independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended
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The two signs — the woman and the dragon 12:1–6
vv. 1–2 — the first sign: the woman clothed with the sun, in labor
1
Καὶ σημεῖον μέγα ὤφθη ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ,independent — the frame — σημεῖον, a portent not a miracle; ὤφθη, the passive of visionary disclosure
γυνὴ περιβεβλημένη τὸν ἥλιον,phrase modifier — the sign's content in apposition — Zion, the messianic people (Gen 37:9; Isa 66:7)
καὶ ἡ σελήνη ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτῆς,phrase modifier — the tableau column — verbless: the moon her footstool
καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτῆς στέφανος ἀστέρων δώδεκα,phrase modifier — third glory — the twelve of Israel's tribes worn as a victor's wreath
2
καὶ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα,participial — the tableau's participle — ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχειν, the LXX's idiom for pregnancy (Isa 7:14)
καὶ κράζειindependent — the finite present breaks through the tableau — the cry heard, not painted
ὠδίνουσα καὶ βασανιζομένη τεκεῖν.participial — twin manner participles — Zion in travail (Isa 26:17; Mic 4:10); τεκεῖν epexegetic
vv. 3–4 — the second sign: the great red dragon, poised to devour
3
Καὶ ὤφθη ἄλλο σημεῖον ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ,independent — the second frame — ὤφθη repeated: the adversary is also displayed from heaven's stage
καὶ ἰδοὺ δράκων μέγας πυρρός,independent — ἰδού + nominative tableau — the chaos-serpent of the myths (cf. Isa 27:1), blood-red
ἔχων κεφαλὰς ἑπτὰ καὶ κέρατα δέκαparticipial — Dan 7's fourth beast conflated with the whole menagerie — the numbers return at 13:1; 17:3
καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς αὐτοῦ ἑπτὰ διαδήματα,phrase modifier — διαδήματα not στέφανοι — usurped royal bands against the woman's victor's crown
4
καὶ ἡ οὐρὰ αὐτοῦ σύρει τὸ τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων τοῦ οὐρανοῦindependent — vivid present σύρει amid the aorists — Dan 8:10, the little horn casting down stars
καὶ ἔβαλεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν γῆν.independent — the aorist resumes — the first of the chapter's many castings-down (βάλλω)
καὶ ὁ δράκων ἕστηκεν ἐνώπιον τῆς γυναικὸςindependent — perfect ἕστηκεν — the stance taken and held: the ambush posted at the birthstool
τῆς μελλούσης τεκεῖν,participial — attributive participle — the moment chosen: at the point of delivery
ἵνα ὅταν τέκῃ τὸ τέκνον αὐτῆςconditional — temporal (ὅταν) nested inside the purpose — ἵνα carried with it, governing καταφάγῃ below
καταφάγῃ.purpose — the purpose bared to one verb — καταφάγῃ, the whole ambush in a word (cf. Jer 51:34)
vv. 5–6 — the birth, the snatching to the throne, the flight
5
καὶ ἔτεκεν υἱόν, ἄρσεν,independent — SOLECISM kept — neuter ἄρσεν in apposition to masculine υἱόν (Isa 66:7 LXX ἄρσεν)
ὃς μέλλει ποιμαίνειν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ.relative — Ps 2:9 LXX — ποιμανεῖς ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ: the child identified as Messiah by his destiny (cf. 2:27; 19:15)
καὶ ἡρπάσθη τὸ τέκνον αὐτῆς πρὸς τὸν θεὸν καὶ πρὸς τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ.independent — the whole career compressed — from birth straight to enthronement, the cross passed over in a passive
6
καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἔφυγεν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον,independent — the exodus pattern — the wilderness as the place of God's keeping (Exod 16; Hos 2:14)
ὅπου ἔχει ἐκεῖ τόπον ἡτοιμασμένον ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ,relative — Semitic pleonasm kept — ὅπου…ἐκεῖ (Hebrew אֲשֶׁר…שָׁם); ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ marks the preparer
ἵνα ἐκεῖ τρέφωσιν αὐτὴν ἡμέρας χιλίας διακοσίας ἑξήκοντα.purpose — indefinite plural τρέφωσιν — a divine passive in plural dress; 1,260 days = the 42 months of 11:2–3
War in heaven — the dragon cast down, and the hymn 12:7–12
vv. 7–9 — Michael's war; the triple ἐβλήθη
7
Καὶ ἐγένετο πόλεμος ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ,independent — the frame — ἐγένετο πόλεμος, the second panel opens (Dan 10:13, 21)
ὁ Μιχαὴλ καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ τοῦ πολεμῆσαι μετὰ τοῦ δράκοντος.phrase modifier — ANACOLUTHON kept — nominatives with the articular infinitive τοῦ πολεμῆσαι, the Hebrew לְהִלָּחֵם construction: no finite verb ever comes
καὶ ὁ δράκων ἐπολέμησεν καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ,independent — the subject split around its verb — the dragon's host trailing after
8
καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυσεν,independent — singular ἴσχυσεν — the defeat is the dragon's own; his angels fall with him
οὐδὲ τόπος εὑρέθη αὐτῶν ἔτι ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ.independent — Dan 2:35 Θ — οὐχ εὑρέθη τόπος: the eviction total, the accuser's standing-room gone
9
καὶ ἐβλήθη ὁ δράκων ὁ μέγας,independent — the first ἐβλήθη — the verb of v. 4 turned against its subject
ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος,phrase modifier — first naming — Gen 3's serpent unmasked as the dragon
ὁ καλούμενος Διάβολος καὶ ὁ Σατανᾶς,participial — second naming — the Greek slanderer and the Hebrew accuser, both his names
ὁ πλανῶν τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην,participial — third naming — the present participle: deceiving is his ongoing trade
ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν γῆν,independent — the second ἐβλήθη — resumptive after the pile of names, now with its destination
καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ μετ’ αὐτοῦ ἐβλήθησαν.independent — the third casting — ἐβλήθησαν closes the refrain: dragon, verb, host, verb
vv. 10–12 — the great voice: the victory hymn and the woe
10
καὶ ἤκουσα φωνὴν μεγάλην ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷindependent — the seer's ear — the battle is interpreted by liturgy, not narration
λέγουσαν·participial — the speech participle — the hymn hangs from this word through v. 12
Ἄρτι ἐγένετο ἡ σωτηρία καὶ ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ ἡ ἐξουσία τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ,content — Ἄρτι — the eschatological ‘now’; four nominatives arrive with one aorist ἐγένετο (cf. 11:15)
ὅτι ἐβλήθη ὁ κατήγωρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν,cause — the ground — ἐβλήθη again, now in heaven's own mouth; κατήγωρ, the Semitized form of κατήγορος (cf. קָטֵיגוֹר)
ὁ κατηγορῶν αὐτοὺς ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός.participial — the courtroom of Job 1 and Zech 3 — κατηγορῶν with accusative αὐτούς for the expected genitive, kept
11
καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐνίκησαν αὐτὸνcontent — emphatic αὐτοί — the accused turn out to be the victors
διὰ τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ἀρνίουcause — διά + accusative — ground, not instrument: the Lamb's blood is the basis of their victory
καὶ διὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς μαρτυρίας αὐτῶν,cause — the second ground — their spoken witness joined to his blood (cf. 6:9)
καὶ οὐκ ἠγάπησαν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἄχρι θανάτου.content — the cost named — martyrdom as the shape of the victory (cf. Luke 14:26)
12
διὰ τοῦτο εὐφραίνεσθε,content — the call — διὰ τοῦτο draws the joy from the casting-down
οἱ οὐρανοὶ καὶ οἱ ἐν αὐτοῖς σκηνοῦντες.phrase modifier — nominative for vocative — σκηνοῦντες, the tent-word of God's dwelling (7:15; 21:3), for heaven's residents
οὐαὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν,content — SOLECISM kept — οὐαί with the accusative (elsewhere dative, 8:13): the woe strikes its objects
ὅτι κατέβη ὁ διάβολος πρὸς ὑμᾶςcause — the ground of the woe — heaven's victory is earth's emergency
ἔχων θυμὸν μέγαν,participial — manner — θυμός, boiling rage, not settled hostility
εἰδὼς ὅτι ὀλίγον καιρὸν ἔχει.participial — causal participle with its ὅτι-content — the rage is eschatological arithmetic: the clock is short
The pursuit of the woman 12:13–17
vv. 13–16 — the chase: eagle wings, the river, the earth's help
13
Καὶ ὅτε εἶδεν ὁ δράκωνconditional — temporal (ὅτε) — leans on ἐδίωξεν below
ὅτι ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν γῆν,content — the object of his seeing is his own ἐβλήθη — the refrain of v. 9 in his eyes
ἐδίωξεν τὴν γυναῖκαindependent — the apodosis — ἐδίωξεν, the persecution-verb: cheated of the child, he hunts the mother
ἥτις ἔτεκεν τὸν ἄρσενα.relative — the woman identified by the birth — masculine τὸν ἄρσενα, where v. 5 had the bare neuter ἄρσεν
14
καὶ ἐδόθησαν τῇ γυναικὶ αἱ δύο πτέρυγες τοῦ ἀετοῦ τοῦ μεγάλου,independent — divine passive ἐδόθησαν — Exod 19:4: ‘I bore you on eagles’ wings’; the exodus replayed
ἵνα πέτηται εἰς τὴν ἔρημον εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτῆς,purpose — the purpose of the gift — τὸν τόπον αὐτῆς: the place of v. 6, now hers
ὅπου τρέφεται ἐκεῖ καιρὸν καὶ καιροὺς καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ ὄφεως.relative — Dan 7:25; 12:7 — Daniel's clock, equal to the 1,260 days of v. 6; ὅπου…ἐκεῖ again; ἀπὸ προσώπου, Hebrew מִפְּנֵי
15
καὶ ἔβαλεν ὁ ὄφις ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ὀπίσω τῆς γυναικὸς ὕδωρ ὡς ποταμόν,independent — ἔβαλεν — the thrown-down one now throws; the chaos-flood from the mouth (Ps 18:4; 32:6)
ἵνα αὐτὴν ποταμοφόρητον ποιήσῃ.purpose — ποταμοφόρητον — a coinage: ‘river-borne’; drowning where devouring failed
16
καὶ ἐβοήθησεν ἡ γῆ τῇ γυναικί,independent — the reversal — the earth, target of the woe (v. 12), turns ally
καὶ ἤνοιξεν ἡ γῆ τὸ στόμα αὐτῆςindependent — mouth against mouth — Num 16:32's swallowing earth, now on the woman's side
καὶ κατέπιεν τὸν ποταμὸνindependent — κατέπιεν — the devourer's own verb (καταπίνω ~ κατεσθίω v. 4) turned on his weapon
ὃν ἔβαλεν ὁ δράκων ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ.relative — the river tagged to its source — ὄφις and δράκων used interchangeably for the one enemy
v. 17 — war on the rest of her seed
17
καὶ ὠργίσθη ὁ δράκων ἐπὶ τῇ γυναικί,independent — ὠργίσθη — the third failure boils over into rage
καὶ ἀπῆλθενindependent — ἀπῆλθεν — he quits the woman for a new front
ποιῆσαι πόλεμον μετὰ τῶν λοιπῶν τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῆς,purpose — purpose infinitive — ποιῆσαι πόλεμον μετά, Dan 7:21's idiom; τὸ σπέρμα αὐτῆς, Gen 3:15's seed of the woman
τῶν τηρούντων τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ θεοῦparticipial — the seed defined — first mark: obedience (cf. 14:12)
καὶ ἐχόντων τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ·participial — second mark — the book's word-pair (1:2, 9; 6:9): commandments kept, testimony held
The dragon on the sand of the sea 12:18
18
Καὶ ἐστάθη ἐπὶ τὴν ἄμμον τῆς θαλάσσης.independent — critical text 12:18 — ἐστάθη, the dragon takes his stand (Byzantine/KJV: ἐστάθην, ‘I stood’, as 13:1a); posted at the shore to summon the beast from the sea
Analysis. The chapter is the book's central diptych, and the shape draws it as Revelation always writes: flush-left καί-chains of narrative aorists, with the two σημεῖον-frames (vv. 1, 3) each opening onto a dashed verbless tableau — the woman's three glories (sun-garment, moon-footstool, twelve-star crown) hang as a column under γυνή, and the dragon's heads, horns, and diadems under δράκων, before the finite verbs break through (κράζει v. 2, σύρει v. 4, both vivid presents amid aorists). The one deep nest of the first panel is v. 4b: the ἵνα of the dragon's purpose is carried with its embedded ὅταν τέκῃ temporal, laid out protasis-fashion above the bare subjunctive καταφάγῃ — the whole ambush in two lines. In the war scene the layout keeps John's Hebraism standing: ὁ Μιχαὴλ καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ τοῦ πολεμῆσαι is a verbless anacoluthon (nominatives with an articular infinitive, the Hebrew לְהִלָּחֵם construction), flagged not smoothed; the fourfold naming of v. 9 stacks as appositions under the first ἐβλήθη before the verb returns twice more — a triple casting-down. The hymn of vv. 10–12 hangs as a blue quoted column under the voice's λέγουσαν, with its ὅτι-ground, the διά + accusative pair under ἐνίκησαν read as grounds of victory (price, not instrument), and the closing woe kept in its solecistic accusative (οὐαὶ τὴν γῆν). In the pursuit, ὅτε (v. 13) leans forward on ἐδίωξεν per the house convention for temporal frames, the Semitic pleonasm ὅπου…ἐκεῖ appears twice uncorrected (vv. 6, 14), and Daniel's clock (καιρὸν καὶ καιροὺς καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ) is tagged to 7:25. Interpretive choices: ἄρσεν (v. 5) is kept as the jarring neuter beside masculine υἱόν; the indefinite τρέφωσιν (v. 6) is read as a divine passive in plural dress; and v. 18 is printed as the critical text's ἐστάθη — the dragon, not the seer, takes his stand on the sand to summon the beast.