Revelation 7:3-5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
3 “Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”(A) 4 I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked[a] from every tribe of the Israelites:(B) 5 twelve thousand were marked from the tribe of Judah,[b] twelve thousand from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand from the tribe of Gad,
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- 7:4–9 One hundred and forty-four thousand: the square of twelve (the number of Israel’s tribes) multiplied by a thousand, symbolic of the new Israel (cf. Rev 14:1–5; Gal 6:16; Jas 1:1) that embraces people from every nation, race, people, and tongue (Rev 7:9).
- 7:5–8 Judah is placed first because of Christ; cf. “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev 5:5). Dan is omitted because of a later tradition that the antichrist would arise from it.
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