commentary

2 voices

Primasius of Hadrumetum

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 21:14 (560)

Having mentioned the patriarchs, he now mentions the apostles. Although we know that the church has but a single foundation, that is, Christ, it is not surprising that here it is said to have twelve [foundations]. In Christ the apostles have merited to be foundations …

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb - Figuratively showing that the inhabitants of the city had built only on that faith which the apostles once delivered to the saints.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

The wall - had twelve foundations - Probably twelve stones, one of which served for a foundation or threshold to each gate; and on these were inscribed the names of the twelve apostles, to intimate that it was by the doctrine of the apostles that souls enter into the Church, and thence into the New Jerusalem.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Peter is not the only apostolic rock on whose preaching Christ builds His Church. Christ Himself is the true foundation: the twelve are foundations only in regard to their apostolic testimony concerning Him.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

18 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
καὶ	kai	And	G2532 →
τὸ	to	the	G3588 →
τεῖχος	teichos	wall	G5038 →
τῆς	tēs	of the	G3588 →
πόλεως	poleōs	city	G4172 →
ἔχων	echōn	had	G2192 →
θεμελίους	themelious	foundations	G2310 →
δώδεκα	dōdeka	twelve	G1427 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἐπ᾽	ep᾽	on	G1909 →
αὐτῶν	autōn	them	G846 →
δώδεκα	dōdeka	twelve	G1427 →
ὀνόματα	onomata	names	G3686 →
τῶν	tōn	of the	G3588 →
δώδεκα	dōdeka	twelve	G1427 →
ἀποστόλων	apostolōn	apostles	G652 →
τοῦ	tou	of the	G3588 →
ἀρνίου.¶	arniou	Lamb.	G721 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Ephesians 2:20
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.
leads to
- 1 Peter 2:4–5
  As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
- Isaiah 28:16
  So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
- 1 Peter 2:7–8
  To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
- Psalms 118:22
  The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
Through
Hebrews 11:10
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
leads to
- Hebrews 13:14
  For here we do not have a permanent city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
- Philippians 3:20
  But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
- 2 Corinthians 5:1
  Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
- Hebrews 12:22
  Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels

Featured studies on this passage

On Revelation 21:14

Creation to New Creation

The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city — and the city has the garden in the middle of it. Seven explicit textual echoes bind Genesis 1–2 to Revelation 21–22.

Open the study →