Revelation 21:11

21:11 Like the true people of God, the glory of the city reflects God’s glory (cp. Exod 34:29-35; 2 Cor 3:7-11). • Jasper (see also Rev 4:3; 21:11, 18) is opaque on earth; the heavenly jasper is clear as crystal, having a transparency that mirrors God’s purity and integrity.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Rev 21:11. Ὁ φωστὴρ) Hesychius, φωστὴρ, θυρίς. Isa 54:12, שמשתיך; the LXX., τὰς ἐπάλξεις σου, in the plural number. But ὁ φωστὴρ in the singular (comp. Gen 6:16) means a part in a building which is open to the air, or admitting the light of the sun (שמש), as windows are, or spaces between the (ἐπάλξεις) battlements of the walls: or, φωστὴρ is λύχνος, Rev 21:23. Φωστὴρ is not compounded of φῶς and τηρῶ, but it is a word derived from its own root.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

begins the description itself[4287] which first of all states its gleaming appearance

[4287] Cf. Ezekiel 11 sqq.

Rev_21:11 begins the description itself[4288] which first of all states its gleaming appearance.

ἔχουσαν τὴν δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ. What is most important, most peculiar, and what at the same time captivates the eye of the seer above all things, is the brilliancy which irradiates the whole city: it has in itself, it comprehends as dwelling and abiding within it,[4289] the present glory of God himself.[4290] The concrete character of this presentation is effaced by the reading of the א: ἀπὸ τ. θ.

τ. φωστὴρ, κ.τ.λ. The description now proceeds further independently of the ἕδειξεν; only the first item of the description (ἕχουσαν τ. δόξ. τ. θ.) had been given in the formal connection of the original construction.[4291] From Rev_21:23,[4292] it follows, that ὁ φωστὴρ αὐτῆς[4293] is not distinct from the δόξα τοῦ θεοῦ;[4294] the source of light for the city is the ΔΌΞΑ of God himself present therein.[4295]

ὍΜΟΙΟς ΛΊΘῼ, Κ.Τ.Λ. The appearance of God was illustrated similarly.

ΚΡΥΣΤΑΛΛΊΞΟΝΤΙ. Cf. Psellus in Wetst.: ἡ ἰάσπις φύσει κρυσταλλοειδής.[4296]

[4288] Cf. Ezekiel 11 sqq.

[4289] Cf. Rev_21:3.

[4290] Rev_21:23; Rev_15:8.

[4291] Cf. Winer, p. 499.

[4292] Cf. also Eze_43:2.

[4293] Cf. Gen_1:14.

[4294] Against Züll., according to whom the Messiah is irradiated in the φωστὴρ.

[4295] De Wette, Hengstenb., Ebrard.

[4296] [The jasper, in nature crystalline.]

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Having the glory of God--not merely the Shekinah-cloud, but God Himself as her glory dwelling in the midst of her. Compare the type, the earthly Jerusalem in the millennium (Zac 2:5; compare Rev 21:23, below).

her light--Greek, "light-giver": properly applied to the heavenly luminaries which diffuse light. Compare Note, see on Phi 2:15, the only other passage where it occurs. The "and" before "her light' is omitted in A, B, and Vulgate.

even like--Greek, "as it were."

jasper--representing watery crystalline brightness.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 11. Having the glory of God] Instead of the sun and moon, it has the splendour of God to enlighten it.

Unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.] Among precious stones there are some even of the same species more valuable than others: for their value is in proportion to their being free from flaws, and of a good water, i.e., a uniform and brilliant transparency. A crystal is perfectly clear, the oriental jasper is a beautiful sea-green. The stone that is here described is represented as a perfectly transparent jasper, being as unclouded as the brightest crystal, and consequently the most precious of its species. Nothing can be finer than this description: the light of this city is ever intense, equal, and splendid; but it is tinged with this green hue, in order to make it agreeable to the sight. Nothing is so friendly to the eye as blue or green; all other colours fatigue; and, if very intense, injure the eye. These are the colours of the earth and sky, on which the eye of man is to be constantly fixed. To these colours the structure of the eye is adapted; and the general appearance of the earth and the sky is adapted to this structure.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(11) Having the glory of God . . .—The glory of God is the glorious presence of God, the true Shechinah, of which we have read before (Rev_15:8, and see Rev_21:23). The light of the city is described: And her light (or, brightness: it is the light which she gives; the same word is used as that employed in the LXX., Gen_1:17, for the heavenly bodies) is like a stone most precious, as it were a jasper stone crystallising. On the meaning and appearance of this stone, see Note on Rev_4:3. It is in all probability a stone transparent and clear as the crystal, but retaining the greenish hue belonging to the jasper. The general brightness of the city was lustrous as the diamond but shot with the green tint of the emerald bow which swept the throne. (Comp. Rev_4:3.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. Having the glory of God] i.e. the visible cloud of glory (cf. Heb_9:5), the Shechinah of the divine Presence. See Rev_21:23.

and her light] Omit “and”. The word for light is peculiar—it would properly be used of a star, as we say “luminary.”

a jasper stone] See on Rev_4:3.

clear as crystal] Expressed by one word, and that strictly a participle, crystallizing. Are we to understand that the comparison is not with an ordinary jasper, but with a stone combining the pure and full colours of this with the crystalline structure of other more precious jewels?

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Having the glory of God,.... Not only upon their souls, which will lie in the glorious robe of Christ's righteousness, the bride's wedding garment being on them, in the perfect holiness which will be in them, and in that complete knowledge of all spiritual and heavenly things they will be possessed of, they will have a glory revealed in them; but upon their bodies also, for this city, the church, the bride of Christ, will consist only of risen and changed saints, whose bodies will be freed from all dishonour; deformity, diseases, and imperfections, and will be made like unto Christ's glorious body, and will shine like the sun in the kingdom of God. Moreover, the presence of God may be intended by his glory, as the Shechinah, or the divine majesty of God in the tabernacle and temple was called, Exo 40:35 Kg1 8:11 for the glorious presence of God will now be in this church state, which will cast a lustre on all that are in it; for if the face of Moses, and of Stephen, shone so bright and glorious, through the presence of God with them; see Co2 3:7 how much more gloriously will the saints shine in this state, when they shall enjoy the presence of God in a far more illustrious manner? to which may be added, that Jesus Christ, who is the brightness of his Father's glory, will now appear in that, and in his own, and in the glory of his angels; and all the saints will appear with him in glory; and to see them in all this glory is a glorious sight indeed!

And her light was like unto a stone most precious; by her "light" is not meant the light she will have in her, though that will be exceeding great, but the fountain of it from whence it comes; that which holds it forth to her, and supplies her with it: the word signifies an illuminator, and is used of the ministers of the Gospel, that hold forth the word of life and light to others, Phi 2:15 but here it intends Christ, who is the sun of righteousness, the church's light or enlightener, Rev 21:23 not with the light of nature, as he enlightens every man, nor with the light of grace, with which the saints are enlightened by him in the present state of things, by his Spirit, through the word and ordinances, but with the light of glory: and he is comparable to the most precious stone; he is more precious than rubies; he is so now to them that believe, in his person, offices, grace, and righteousness, and will be more so in his light and glory in the new Jerusalem state:

even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal: God the Father, who sits on the throne, is said to be to look upon like a "jasper"; See Gill on Rev 4:2; and here Christ, the illuminator of his church, is said to be like one, because of the exceeding brightness of this stone, and the durableness of it, expressive of the perpetuity of Christ, as the light of his church and people; he is the everlasting light of it, Isa 60:19 and he is compared to the crystallising "jasper". There is one sort which is called "Aerizusa", like to air (c), and another "Crystallizusa" (d), clear as crystal. So Pliny speaks (e) of a white "jasper" called "Astrios", and which, he says, is crystallo propinquans, "near to crystal", found in India, and on the shores of Pallene. To this Christ is like, because he is light itself, and in him is no darkness at all, and will cause an everlasting day; and such a clear and bright state of things, as that there will be no night, nor any more darkness, nothing but everlasting joy, peace, prosperity, and happiness; there seems to be some reference to Isa 60:1.

(c) Ruaeus de Gemmis, l. 2. c. 1. (d) Dioscorides, l. 5. c. 160. (e) Nat. Hist. l. 37. c. 9.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

Ver. 11. Having the glory, of God] Who putteth upon her his own comeliness, Eze 16:9-13, as Rachel was decked with Isaac’s jewels.

Even like a jasper] And so, like God himself, who is set out by a jasper, Rev 4:3.

Clear as crystal] There is no such jasper in nature as is thus clear; but such a one must here be imagined. Nec Christus, nec caelum patitur hyberbolen. In speaking of Christ or heaven it is hard to hyperbolize. Christ’s blood (the true Pactolus) ρει τον πλουτον, floweth with riches. Uranople (the New Jerusalem) hath its foundation garnished with all manner of precious stones, to signify as well the durableness as the excellency of it. See Rev 21:19-20.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Having the glory of God - A glory or splendor such as became the dwelling place of God. The nature of that splendor is described in the following verses.

And her light - In Rev 21:23 it is said that “the glory of God did lighten it.” That is, it was made light by the visible symbol of the Deity - the “Shekinah.” See the Luk 2:9 note; Act 9:3 note. The word here rendered “light” - φωστὴρ phōstēr - occurs nowhere else in the New Testament except in Phi 2:15. It means, properly, a light, a lightgiver, and, in profane writers, means commonly a “window.” It is used here to denote the brightness or shining of the divine glory, as supplying the place of the sun, or of a window.

Like unto a stone most precious - A stone of the richest or most costly nature.

Even like a jasper stone - On the jasper, see the notes on Rev 4:3. It is used there for the same purpose as here, to illustrate the majesty and glory of God.

Clear as crystal - Pellucid or resplendent like crystal. There are various kinds of jasper - as red, yellow, and brown, brownish yellow, etc. The stone is essentially a quartz, and the word “crystal” here is used to show that the form of it referred to by John was clear and bright.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Having the glory of God; a most excellent glory, received from God.

And her light, that is, (as some interpret it), that which gave her light, (as the sun is called the light of the earth), or her enlightener,

was like unto a stone most precious, was Christ himself, who is a stone most precious: Rev 21:23,

The Lamb is the light thereof.

Like a jasper stone: see Rev 4:3. God is there compared to a jasper stone; here, to a

jasper stone, clear as crystal. They say of the jasper stone, that it is very glorious to the eye, precious and pure; so it is very fit to resemble in part a pure and glorious God.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. Having the glory of God—Of which it was the vehicle. This, the great fact, is more fully detailed, 23-27 and Rev_22:1-5.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Having the glory of God. That is, the abiding presence of God, as the Shechinah. (cf. Exo_40:34 1Ki_8:11. Cf. also ver. 3, supra) And her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; as it were a jasper stone (Revised Version). This light is again alluded to in ver. 23. The jasper probably represents the modern diamond. (see on Rev_4:3) The brilliant light which illumines the city is the characteristic of "him that sat on the throne". (Rev_4:3)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Having the glory of God - For her light, verse 23, ver. 23, Isaiah xl, 1, 2, Zech. ii, 5. Her window - There was only one, which ran all round the city. The light did not come in from without through this for the glory of God is within the city. But it shines out from within to a great distance, verses 23, 24. chap. xxi, 23, 24

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

11. Having the glory of God. Lighted by the divine presence and glory. We cannot follow all the details of its splendor, but they are designed to show that it exhibited a splendor such as mortal eye has never seen. The walls are of jasper, the gates of pearl, the foundations of precious stones and the streets paved with gold. The dimensions are immense, beyond even human conception, and its gates stand open night and day. The names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are written upon its foundations, and of the tribes of Israel upon its gates.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Jerusalem

This refers to the "Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven" that he described in the previous verse and not to the physical Jerusalem.

like a very precious jewel, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the brilliance of Jerusalem by naming a specific jewel. (See: Parallelism)

crystal-clear

"extremely clear"

jasper

This is a valuable stone. Jasper may have been clear like glass or crystal. See how you translated this in Revelation 4:3. (See: Translate Unknowns)

twelve gates

"12 gates" (See: Numbers)

were written

This can be stated in active form. AT: "someone had written" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

Jerusalem

glory

gate

angel

name

twelve tribes of Israel

children

Israel

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

“With the dazzling splendour of God,” cf. on Rev 21:3 , Eze 43:5 , Isa 60:1-2 . Uxor splendet radiis mariti ; δόξα , here, as usually in a apocalyptic literature, denotes the manifestation and realisation of the divine presence. A realistic turn is given to the expression by the “shimmering radiance” of ὁ φωστήρ κ . τ . λ . (asyndeton); “her brilliance is like a very precious stone, a jasper, crystal-clear” ( i.e. , transparent and gleaming as rock-crystal). The modern jasper is an opaque tinted quartz, only partially translucent at the edges. Perhaps, in reproducing Isa 54:11-12 ( καὶ θήσω τὰς ἐπάλξεις σου ἴασπιν καὶ τὰς πύλας σου λίθους κρυστάλλου ), the writer regarded both clauses as complementary (Cheyne); hence is ὡς λ . ἰ . κ . Otherwise ἴασπις might represent an opal, a diamond, or a topaz, any one of which answers better to the description of “transparent and valuable”. Flinders Petrie, however, suggests some variety of the dark green jasper.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. ἔχουσαν τήν δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ. A omits, cop[822] omits τοῦ θεοῦ, א Iren[823]gr[824] insert ἀπὸ before τοῦ θεοῦ.

[822] Coptic.

[823] St Irenaeus where the Greek is extant.

[824] St Irenaeus where the Greek is extant.

11. ἔχουσαν τὴν δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ. i.e. the visible cloud of glory (cf. Heb 9:5), the Shechinah of the Divine Presence, which the Second Temple in the earthly Jerusalem lacked. See Rev 21:23.

ὁ φωστήρ. Elsewhere the word means “luminary”; perhaps here it stands for the light by which the city shines on the world rather than for the light which shines on the city.

ἰάσπιδι κρυσταλλίζοντι. See on Rev 4:3: it was rare for a “jasper” to combine brilliant colour and perfect translucency.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Glory of God. Not merely divine brightness, but the presence of the God of glory Himself. Compare Exo 40:34.

Light [φωστηρ] . Strictly, luminary; that with which the city is illumined, tlle heavenly Lamb. See ver. 23. The word occurs only here and Phi 2:15.

Jasper. See on ch. Rev 4:3.

Clear as crystal [κρυσταλλιζοντι] . Lit., shining like crystal.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.