Ezekiel 48:31

Hebrew Bible

30 “These are the exits of the city: On the north side, 1½ miles by measure, 31 the gates of the city will be named for the tribes of Israel. There will be three gates to the north: one gate for Reuben, one gate for Judah, and one gate for Levi. 32 On the east side, 1½ miles in length, there will be three gates: one gate for Joseph, one gate for Benjamin, and one gate for Dan. 33 On the south side, 1½ miles by measure, there will be three gates: one gate for Simeon, one gate for Issachar, and one gate for Zebulun. 34 On the west side, 1½ miles in length, there will be three gates: one gate for Gad, one gate for Asher, and one gate for Naphtali.

Revelation 21:12

New Testament

10 So he took me away in the Spirit to a huge, majestic mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. 11 The city possesses the glory of God; its brilliance is like a precious jewel, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 12 It has a massive, high wall with twelve gates, with twelve angels at the gates, and the names of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel are written on the gates. 13 There are 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. 14 The wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 The angel who spoke to me had a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city and its foundation stones and wall.

 Notes and References

"... It is a pity that we cannot determine the precise nature of the institution al­luded to in Pesher Isaiah. Were this text preserved in its entirety, it would probably provide us with clear information regarding the origins of the early Christian institution of the twelve apostles. For we find striking parallels be­ tween the New Testament and the pre-Christian Qumran writings with re­gard to the religious and conceptual underpinnings of the twelve apostles, the inner circle of Jesus. Consider Revelation 21:12-14 which, like Pesher Isaiah, describes eschatological Jerusalem ... It is evident that the author bases himself first and foremost on Ezekiel 48:31-34, interpreting "the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel" (Ezekiel 48:31) as if the names of the tribes are inscribed on each of the twelve gates. Revelation then goes on to characterize the gates as follows: "And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass" (Revelation 21:21). Scholars have rightly recognized that The Apocalypse of John here echoes the words of Isaiah 54:12. The similarity to this verse, or, more precisely, to the Qumran Pesher's inter­pretation of this verse, becomes more pronounced once we consider John of Patmos' description of the twelve foundation stones of eschatological Jerusa­lem ..."

Flusser, David Judaism of the Second Temple Period (p. 311) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007

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