SEV Biblia, Chapter 4:4
Y alrededor del trono había veinticuatro sillas; y vi sobre las sillas veinticuatro ancianos sentados, vestidos de ropas blancas; y tenían sobre sus cabezas coronas de oro.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Revelation 4:4
Verse 4. Four and twenty elders] Perhaps this is in reference to the smaller Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, which was composed of twenty-three elders; or to the princes of the twenty-four courses of the Jewish priests which ministered at the tabernacle and the temple, at first appointed by David. Clothed in white raiment] The garments of the priests.
On their heads crowns of gold.] An emblem of their dignity. The Jewish writers represent human souls as being created first; and before they enter the body, each is taken by an angel into paradise, where it sees the righteous sitting in glory with crowns upon their heads. Rab. Tanchum, fol. 39, 4.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 4. And round about the throne [were] four and twenty seats , etc.] In a semicircular form, as the rainbow also was; the thrones in the above form, came to both ends, or sides of it; just as when the sanhedrim, or great court of judicature among the Jews say f132 , the Nasi, or prince, sat in the uppermost seat, at his right hand was Ab beth din, or the father or the sanhedrim, and at his left hand a doctor or wise man, and all the rest of the members sat in a semicircular form upon seats before them, so that they could see them all; and to this the allusion might be thought to be, did their numbers agree, but in the great sanhedrim there were seventy one, and the lesser twenty three, which last comes very near the number here; and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting ; by whom are not meant the twenty four books of the Old Testament, as some of the ancients thought, and also some of the modern writers, as Lord Napier and others; for the things said of them are such as cannot be applied to inanimate things, such as sitting on seats, being clothed with white raiment, having golden crowns on their heads, falling down before the throne, and worshipping him that sat on it; and besides, in ( Revelation 5:8,9), they are said to be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, out of very kindred, tongue, people, and nation; for which last reason, angels also cannot be designed, and who, moreover, in the place referred to, are manifestly distinguished from these elders; nor are they to be understood as to the representatives of the Jewish church, or of the Jewish and Christian church together, as triumphant in heaven; and so be signified by the twelve patriarchs and twelve apostles, which together make up twenty four; but rather the members of the Gospel church state, throughout the whole of it, in every succession and period of time, are here meant; and are expressed by the number twenty four, in allusion to the twenty four courses of the priests, into which they were divided by David, ( 1 Chronicles 24:1,4,18), and to the twenty four stations of the Levites, who in turn attended the service of the temple daily, and represented the whole body of the people of Israel, in putting their hands upon the sacrifices, and praying for them; of which (see Gill on Luke 1:5); add to this, that in twenty four places the priests and Levites kept watch in the temple f133 ; so these twenty four elders before the throne of God, in his temple, represent the whole Israel of God, all the members of the Gospel church state, from the first to the last of it: and they are styled elders, not on account of office, as pastors of the churches are called, but because of their senile gravity, prudence, and knowledge; they having a greater degree of spiritual knowledge of the manifold wisdom of God than the Jewish church, which was in a state of infancy, and under tutors and governors, had; but the Gospel church is in a state of manhood, and no longer under a schoolmaster, and so fitly expressed by elders; and these are represented as sitting on their seats, not only to hear the word of God, but as judging in cases that come before them, respecting the admission or exclusion of members, the laying on or taking off of censures, etc. and these, their seats being around and near unto the throne, denote their nearness to God, and their communion with him, in his house and ordinances, and his dwelling in the midst of them. Clothed in white raiment ; in the pure and spotless robe of Christ's righteousness, which is comparable to fine linen, clean and white; and is the righteousness of the saints in common, of every true member of Christ's body. And they had on their heads crowns of gold ; being made by Christ kings, as well as priests, unto God; for so these four and twenty elders are said to be, in ( Revelation 5:10); and they now reign as kings over sin, Satan, and the world, and have a kingdom of grace which shall never be removed; and they shall reign with Christ on earth a thousand years, and then reign with him to all eternity in heaven. It is a common saying with the Jews f134 , that there is no eating and drinking in the world to come, but the righteous are sitting, yharb hytwrj[w , and their crowns upon their heads.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-8 - After the Lord Jesus had instructed the apostle to write to the churches "the things that are," there was another vision. The apostl saw a throne set in heaven, an emblem of the universal dominion of Jehovah. He saw a glorious One upon the throne, not described by huma features, so as to be represented by a likeness or image, but only by his surpassing brightness. These seem emblems of the excellence of the Divine nature, and of God's awful justice. The rainbow is a fit emble of that covenant of promise which God has made with Christ, as the Hea of the church, and with all his people in him. The prevailing colou was a pleasant green, showing the reviving and refreshing nature of the new covenant. Four-and-twenty seats around the throne, were filled with four-and-twenty elders, representing, probably, the whole church of God. Their sitting denotes honour, rest, and satisfaction; their sitting about the throne signifies nearness to God, the sight an enjoyment they have of him. They were clothed in white raiment; the imputed righteousness of the saints and their holiness: they had of their heads crowns of gold, signifying the glory they have with him Lightnings and voices came from the throne; the awful declarations God makes to his church, of his sovereign will and pleasure. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne; the gifts, graces, and operation of the Spirit of God in the churches of Christ, dispensed according to the will and pleasure of Him who sits upon the throne. In the gospe church, the laver for purification is the blood of the Lord Jesu Christ, which cleanses from all sin. In this all must be washed, to be admitted into the gracious presence of God on earth, and his glorious presence in heaven. The apostle saw four living creatures, between the throne and the circle of the elders, standing between God and the people. These seem to signify the true ministers of the gospel, becaus of their place between God and the people. This also is shown by the description given, denoting wisdom, courage, diligence, and discretion and the affections by which they mount up toward heaven.
Greek Textus Receptus
και 2532 κυκλοθεν 2943 του 3588 θρονου 2362 θρονοι 2362 εικοσι 1501 και 2532 τεσσαρες 5064 και 2532 επι 1909 τους 3588 θρονους 2362 ειδον 1492 5627 τους 3588 εικοσι 1501 και 2532 τεσσαρας 5064 πρεσβυτερους 4245 καθημενους 2521 5740 περιβεβλημενους 4016 5772 εν 1722 ιματιοις 2440 λευκοις 3022 και 2532 εσχον 2192 5627 επι 1909 τας 3588 κεφαλας 2776 αυτων 846 στεφανους 4735 χρυσους 5552
Vincent's NT Word Studies
4. Throne (qronou). A seat or chair. In Homer, an armchair with high back and footstool. Cushions were laid upon the seat, and over both seat and back carpets were spread. A royal throne. Used of the oracular seat of the priestess of Apollo. Apollo, in the "Eumenides" of Aeschylus, says: "Never, when I sat in the diviner's seat (mantikoisin ejn qronoiv) did I speak aught else than Zeus the father of the Olympians bade me" (616-618). Plato uses it of a teacher's seat. "I saw Hippias the Elean sitting in the opposite portico in a chair (en qronw). Others were seated round him on benches (epi baqrwn)," questioning him, "and he ex cathedre (ejn qronw kaqhmenov, lit., sitting in the chair) was determining their several questions to them, and discoursing of them" ("Protagoras," 315). Also used of a judge's bench, and a bishop's seat.
Seats (qronoi). Rev.., rightly, thrones. The word is the same as the last. I saw. Omit.
Elders (presbuterouv). See on Acts xiv. 23. The twenty-four elders are usually taken to represent the one Church of Christ, as at once the Church of the old and of the new Covenant, figured by the twelve patriarchs and the twelve apostles.
"Then saw I people, as behind their leaders, Coming behind them, garmented in white, And such a whiteness never was on earth Under so fair a heaven as I describe The four and twenty-elders, two by two, Came on incoronate with flower-de-luce." Dante, "Purgatorio," xxix., 64-84.
Clothed (peribeblhmenouv). Rev., arrayed. Better, as indicating a more solemn investiture. See on chapter iii. 5.
They had. Omit.
Crowns (stefanouv). See on 1 Pet. v. 4; Jas. i. 12. Stefanov with the epithet golden is found only in Revelation. Compare chapter ix. 7; xiv. 14. The natural inference from this epithet and from the fact that the symbolism of Apoc. is Hebrew, and that the Jews had the greatest detestation of the Greek games, would be that stefanov is here used of the royal crown, especially since the Church is here represented as triumphant- a kingdom and priests. On the other hand, in the three passages of Revelation where John evidently refers to the kingly crown, he uses diadhma (chapter xii. 3; xiii. 1; compare xvii. 9, 10; xix. 12). Trench ("Synonyms of the New Testament") claims that the crown in this passage is the crown, not of kinghood, but of glory and immortality. The golden crown (stefanov) of the Son of Man (chapter xiv. 14) is the conqueror's crown.
It must be frankly admitted, however, that the somewhat doubtful meaning here, and such passages of the Septuagint as 2 Sam. xii. 30; 1 Chronicles xx. 2; Ps. xx. 3; Ezek. xxi. 26; Zech. vi. 11,14, give some warrant for the remark of Professor Thayer ("New Testament Lexicon") that it is doubtful whether the distinction between stefanov and diadhma (the victor's wreath and the kingly crown) was strictly observed in Hellenistic Greek. The crown of thorns (stefanov) placed on our Lord's head, was indeed woven, but it was the caricature of a royal crown.
