Verse-by-Verse Study Notes
STUDY NOTES — verse by verse. [Brackets] mark English helper words. Hebrew quoted word-for-word from the Tanakh, never invented. “Lord” = kurios (title), never the Name. Greek in pinned comment; apparatus free below.
Rev 17:1 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “And there came one out of the seven angels, the [ones] having the seven bowls, and he spoke with me saying: ‘Come here — I will show to you the judgment of the prostitute, the great, the [one] sitting upon many waters,’”
Heb, Jer 51:13 (to Babylon — “many waters”): שֹׁכַנְתְּ עַל־מַיִם רַבִּים רַבַּת אוֹצָרֹת בָּא קִצֵּךְ אֵלֶּה בִצְעֵךְ — “O [you] dwelling upon many waters, abundant in treasures — your end has come, the measure of your gain”
Heb, Nah 3:4 (Nineveh the prostitute): מֵרֹב זְנוּנֵי זוֹנָה טוֹבַת חֵן בַּעֲלַת כְּשָׁפִים הַמֹּכֶרֶת גּוֹיִם בִּזְנוּנֶיהָ וּמִשְׁפָּחוֹת בִּכְשָׁפֶיהָ — “because of the many harlotries of the prostitute, the graceful mistress of sorceries, who sells nations by her harlotries and families by her sorceries”
Rev 17:2 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “with whom committed fornication the kings of the earth, and were made drunk the [ones] dwelling on the earth out of the wine of the fornication of her.”
Heb, Jer 51:7 (Babylon the golden cup): כּוֹס־זָהָב בָּבֶל בְּיַד־יְהוָה מְשַׁכֶּרֶת כָּל־הָאָרֶץ מִיֵּינָהּ שָׁתוּ גוֹיִם עַל־כֵּן יִתְהֹלְלוּ גוֹיִם — “a golden cup [is] Babylon in the hand of YudHeyVavHey, making drunk all the earth; of her wine the nations drank — therefore the nations are mad”
Heb, Isa 23:17 (Tyre’s fornication with the kingdoms): וּזָנְתָה אֶת־כָּל־ מַמְלְכוֹת הָאָרֶץ עַל־ פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה — “and she will commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the earth upon the face of the ground”
Rev 17:3 — א A C; P47 lacuna from here to end of chapter.
Lit: “and he carried me away into a wilderness in spirit. And I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, being full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.”
Heb, Dan 7:7 (the fourth beast with ten horns): וְאַרְבַּע חֵיוָתָא … דְּחִילָה וְאֵימְתָנִי וְתַקִּיפָא יַתִּירָה וְשִׁנַּיִן דִּי־פַרְזֶל לַהּ רַבְרְבָן … וְקַרְנַיִן עֲשַׂר לַהּ (Aramaic) — “[I saw] a fourth beast … dreadful and terrible and exceedingly strong, and it had great teeth of iron … and it had ten horns”
Rev 17:4 — א A C.
Lit: “and the woman was [one] having been clothed in purple and scarlet, and having been gilded with gold and precious stone and pearls, having a golden cup in the hand of her being full of abominations and the unclean [things] of the fornication of her,”
Heb, Exod 28:5-6 (the priestly garments — the true purple and scarlet, which the harlot parodies): וְהֵם יִקְחוּ אֶת־ הַזָּהָב וְאֶת־הַתְּכֵלֶת וְאֶת־הָאַרְגָּמָן וְאֶת־תּוֹלַעַת הַשָּׁנִי וְאֶת־הַשֵּׁשׁ׃ וְעָשׂוּ אֶת־הָאֵפֹד זָהָב תְּכֵלֶת וְאַרְגָּמָן תּוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי וְשֵׁשׁ מָשְׁזָר — “and they shall take the gold and the tekhelet [blue] and the purple and the scarlet [yarn] and the linen. And they shall make the ephod of gold, tekhelet and purple, scarlet [yarn] and twisted linen”
Heb, Jer 4:30 (the adorned harlot): כִּי־תִלְבְּשִׁי שָׁנִי כִּי־תִתְעַדִּי עֲדִי־ זָהָב — “though you clothe yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold”
Rev 17:5 — א A C.
Lit: “and upon the forehead of her a name having been written: Mystery — Babylon, the great, the mother of the prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.”
Heb, Dan 4:27 (Nebuchadnezzar over “Babylon the great”; Aramaic): הֲלָא דָא־הִיא בָבֶל רַבְּתָא דִּי־אֲנָה בֱנַיְתַהּ לְבֵית מַלְכוּ בִּתְקַף חִילִי וְלִיקָר הַדְרִי — “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?”
Heb, Jer 50:23 (Babylon’s title): אֵיךְ נִגְדַּע וַיִּשָּׁבֵר פַּטִּישׁ כָּל־הָאָרֶץ אֵיךְ הָיְתָה לְשַׁמָּה בָּבֶל בַּגּוֹיִם — “How the hammer of the whole earth is cut off and broken! How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations!”
Rev 17:6 — א A C.
Lit: “and I saw the woman being drunk out of the blood of the holy [ones] and out of the blood of the witnesses of Yehoshua. And I marveled, having seen her, [with] a great marvel;”
Heb, Isa 49:26 (drunk with their own blood): וְהַאֲכַלְתִּי אֶת־ מוֹנַיִךְ אֶת־בְּשָׂרָם וְכֶעָסִיס דָּמָם יִשְׁכָּרוּן — “and I will feed your oppressors their own flesh, and with their own blood as with sweet wine they shall be drunk”
Rev 17:7 — א A C.
Lit: “and the angel said to me: ‘Why did you marvel? I will tell to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast, the [one] carrying her, the [one] having the seven heads and the ten horns;’”
Heb, Dan 7:16 (the interpreting angel; Aramaic): קִרְבֵת עַל־חַד מִן־ קָאֲמַיָּא וְיַצִּיבָא אֶבְעֵא־מִנֵּהּ עַל־ כָּל־דְּנָה וַאֲמַר־לִי וּפְשַׁר מִלַּיָּא יְהוֹדְעִנַּנִי — “I drew near to one of those standing, and I asked from him the certainty concerning all this; and he told me, and made known to me the interpretation of the matters”
Rev 17:8 — א A C.
Lit: “the beast which you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss, and goes into destruction; and will marvel the [ones] dwelling upon the earth, of whom has not been written the name upon the scroll of the life from the foundation of the world — seeing the beast, that it was and is not and will be present.”
Heb, Exod 32:32-33 (the book): וְעַתָּה אִם־תִּשָּׂא חַטָּאתָם וְאִם־אַיִן מְחֵנִי נָא מִסִּפְרְךָ אֲשֶׁר כָּתָבְתָּ׃ וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־ מֹשֶׁה מִי אֲשֶׁר חָטָא־ לִי אֶמְחֶנּוּ מִסִּפְרִי — “and now, if You will bear their sin — but if not, blot me out, please, from Your scroll which You have written. And YudHeyVavHey said to Moses: whoever has sinned against Me, him I will blot out of My scroll”
Heb, Ps 69:29 (blotted from the book of life): יִמָּחוּ מִסֵּפֶר חַיִּים וְעִם צַדִּיקִים אַל־ יִכָּתֵבוּ — “let them be blotted out of the scroll of life, and with the righteous let them not be written”
Heb, Dan 12:1 (everyone found written in the book): וּבָעֵת הַהִיא יִמָּלֵט עַמְּךָ כָּל־הַנִּמְצָא כָּתוּב בַּסֵּפֶר — “and at that time your people shall be delivered — everyone found written in the scroll”
Rev 17:9 — א A C.
Lit: “Here [is] the mind, the [one] having wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, where the woman sits upon them. And kings — seven they are;”
Heb, Jer 51:25 (Babylon the destroying mountain): הִנְנִי אֵלֶיךָ הַר הַמַּשְׁחִית נְאֻם־יְהוָה הַמַּשְׁחִית אֶת־כָּל־ הָאָרֶץ — “behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain — declares YudHeyVavHey — the [one] destroying all the earth”
Rev 17:10 — א A C.
Lit: “the five fell, the one is, the other not yet came; and when he comes, a little [while] it is necessary [for] him to remain,”
Heb, Dan 7:24 (ten kings; Aramaic): וְקַרְנַיָּא עֲשַׂר מִנַּהּ מַלְכוּתָא עַשְׂרָה מַלְכִין יְקֻמוּן (Aramaic) — “and the ten horns — out of that kingdom, ten kings shall arise”
Rev 17:11 — א A C.
Lit: “and the beast which was and is not — even he is an eighth, and is out of the seven, and goes into destruction.”
Heb: no direct Tanakh verbal parallel; the “eighth” reckoning is proper to this vision.
Rev 17:12 — א A C.
Lit: “and the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who a kingdom not yet received, but authority as kings one hour they receive with the beast.”
Rev 17:13 — א A C.
Lit: “these have one mind [purpose], and the power and the authority of them to the beast they give.”
Heb: no direct Tanakh verbal parallel; the “one mind” counsel is proper to this vision.
Rev 17:14 — א A C.
Lit: “these will war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, because Lord of lords He is, and King of kings — and the [ones] with Him [are] called and chosen and faithful.”
Heb, Deut 10:17 (Lord of lords): כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הוּא אֱלֹהֵי הָאֱלֹהִים וַאֲדֹנֵי הָאֲדֹנִים הָאֵל הַגָּדֹל הַגִּבֹּר וְהַנּוֹרָא — “for YudHeyVavHey your Elohim — He is Elohim of elohim and Lord of lords, the El, the great, the mighty, and the fearful”
Heb, Ps 136:2-3: הוֹדוּ לֵאלֹהֵי הָאֱלֹהִים כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ׃ הוֹדוּ לַאֲדֹנֵי הָאֲדֹנִים כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ — “give thanks to the Elohim of elohim, for forever [is] His kindness; give thanks to the Lord of lords, for forever [is] His kindness”
Heb, Dan 2:47 (Aramaic — Lord of kings): מִן־קְשֹׁט דִּי אֱלָהָךְ הוּא אֱלָהּ אֱלָהִין וּמָרֵא מַלְכִין — “truly your God — He is God of gods and Lord of kings”
Rev 17:15 — א A C.
Lit: “And he says to me: ‘The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits — peoples and crowds they are, and nations and tongues.’”
Heb, Isa 8:7 (many waters as peoples): הִנֵּה אֲדֹנָי מַעֲלֶה עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת־מֵי הַנָּהָר הָעֲצוּמִים וְהָרַבִּים [rendered with “Lord” as the addressee is Adonai in the Hebrew; the image — waters as invading peoples — is the parallel] — “behold, the Lord brings up upon them the waters of the River, the mighty and the many”
Rev 17:16 — א A C.
Lit: “and the ten horns which you saw, and the beast — these will hate the prostitute, and will make her having been laid waste and naked, and the fleshes of her they will eat, and her they will burn up utterly with fire;”
Heb, Ezek 16:39 (judgment on the adulterous woman): וְנָתַתִּי אֹתָךְ בְּיָדָם וְהָרְסוּ גַּבֵּךְ וְנִתְּצוּ רָמוֹתָיִךְ וְהִפְשִׁיטוּךְ בְּגָדָיִךְ וְלָקְחוּ כְּלֵי תִפְאַרְתֵּךְ וְהִנִּיחוּךְ עֵירֹם וְעֶרְיָה — “and I will give you into their hand, and they shall tear down your mound and break your high places, and strip your clothes from you, and take your beautiful vessels, and leave you naked and bare”
Heb, Ezek 23:25-26 (on Oholibah): וְהֵסִירוּ שִׂמְלָתֵךְ מֵעָלָיִךְ וְלָקְחוּ כְּלֵי תִפְאַרְתֵּךְ — “and they shall remove your robe from upon you, and take your beautiful vessels”
Rev 17:17 — א A C.
Lit: “for Elohim put into the hearts of them to do the purpose of Him — even to do one mind [purpose], and to give the kingdom of them to the beast — until shall be finished the words of Elohim.”
Heb, Prov 21:1 (Elohim turns the king’s heart): פַּלְגֵי־מַיִם לֶב־ מֶלֶךְ בְּיַד־יְהוָה עַל־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר יַחְפֹּץ יַטֶּנּוּ — “channels of water [is] the heart of a king in the hand of YudHeyVavHey; upon all that He desires He turns it”