And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred [and] forty [and] four cubits, [according to] the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
17. he measured the wall ] We should naturally understand, the height of it. The walls of the historical Babylon are differently stated as having been 200, 300, or nearly 340 feet high. But we are told that they were about 80 feet in breadth (Hdt. I. 178:5: cf. Jer 51:58): so if we do admit that the City here is conceived as 340 miles high, there is a sort of proportion in making its walls not less than 73 yards thick.
according to the angel ] Rather, of an angel. Angels use, he means, a cubit of the same length as men viz. the average length of the forearm, from the elbow to the finger-tip. It is perhaps implied, that angels are not of superhuman stature.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And he measured the wall thereof – In respect to its height. Of course, its length corresponded with the extent of the city.
An hundred and forty and four cubits – This would be, reckoning the cubit at eighteen inches, two hundred and sixteen feet. This is less than the height of the walls of Babylon, which Herodotus says were three hundred and fifty feet high. See the introduction to chapter 13 of Isaiah. As the walls of a city are designed to protect it from external foes, the height mentioned here gives all proper ideas of security; and we are to conceive of the city itself as towering immensely above the walls. Its glory, therefore, would not be obscured by the wall that was thrown around it for defense.
According to the measure of a man – The measure usually employed by men. This seems to be added in order to prevent any mistake as to the size of the city. It is an angel who makes the measurement, and without this explanation it might perhaps be supposed that he used some measure not in common use among people, so that, after all, it would be impossible to form any definite idea of the size of the city.
That is, of the angel – That is, which is the measure employed by the angel. It was, indeed, an angel who measured the city, but the measure which he employed was that in common use among people.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 17. The wall-a hundred and forty and four cubits] This is twelve, the number of the apostles, multiplied by itself: for twelve times twelve make one hundred and forty-four.
The measure of a man, that is, of the angel.] The cubit, so called from cubitus, the elbow, is the measure from the tip of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, and is generally reckoned at one foot and a half, or eighteen inches; though it appears, from some measurements at the pyramids of Egypt, that the cubit was, at least in some cases, twenty-one inches.
By the cubit of a man we may here understand the ordinary cubit, and that this was the angel’s cubit who appeared in the form of a man. Or suppose we understand the height of the man as being here intended, and that this was the length of the measuring rod. Now allowing this height and rod to be six feet, and that this was intended to have some kind of symbolical reference to the twelve tribes, mentioned Re 21:12, represented by the twelve gates; and to the twelve apostles, represented by the twelve thresholds or foundations; then twenty-four, the number of the tribes and apostles, multiplied by six, make precisely the number one hundred and forty-four.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This could not be the measure of the compass, (it was for that much too little), nor of the height or breadth, (for either of them it was much too great), from whence Dr. Potter concluded, it must be the square measure; so as the height and breadth of it was twelve cubits, for twelve times twelve make one hundred and forty-four.
According to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel; as men use to measure, and as this angel measured, who appeared as a man in this action.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. hundred . . . forty . . . fourcubitstwelve times twelve: the Church-number squared. The wallis far beneath the height of the city.
measure of a man, that is, ofthe angelThe ordinary measure used by men is themeasure here used by the angel, distinct from “themeasure of the sanctuary.” Men shall then be equal to theangels.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits,…. The root of which is twelve, for twelve times twelve is a hundred and forty four; which number is mystical and apostolical, and suited to the perfect state of this church: hence twelve gates, and twelve angels at them, and the names of the twelve tribes on them, and twelve foundations of the wall, and twelve thousand furlongs, the measure of the city.
According to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel; who talked with John, and measured the city, gates, and wall, and who appeared in the form of a man; and his reed might be, as some have supposed, the length of a man, six cubits, or six feet, as in Eze 40:5 and may denote that this business requires the utmost wisdom and understanding of a man, and even of an angel, to look into, and find out; see
Re 13:18 and also may signify the angelic state of the saints at this time, when the children of the resurrection will be like the angels of God, for immortality and glory.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
A hundred and forty and four cubits ( ). Another multiple of 12 (12×12=144) as in Rev 7:4; Rev 14:1. It is not clear whether it is the height or the breadth of the wall that is meant, though (height) comes just before. That would be 216 feet high (cf. verse 12), not enormous in comparison with the 7,000,000 feet (1500 miles) height of the city.
According to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel ( , ). No preposition for “according to,” just the accusative case of general reference in apposition with the verb . Though measured by an angel, a human standard was employed, man’s measure which is angel’s (Bengel).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Cubits [] . The word originally means that part of the arm between the hand and the elbow – joint, the forearm. Hence a cubit or ell, a measure of the distance from the joint of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, i e., about a foot and a half. The precise length, however, is disputed. Cubit is from the Latin cubitus the elbow, on which one reclines (cubat). Some take the one hundred and forty – four cubits as representing the height of the wall; others the thickness. If the height, then they must be interpreted as equal to the twelve thousand furlongs, since the length and the breadth and the height of the city are equal (ver. 16). It is to be noted, however, that there is a distinction between the measure of the city and the measure of the wall. “The most inconsiderable wall” remarks Dusterdieck, “is sufficient to exclude all that is impure.”
The measure of a man, that is, of the angel. “It is to be the dwelling – place of men; and even, therefore, when an angel measures it, he measures it according to the measure of a man” (Milligan).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And he measured the wall thereof,” (kai emetresen to teichos autes) “And he measured the dimensions of its wall,” symbol of security for the inhabitants and those who should come into (to worship in) the Holy city, the Bride, the Lamb’s wife in eternity, Rev 21:21-26.
2) “An hundred and forty and four cubits,” (hekaton tesserakonta tessaron pechon) “(It was) an hundred and forty-four cubits,” about 200 feet in thickness, by contemporary measurement. This is higher than the highest church steeple, higher than the Berlin wall, or the great China wall. This city and wall is eternal, non decaying, not made with hands, 1Co 2:9.
3) “According to the measure of a man,” (metron anthropon) “A measure of a man,” a measure of the kind that a man uses to verify size or dimension. This indicates adequacy of Divine protection of the many mansions, the center of worship in the Holy city, and all God has within her walls.
4) “That is, of the angel,” (ho estin angelou) “Which is (exists as measured) of (by) the angel,” with the golden reed-measure in his hand, Rev 21:15, as he described, disclosed, and caused John to understand it. It is because of this detailed information, or understanding, given by the angel, that the angel is considered to be the angel Gabriel, or one from his host of angels, Dan 8:16; Dan 9:21; Luk 1:19; Luk 1:26; Heb 1:14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(17) And he measured the wall thereof . . .Better. And he measured its wall by an hundred and forty-four cubits (i.e., in height), mans measure, which is angels. The measurement is in mans measure, but the reed was handled by an angel; the measure is true for men and true for angels; it may mean that the angel used the ordinary human measure, but may it not imply that the vision is true for all, for the earthly and for the heavenly? it is mans measure, it is angels measure; the human will not find the picture untrue, though the city is not literal: it is figurative, but not mere figure. The recurrence of the number hundred and forty-four recalls us to the figurative character of the description. (Comp. Note on Rev. 7:4.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. The foursquare city was lined by a low foursquare wall; low, that is, in comparison with the vast height of the city itself. One hundred and forty-four cubits are two hundred and sixteen feet.
Measure of a man That is, a human, not some great celestial measure, although made by the angel.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
Ver. 17. An hundred and twenty four cubits ] A cubit is six handfuls.
That is, of the angel ] That appeared as a man, but bigger and higher than ordinary; now because this holy city is thus measured, and that with the measure of a man, some think it to be of the Church militant. But some other passages in this and the following chapters cannot be otherwise taken according to the letter, than of the state of full perfection. They do best, in my opinion, that take in both.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
hundred . . . cubits. About 300 feet. See Eze 43:13 and App-88.
according to. Omit.
man. App-123. the = an.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Rev 21:17. , ) After many have added :[233] but we have shown in the Apparatus, see Ed. ii. on this passage, that more than one ancient witness is without this word. It is certain that they are not walls, but the measures of one wall, which are noticed: and even reeds might be understood. The 12,000 stadia show the height also of the city; the 144 either reeds or cubits give the height of the wall, which is not much less than the height of the city, or rather equal to it. For height is especially regarded in walls, as the epithets even of the Greek and Latin poets prove. The 12,000 stadia, since they are mentioned absolutely, were those in use among men: the 144 either cubits or reeds were not those of men, but angelico-human, much greater than those of men. Whether there were 144 reeds or cubits, the comparison of the 12,000 stadia exhibits the same height of wall. But yet there is a strong argument which advises us rather to take them as reeds. For it is not shown how many cubits a reed contains: and it might contain four cubits, because four cubits measure the stature of a man; or six cubits, as in Eze 40:5. Therefore, if the wall was of 144 cubits, it would not be known of how many reeds also it was: and therefore the golden reed, which is called the measure, would be an unknown, that is, no measure in reality. The height of the wall was ascertained, the angel applying his reed 144 times. The measure of the reed is frequently noticed in Ezekiel in a similar argument, and by ellipsis; and in one instance, ch. Eze 42:17, just as here in the Apocalypse. The Greeks have inserted . See Meyer de Ultimis Ezech. p. 26, etc. The Hebrews often construe the numeral adjective and the substantive in the plural and singular number; for instance, , Eze 48:30; Eze 48:33. And thus John, . John , saw in human appearance, as Andreas of Csarea says, the angel measurer: therefore that measuring pole, says Grotius, was of the same size as the stature of the human form, in which the angel appeared, and therefore the cubits also were according to that measure. Grotius might have spared the clause respecting the cubits.
[233] So AB Vulg. But h omits ; there is no other very old authority for the omission.-E.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
angel
(See Scofield “Heb 1:4”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
an: Rev 7:4, Rev 14:3
Reciprocal: 1Ki 6:2 – threescore Isa 8:1 – a man’s pen Rev 13:18 – the number Rev 21:12 – a wall
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 21:17. In the preceding verse the angel measured the city which gave the length of it. In this verse he measured the wall which necessarily means the thickness of it. The measurement was a hundred and forty and four cubits, another multiple of one of our promRev 21:18-21 sRev 21:18 Measure of a man, that is, of the angel. This unusual language only means that the angel used the same action in measuring the wall that a man would use in such a situation. The usual length of a cubit is eighteen inches, hence this wall was two hundred and sixteen feet thick. Such would be a proper thickness to be proportionate to such a height.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 17.
The measurement of the wall of the Holy City was said, in verse 17, to be according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. The stadia of the angel was “after the manner of a man”–no different from that of a man and within human understanding, though it was of the angel. The angel had used man’s standard of measurement, but it was symbolically, not literally, applied. It meant that the stadia employed by the angel was on a scale of measurement that was not unknown to man. The literal view of these measurements as being descriptive of the exact pRev 21:19 ize of the New Jerusalem as a city would destroy the sublimity of the apocalyptic picture and pervert the symbolism of the vision. In the comparison of the dimensions of the city and the wall surrounding it, the vision represented that the eminences within the wall of the New Jerusalem were so lofty that its highest summits and pinnacles were as many furlongs above the base of the wall as the length of the wall itself. The vision was symbolical of great and grand magnificence. To the eye of John from the summit ranges, floating down from God, was Rev 21:20 splendor the magnitude of which was indescribable. But the figurative description, “according to the measure of a man,” was not grotesque or disproportioned. God was the architect and builder of the Holy City (Psa 12:1 Psa 87:1); which was the manifestation of his divine wisdom, as a building exhibits the skill of its designer (Eph 3:10-11; Eph 3:21); and in it his own glory will be exhibited through time and in eternity “world without end.” In the symbolism of the New Jerusalem’s dimensions was signified that it is the will of God that the church should include the whole multitude of the saved–its entire aggregation.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 21:17. The wall is next measured, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is of an angel. It is hardly possible to think that we have here the height of the wall. So insignificant would it be when compared with the height of the city that the combination would be unnatural and grotesque. St. John, too, could then hardly have called the wall great and high (Rev 21:12). The supposition, moreover, that the wall is kept low in order that the glorious light of the city may stream out over it, is inconsistent with the general imagery (comp. also on Rev 21:18). The wall is a part of the city as strictly as the foundations are, and is itself, like them, radiant with the light which shines forth from the city as a whole. It seems better, therefore, to think here of the breadth of the wall. Its length and height had been measured, and its thickness is now added to complete the description of its strength. The last clause of the verse has occasioned considerable difficulty. The meaning seems to be, that a human standard of measurement was used; and it was well to note this. The New Jerusalem is not framed according to angelic ideas or for angelic purposes. It is to be the dwelling-place of men; and even, therefore, when an angel measures it, he measures it according to the measure of a man.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Rev 21:17-18. And he measured the wall thereof That is, Lowman thinks, the height of the wall; one hundred and forty-four cubits The square of twelve: about seventy-two yards high, according to the lesser cubit, or about eighty-six yards according to the greater, a height sufficient to express the most perfect security against all attempts of any surprise by an enemy. Doddridge understands these cubits of the thickness of the wall, with the same view, namely, to signify the great strength of the city, and that it might defy all assailants. According to the measure of a man A measure common among men; that is, of the angel For such was the measuring-rod, made use of by the angel. And the building of the wall was of jasper The wall appeared to be built with unparalleled strength and magnificence, not of brick, or squared and polished stones, but of some precious stone, as solid, firm, and beautiful as a jasper. And the city was of pure gold Namely, its houses and other buildings, separate from the wall; like unto clear glass Or crystal. It seems it is the city in general, and not the gold, which is represented as shining like glass or crystal. It is not easy to understand how pure gold should shine like crystal: but a city adorned with crystal, set in gold, may easily be supposed to shine in that manner.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
21:17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred [and] forty [and] four cubits, [according to] the measure of a man, that is, of the {c} angel.
(c) He adds this, because the angel had the shape of a man.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The city wall was evidently 144 cubits (about 216 feet or 72 yards) thick (cf. Eze 40:5; Eze 42:20). An American football field is 100 yards long. John explained that even though an angel was doing the measuring he was using human units of measurement. Thus these measurements meant the same to John as they would have meant if something else in his day were being measured.