KJV: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
YLT: and upon her forehead was a name written: 'Secret, Babylon the Great, the Mother of the Whores, and the Abominations of the earth.'
Darby: and upon her forehead a name written, Mystery, great Babylon, the mother of the harlots, and of the abominations of the earth.
ASV: and upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
ἐπὶ | upon |
Parse: Preposition Root: ἐπί Sense: upon, on, at, by, before. |
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μέτωπον | forehead |
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular Root: μέτωπον Sense: the space between the eyes, the forehead. |
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αὐτῆς | of her |
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Feminine 3rd Person Singular Root: αὐτός Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself. |
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ὄνομα | a name |
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Singular Root: ὄνομα Sense: name: univ. |
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γεγραμμένον | was written |
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Middle or Passive, Nominative Neuter Singular Root: γράφω Sense: to write, with reference to the form of the letters. |
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μυστήριον | a mystery |
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Singular Root: μυστήριον Sense: hidden thing, secret, mystery. |
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ΒΑΒΥΛΩΝ | Babylon |
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular Root: Βαβυλών Sense: a very large and famous city, the residence of the Babylonian kings, situated on both banks of the Euphrates. |
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ΜΕΓΑΛΗ | Great |
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Feminine Singular Root: μέγας Sense: great. |
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ΜΗΤΗΡ | mother |
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular Root: μήτηρ Sense: a mother. |
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ΤΩΝ | of the |
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Plural Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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ΠΟΡΝΩΝ | prostitutes |
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Plural Root: πόρνη Sense: a woman who sells her body for sexual uses. |
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ΤΩΝ | of the |
Parse: Article, Genitive Neuter Plural Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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ΒΔΕΛΥΓΜΑΤΩΝ | abominations |
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Plural Root: βδέλυγμα Sense: a foul thing, a detestable thing. |
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ΤΗΣ | of the |
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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ΓΗΣ | earth |
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular Root: γῆ Sense: arable land. |
Greek Commentary for Revelation 17:5
Roman harlots wore a label with their names on their brows (Seneca, Rhet. I. 2. 7; Juvenal VI. 122f.), and so here. In Revelation 19:16 Christ has a name on his garments and on his thigh, while in Revelation 14:1; Revelation 22:4 the redeemed have the name of God on their foreheads. There is undoubtedly a contrast between this woman here and the woman in chapter Rev 12. [source]
Either in apposition with ονομα onoma or as part of the inscription on her forehead. In either case the meaning is the same, that the name Babylon is to be interpreted mystically or spiritually (cf. πνευματικως pneumatikōs Revelation 11:8) for Rome.The Mother of the Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth (η Μητηρ των Πορνων και των δελυγματων της Γης Hē Mētēr tōn Pornōn kai tōn Bdelugmatōn tēs Gēs). The Metropolis of the Empire is the mother of harlotry and of the world‘s idolatries. Charles quotes Tacitus (Ann. XV. 44) about Rome as the city “quo cuncta undique atrocia aut pudenda confluunt celebranturque.” [source]
The Metropolis of the Empire is the mother of harlotry and of the world‘s idolatries. Charles quotes Tacitus (Ann. XV. 44) about Rome as the city “quo cuncta undique atrocia aut pudenda confluunt celebranturque.” [source]
As was customary with harlots, who had their names inscribed on a ticket. Seneca, addressing a wanton priestess, “Nomen tuum pependit a fronte,” thy name hung from thy forehead. See Juvenal, Satire vi., 123 sqq., of the profligate Messalina, “having falsely assumed the ticket of Lycisca.” [source]
Some understand this as a part of the name, others as implying that the name is to be interpreted symbolically. [source]
See on 1 Peter 5:13. Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Jerome use Babylon as representing the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages Rome is frequently styled the Western Babylon. The sect of the Fraticelli, an eremitical organization from the Franciscans in the fourteenth century, who carried the vow of poverty to the extreme and taught that they were possessed of the Holy Spirit and exempt from sin - first familiarized the common mind with the notion that Rome was the Babylon, the great harlot of the Apocalypse (see Milligan, “Latin Christianity,” Book xii., ch. vi.). On the passage cited from Dante (v. i.), Dean Plumptre remarks: “The words have the interest of being a medieval interpretation of Revelation 17:1-15, in which, however, the harlot and the beast seem somewhat strangely blended. The harlot is the corrupted Church of Rome; the seven heads are the seven hills on which the city is built; or perhaps, with an entirely different exegesis, the seven gifts of the Spirit, or the seven sacraments with which that Church had, in its outset, been endowed: the ten horns are the ten commandments. As long as the Church was faithful to her spouse, she had the moral strength which came from those gifts, and the divine law which she represented. When that failed, she became as a harlot, and her whoredom with kings was the symbol of her alliance with secular powers for the oppression of the nations” (On “Inferno,” xix., 110). [source]
Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Revelation 17:5
The cognate verb, βδελύσσομαι , means to feel a nausea or loathing for food: hence used of disgust generally. In a moral sense it denotes an object of moral or religious repugnance. See 2 Chronicles 15:8; Jeremiah 13:27; Ezekiel 11:21; Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:31. It is used as equivalent to idol in 1 Kings 11:17; Deuteronomy 7:26; 2 Kings 23:13. It denotes anything in which estrangement from God manifests itself; as the eating of unclean beasts, Leviticus 11:11; Deuteronomy 14:3; and, generally, all forms of heathenism. This moral sense must be emphasized in the New Testament use of the word. Compare Luke 16:15; Revelation 17:4, Revelation 17:5; Revelation 21:27. It does not denote mere physical or aesthetic disgust. The reference here is probably to the occupation of the temple precincts by the idolatrous Romans under Titus, with their standards and ensigns. Josephus says that, after the burning of the temple the Romans brought their ensigns and set them over against the eastern gate, and there they offered sacrifices to them, and declared Titus, with acclamations, to be emperor. [source]
Lit., the court-days are being kept. Rev., the courts are open. Compare Revelation 17:5. [source]
N.T.oClass. lxx, Proverbs 17:15; 2 Maccabees 1:27. See on βδέλυγμα abomination Matthew href="/desk/?q=mt+24:15&sr=1">Matthew 24:15, and comp. Revelation 17:4, Revelation 17:5; Revelation 21:27. The kindred verb, βδελύσσεσθαι abhor Romans 2:22; Revelation 21:8. [source]
“Upon,” as in Revelation 11:6, with genitive Clearly Jerusalem in view of the closing clause (οπουεσταυρωτη hopou- ητις estaurōthē), though not here called “the holy city” as in Revelation 11:2, and though elsewhere in the Apocalypse Babylon (Rome) is so described (Revelation 14:8; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 17:5; Revelation 18:2, Revelation 18:10, Revelation 18:16, Revelation 18:18, Revelation 18:19, Revelation 18:21).Which Which very city, not “whichever.”Spiritually (πνευματικος pneumatikōs). This late adverb from πνευματικος pneumatikos (spiritual) occurs in the N.T. only twice, in 1 Corinthians 2:14 for the help of the Holy Spirit in interpreting God‘s message and here in a hidden or mystical (allegorical sense). For this use of οπου και ο κυριος αυτων εσταυρωτη pneumatikos see 1 Corinthians 10:3. Judah is called Sodom in Isaiah 1:9.; Ezekiel 16:46, Ezekiel 16:55. See also Matthew 10:15; Matthew 11:23. Egypt is not applied to Israel in the O.T., but is “an obvious symbol of oppression and slavery” (Swete).Where also their Lord was crucified First aorist passive indicative of stauroō to crucify, a reference to the fact of Christ‘s crucifixion in Jerusalem. This item is one of the sins of Jerusalem and the disciple is not greater than the Master (John 15:20). [source]
Clearly Jerusalem in view of the closing clause (οπουεσταυρωτη hopou- ητις estaurōthē), though not here called “the holy city” as in Revelation 11:2, and though elsewhere in the Apocalypse Babylon (Rome) is so described (Revelation 14:8; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 17:5; Revelation 18:2, Revelation 18:10, Revelation 18:16, Revelation 18:18, Revelation 18:19, Revelation 18:21). [source]
Prophetic aorist active indicative of πεπτωκεν πεπτωκεν piptō repeated as a solemn dirge announcing the certainty of the fall. The English participle “fallen, fallen” is more musical and rhythmical than the literal rendering “fell, fell.” The language is an echo of Isaiah 21:9, though B in the lxx has αβυλων η μαγαλη peptōkenμεγαλη peptōken (perfect).Babylon the great (αβυλων Babulōn hē magalē). The adjective πεποτικεν megalē occurs with ποτιζω Babulōn each time in the Apocalypse (Revelation 14:8; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 17:5; Revelation 18:2, Revelation 18:10, Revelation 18:21) as a reminder of Nebuchadrezzar. There is no doubt that Rome is meant by Babylon, as is probably seen already in 1 Peter 5:13. As a prisoner in Patmos John can speak his mind by this symbolism.Hath made to drink Perfect active indicative of potizō old causative verb (from potos drinking, 1 Peter 4:3), as in Matthew 25:35. The remarkable phrase that follows seems based on Jeremiah 51:8 (Jeremiah 25:15). It is a combination also of Revelation 14:10 (the wine of God‘s wrath, also in Revelation 16:19; Revelation 19:15) and Revelation 17:2. There is no doubt of the dissoluteness of the old Babylon of Jeremiah‘s day as of the Rome of John‘s time. Rome is pictured as the great courtesan who intoxicates and beguiles the nations to fornication (Revelation 17:2, Revelation 17:4, Revelation 17:6), but the cup of God‘s wrath for her and her paramours is full (Revelation 14:10; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 18:2). [source]
The adjective πεποτικεν megalē occurs with ποτιζω Babulōn each time in the Apocalypse (Revelation 14:8; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 17:5; Revelation 18:2, Revelation 18:10, Revelation 18:21) as a reminder of Nebuchadrezzar. There is no doubt that Rome is meant by Babylon, as is probably seen already in 1 Peter 5:13. As a prisoner in Patmos John can speak his mind by this symbolism. [source]
Perfect passive participle of γραπω graphō as in Revelation 2:17 (cf. Revelation 3:12).But he himself (ει μη αυτος ei mē autos). “Except himself” (common ellipsis of the verb after ει μη ei mē “if not”). See Revelation 2:17; Revelation 3:12 for the new name there described. See Revelation 14:1 for the name of Christ on the forehead of the 144,000, and Revelation 17:5 for the name on the forehead of the harlot. This word here supplements what Jesus says in Matthew 11:27. [source]
“Except himself” (common ellipsis of the verb after ει μη ei mē “if not”). See Revelation 2:17; Revelation 3:12 for the new name there described. See Revelation 14:1 for the name of Christ on the forehead of the 144,000, and Revelation 17:5 for the name on the forehead of the harlot. This word here supplements what Jesus says in Matthew 11:27. [source]
A new feature, but the dragon has a diadem on each of his seven heads (Revelation 12:3) and the first beast one upon each of his ten horns (Revelation 13:1). So the victorious Messiah will wear many royal diadems and not mere crowns, because he is King of kings (Revelation 19:16).And he hath (και εχων kai echōn). Nominative active present participle of εχω echō either used absolutely as an independent verb (like indicative) or in an anacoluthon, though αυτου autou (his) is genitive.A name written Perfect passive participle of γραπω graphō as in Revelation 2:17 (cf. Revelation 3:12).But he himself (ει μη αυτος ei mē autos). “Except himself” (common ellipsis of the verb after ει μη ei mē “if not”). See Revelation 2:17; Revelation 3:12 for the new name there described. See Revelation 14:1 for the name of Christ on the forehead of the 144,000, and Revelation 17:5 for the name on the forehead of the harlot. This word here supplements what Jesus says in Matthew 11:27. [source]
Old word for column, in N.T. only here, Revelation 10:1; Galatians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:15. Metaphorical and personal use with a double significance of being firmly fixed and giving stability to the building. Philadelphia was a city of earthquakes. “Temple” Strong double negative ου μη ou mē with the second aorist active subjunctive of ερχομαι erchomai The subject is ο νικων ho nikōn (the one overcoming). “Fixity of character is at last achieved” (Charles). He, like the στυλος stulos (pillar), remains in place.Upon him Upon ο νικων ho nikōn (the victor), not upon the pillar He receives this triple name (of God, of the city of God, of Christ) on his forehead (Revelation 14:1; Revelation 7:3; Revelation 17:5; Revelation 22:4) just as the high-priest wore the name of Jehovah upon his forehead (Exodus 28:36, Exodus 28:38), the new name (Revelation 2:17), without any magical or talismanic power, but as proof of ownership by God, as a citizen of the New Jerusalem, with the new symbol of the glorious personality of Christ (Revelation 19:12), in contrast with the mark of the beast on others (Revelation 13:17; Revelation 14:17). For citizenship in God‘s city see Galatians 4:26; Philemon 3:20; Hebrews 11:10; Hebrews 12:22; Hebrews 13:14.The new Jerusalem (της καινης Ιερουσαλημ tēs kainēs Ierousalēm). Not νεας neas (young), but καινης kainēs (fresh). See also Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:10 and already Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22. Charles distinguishes between the Jerusalem before the final judgment and this new Jerusalem after that event. Perhaps so! In the Apocalypse always this form Ιερουσαλημ Ierousalēm (Revelation 3:12; Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:10), but in John‘s Gospel ιεροσολυμα Hierosoluma (Revelation 1:19, etc.).Which cometh down Nominative case in apposition with the preceding genitive πολεως poleōs as in Revelation 1:5; Revelation 2:20, etc.Mine own new name (το ονομα μου το καινον to onoma mou to kainon). For which see Revelation 2:17; Revelation 19:12, Revelation 19:16. Christ himself will receive a new name along with all else in the future world (Gressmann). [source]
Upon ο νικων ho nikōn (the victor), not upon the pillar He receives this triple name (of God, of the city of God, of Christ) on his forehead (Revelation 14:1; Revelation 7:3; Revelation 17:5; Revelation 22:4) just as the high-priest wore the name of Jehovah upon his forehead (Exodus 28:36, Exodus 28:38), the new name (Revelation 2:17), without any magical or talismanic power, but as proof of ownership by God, as a citizen of the New Jerusalem, with the new symbol of the glorious personality of Christ (Revelation 19:12), in contrast with the mark of the beast on others (Revelation 13:17; Revelation 14:17). For citizenship in God‘s city see Galatians 4:26; Philemon 3:20; Hebrews 11:10; Hebrews 12:22; Hebrews 13:14.The new Jerusalem (της καινης Ιερουσαλημ tēs kainēs Ierousalēm). Not νεας neas (young), but καινης kainēs (fresh). See also Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:10 and already Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22. Charles distinguishes between the Jerusalem before the final judgment and this new Jerusalem after that event. Perhaps so! In the Apocalypse always this form Ιερουσαλημ Ierousalēm (Revelation 3:12; Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:10), but in John‘s Gospel ιεροσολυμα Hierosoluma (Revelation 1:19, etc.).Which cometh down Nominative case in apposition with the preceding genitive πολεως poleōs as in Revelation 1:5; Revelation 2:20, etc.Mine own new name (το ονομα μου το καινον to onoma mou to kainon). For which see Revelation 2:17; Revelation 19:12, Revelation 19:16. Christ himself will receive a new name along with all else in the future world (Gressmann). [source]
Temporal clause of indefinite action for the future with αχρι achri (sometimes αχρις ου achris hou or αχρις ου αν achris hou an) and the aorist subjunctive as in Revelation 15:8; Revelation 20:3, Revelation 20:5 or the future indicative (Revelation 17:7), usually with the notion of ascent (up to) rather than extent like μεχρι mechri (modal) sometimes occurs, but it is not necessary. But there is no futurum exactum idea in the aorist subjunctive, simply “till we seal,” not “till we shall have sealed.”Upon their foreheads (επι των μετωπων epi tōn metōpōn). From Ezekiel 9:4. Old word (μετα ωπς metaτους δουλους του τεου ōps after the eye, above the eye, the space above or between the eyes), in N.T. only in the Apocalypse (Revelation 7:3; Revelation 9:4; Revelation 13:16; Revelation 14:1, Revelation 14:9; Revelation 17:5; Revelation 20:4; Revelation 22:4). For “the servants of God” (tous doulous tou theou) who are to be thus marked linked with angels in the service of God see Revelation 1:1; Revelation 2:20; Revelation 19:2, Revelation 19:5; Revelation 22:3, Revelation 22:6. [source]