Revelation 12:1

Revelation 12:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
• New International Version (NIV)A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.

Context of Revelation 12:1

Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. 2She was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling to give birth. 3Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns.

Revelation 12:1 word by word

Καὶ σημεῖον μέγα ὤφθη ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, γυνὴ περιβεβλημένη τὸν ἥλιον, καὶ ἡ σελήνη ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτῆς στέφανος ἀστέρων δώδεκα,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• there appearedὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• a greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• wonderσημεῖονsēmeion · signG4592
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• heavenὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
• a womanγυνήgunē · womanG1135
• clothed withπεριβάλλωperiballō · to clotheG4016
• the sunἥλιοςhēlios · sunG2246
• the moonσελήνηselēnē · moonG4582
• underὑποκάτωhupokatō · underG5270
• herαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• feetπούςpous · footG4228
• uponἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• headκεφαλήkephalē · headG2776
• a crownστέφανοςstephanos · crownG4735
• of twelveδώδεκαdōdeka · twelveG1427
• starsἀστήρastēr · starG792

Cross-references for Revelation 12:1

• Revelation 12:3Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns.
• Revelation 11:19Then the temple of God in heaven was opened and the ark of his covenant was visible within his temple. And there were flashes of lightning, roaring, crashes of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
• Revelation 15:1Then I saw another great and astounding sign in heaven: seven angels who have seven final plagues (they are final because in them God’s anger is completed).
• 2 Chronicles 32:31So when the envoys arrived from the Babylonian officials to visit him and inquire about the sign that occurred in the land, God left him alone to test him, in order to know his true motives.
• Mark 13:25the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
• Acts 2:19And I will perform wonders in the sky above and miraculous signs on the earth below, blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
• Matthew 12:38Then some of the experts in the law along with some Pharisees answered him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
• Matthew 24:30Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
• Luke 21:11There will be great earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven.
• Isaiah 49:14“Zion said, ‘The Lord has abandoned me, the sovereign master has forgotten me.’
• Isaiah 54:5For your husband is the one who made you – the Lord who commands armies is his name. He is your protector, the Holy One of Israel. He is called “God of the entire earth.”
• Isaiah 60:1“Arise! Shine! For your light arrives! The splendor of the Lord shines on you!
• Hosea 2:19I will commit myself to you forever; I will commit myself to you in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and tender compassion.
• John 3:29The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete.
• 2 Corinthians 11:2For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
• Ephesians 5:25Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her

Commentaries on Revelation 12:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1There appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun - That the woman here represents the true Church of Christ most commentators are agreed. In other parts of the Apocalypse, the pure Church of Christ is evidently portrayed by a woman. In Revelation 19:7, a great multitude are represented as saying, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wife hath made herself ready." In…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1And there appeared a great wonder in heaven - In that heavenly world thus disclosed, in the very presence of God, he saw the impressive and remarkable symbol which he proceeds to describe. The word “wonder” - ͂ sēmeion- properly means something extraordinary, or miraculous, and is commonly rendered “sign.” See Matthew 12:38-39; Matthew 16:1, Matthew 16:3-4; Matthew 24:3, Matthew 24:24, Matthew 24:30; Matthew 26:48; Mark 8:11-12; Mark 13:4, Mark 13:22…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Chapter Outline A description of the church of Christ and of Satan, under the figures of a woman and of a great red dragon. (1-6) Michael and his angels fight against the devil and his angels, who are defeated. (7-12) The dragon persecutes the church. (13-14) His vain endeavours to destroy her, He renews his war against her seed. (14-17) Verses 1-6 The church, under the emblem of a woman, the mother of believers, was seen by the apostle in vision, in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1The number twelve suggests that the woman represents God's people (compare Revelation 12:15–17; see Jeremiah 2:32; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:32), from whom the Messiah came. This woman is marked by God's glory, unlike the prostitute (see Revelation 17:1–6), who faces destruction.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-171. This episode (Re 12:1-15:8) describes in detail the persecution of Israel and the elect Church by the beast, which had been summarily noticed, Re 11:7-10, and the triumph of the faithful, and torment of the unfaithful. So also the sixteenth through twentieth chapters are the description in detail of the judgment on the beast, &c., summarily noticed in Re 11:13, 18. The beast in Re 12:3, &c., is shown not to be alone, but to be the instrument in the…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 12:1

• Crown
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena
• Moon
• Stars
• Sun
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Twelve Stars
• Adultery
• Earth
• Star
• Stars
• Appear
• Astronomy
• Chronology of the Old Testament
• Crown
• Dragon

Commentaries on Revelation 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings