John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 6. Of the tribe of Aser [were] sealed twelve thousand , etc.] Asher, which the Septuagint pronounce Aser, as here, signifies blessed, ( Genesis 30:13); as all the sealed ones are, blessed with all spiritual blessings, with grace here, and glory hereafter. Of the tribe of Nephthalim [were] sealed twelve thousand ; the name of this tribe signifies wrestlings, ( Genesis 30:8); and may design the wrestlings of saints, both with God in prayer, and with their enemies, sin, Satan, and the world, and also their strivings together for the faith of the Gospel. Of the tribe of Manasses [were] sealed twelve thousand ; this word signifies forgetting, ( Genesis 41:51); and shows that the followers of Christ should forget the things that are behind, their sinful lusts and pleasures, the onions and garlic in Egypt, and their former company and acquaintance, their own people, and their father's house, and all their labours and sufferings for the sake of Christ.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-8 - In the figurative language of Scripture, the blowing of the four wind together, means a dreadful and general destruction. But the destructio is delayed. Seals were used to mark for each person his ow possessions. This mark is the witness of the Holy Ghost, printed in the hearts of believers. And the Lord would not suffer his people to be afflicted before they were marked, that they might be prepared agains all conflicts. And, observe, of those who are thus sealed by the Spirit, the seal must be on the forehead, plainly to be seen alike be friends and foes, but not by the believer himself, except as he look stedfastly in the glass of God's word. The number of those who wer sealed, may be understood to stand for the remnant of people which God reserved. Though the church of God is but a little flock, in compariso with the wicked world, yet it is a society really large, and to be still more enlarged. Here the universal church is figured under the type of Israel.
Greek Textus Receptus
εκ 1537 PREP φυλης 5443 N-GSF ασηρ 768 N-PRI ιβ 1427 A-NUI-ABB χιλιαδες 5505 A-NPF εσφραγισμενοι 4972 5772 V-RPP-NPM εκ 1537 PREP φυλης 5443 N-GSF νεφθαλειμ 3508 N-PRI ιβ 1427 A-NUI-ABB χιλιαδες 5505 A-NPF εσφραγισμενοι 4972 5772 V-RPP-NPM εκ 1537 PREP φυλης 5443 N-GSF μανασση 3128 N-GSM ιβ 1427 A-NUI-ABB χιλιαδες 5505 A-NPF εσφραγισμενοι 4972 5772 V-RPP-NPM
