Text -- Revelation 7:1-5 (NET)

The Sealing of the 144,000

7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so no wind could blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 7:2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, who had the seal of the living God. He shouted out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given permission to damage the earth and the sea: 7:3 “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 7:4 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: 7:5 From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Rev 7:2

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

² tn Grk “from the rising of the sun.” BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατολή 2.a takes this as a geographical direction: “ἀπὸ ἀ. ἡλίου…from the east Rv 7:2; 16:12…simply ἀπὸ ἀ. …21:13.”

³ tn Grk “having,” but v. 3 makes it clear that the angel’s purpose is to seal others with the seal he carries.

⁴ tn Or “signet” (L&N 6.54).

⁵ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁶ tn The word “permission” is implied; Grk “to whom it was given to them to damage the earth.”

⁷ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

NET Notes: Rev 7:3

¹ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

NET Notes: Rev 7:4

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of new but related material.

² tn Grk “who were sealed.”

³ tn Normally, “every,” but since 144,000 is the total number, “all” is clearer here.

⁴ tn Grk “the sons of Israel,” normally an idiom for the Israelites as an ethnic entity (L&N 11.58). However, many scholars understand the expression in this context to refer to Christians rather than ethnic Israelites.