Exodus 15:27

15:27 Then they came to Elim, ¹  where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.

Exodus 24:4

24:4 and Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Early in the morning he built ²  an altar at the foot ³  of the mountain and arranged ⁴  twelve standing stones ⁵  – according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Exodus 28:21

28:21 The stones are to be for the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, according to the number of ⁶  their names. Each name according to the twelve tribes is to be like ⁷  the engravings of a seal.

Leviticus 24:5

24:5 “You must take choice wheat flour ⁸  and bake twelve loaves; ⁹  there must be two tenths of an ephah of flour in ¹⁰  each loaf,

Joshua 3:12

3:12 Now select for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one per tribe.

Joshua 3:1

Israel Crosses the Jordan

3:1 Bright and early the next morning Joshua and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan. ¹¹  They camped there before crossing the river. ¹² 

Joshua 18:1

The Tribes Meet at Shiloh

18:1 The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting. ¹³  Though they had subdued the land, ¹⁴ 

Ezra 6:17

6:17 For the dedication of this temple of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

Revelation 7:4

7:4 Now ¹⁵  I heard the number of those who were marked with the seal, ¹⁶  one hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed from all ¹⁷  the tribes of the people of Israel: ¹⁸ 

Revelation 12:1

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

12:1 Then ¹⁹  a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. ²⁰ 

Revelation 21:12-14

21:12 It has ²¹  a massive, high wall ²²  with twelve gates, ²³  with twelve angels at the gates, and the names of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel ²⁴  are written on the gates. ²⁵  21:13 There are ²⁶  three gates on the east side, three gates on the north side, three gates on the south side and three gates on the west side. ²⁷  21:14 The ²⁸  wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Revelation 22:2

22:2 flowing down the middle of the city’s ²⁹  main street. ³⁰  On each side ³¹  of the river is the tree of life producing twelve kinds ³²  of fruit, yielding its fruit every month of the year. ³³  Its leaves are for the healing of the nations.

[15:27]  ¹ sn Judging from the way the story is told they were not far from the oasis. But God had other plans for them, to see if they would trust him wholeheartedly and obey. They did not do very well this first time, and they will have to learn how to obey. The lesson is clear: God uses adversity to test his people’s loyalty. The response to adversity must be prayer to God, for he can turn the bitter into the sweet, the bad into the good, and the prospect of death into life.

[24:4]  ² tn The two preterites quite likely form a verbal hendiadys (the verb “to get up early” is frequently in such constructions). Literally it says, “and he got up early [in the morning] and he built”; this means “early [in the morning] he built.” The first verb becomes the adverb.

[24:4]  ³ tn “under.”

[24:4]  ⁴ tn The verb “arranged” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied to clarify exactly what Moses did with the twelve stones.

[24:4]  ⁵ tn The thing numbered is found in the singular when the number is plural – “twelve standing-stone.” See GKC 433 §134.f. The “standing-stone” could be a small piece about a foot high, or a huge column higher than men. They served to commemorate treaties (Gen 32), or visions (Gen 28) or boundaries, or graves. Here it will function with the altar as a place of worship.

[28:21]  ⁶ tn For clarity the words “the number of” have been supplied.

[28:21]  ⁷ tn The phrase translated “the engravings of a seal” is an adverbial accusative of manner here.

[24:5]  ⁸ sn See the note on Lev 2:1.

[24:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “and bake it twelve loaves”; KJV, NAB, NASB “cakes.”

[24:5]  ¹⁰ tn The words “of flour” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And Joshua arose early in the morning and he and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan.”

[3:1]  ¹² tn The words “the river,” though not in the Hebrew text, have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”

[18:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the land was subdued before them.”

[7:4]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of new but related material.

[7:4]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “who were sealed.”

[7:4]  ¹⁷ tn Normally, “every,” but since 144,000 is the total number, “all” is clearer here.

[7:4]  ¹⁸ 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.

[12:1]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[12:1]  ²⁰ sn Sun…moon…stars. This imagery is frequently identified with the nation Israel because of Joseph’s dream in Gen 37.

[21:12]  ²¹ tn Grk “jasper, having.” Here a new sentence was started in the translation.

[21:12]  ²² tn Grk “a (city) wall great and high.”

[21:12]  ²³ tn On this term BDAG 897 s.v. πυλών 1 states, “gate, esp. of the large, impressive gateways at the entrance of temples and palaces…of the entrances of the heavenly Jerusalem…οἱ πυλῶνες αὐτῆς οὐ μὴ κλεισθῶσιν its entrances shall never be shut Rv 21:25; cp. vss. 12ab, 13abcd, 15, 21ab; 22:14.”

[21:12]  ²⁴ tn Grk “of the sons of Israel.” The translation “nation of Israel” is given in L&N 11.58.

[21:12]  ²⁵ tn Grk “on them”; the referent (the gates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:13]  ²⁶ tn The words “There are” have been supplied to make a complete English sentence. This is a continuation of the previous sentence, a lengthy and complicated one in Greek.

[21:13]  ²⁷ tn The word “side” has been supplied four times in this verse for clarity.

[21:14]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:2]  ²⁹ tn Grk “its”; the referent (the city, the new Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ³⁰ tn The Greek word πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to a major (broad) street (L&N 1.103).

[22:2]  ³¹ tn Grk “From here and from there.”

[22:2]  ³² tn Or “twelve crops” (one for each month of the year).

[22:2]  ³³ tn The words “of the year” are implied.