REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE - Chapter 19 - Verse 16

Verse 16. And he hath on his vesture. That is, this name was conspicuously written on his garment—probably his military robe.

And on his thigh. The robe or military cloak may be conceived of as open and flowing, so as to expose the limbs of the rider; and the idea is, that the name was conspicuously written not only on the flowing robe, but on the other parts of his dress, so that it must be conspicuous whether his military cloak were wrapped closely around him, or whether it was open to the breeze. Grotius supposes that this name was on the edge or hilt of the sword which depended from his thigh.

A name written. Or a title descriptive of his character.

King of kings, and Lord of lords. As in Re 17:5, so here, there is nothing in the original to denote that this should be distinguished as it is by capital letters. As a conspicuous title, however, it is not improper. It means that he is, in fact, the sovereign over the kings of the earth, and that all nobles and princes are under his control—a rank that properly belongs to the Son of God. Compare Barnes on "Eph 1:20-22".

See also Re 19:12 of this chapter. The custom here alluded to of inscribing the name or rank of distinguished individuals on their garments, so that they might be readily recognised, was not uncommon in ancient times. For full proof of this, see Rosenmuller, Morgenland, iii. 232-236. The authorities quoted there are, Thevenot's Travels, i. 149; Gruter, p. 989; Dempster's Etruria Regalis, T. ii. tab. 93; Montfaucon, Antiq. Expliq. T. iii. tab. 39. Thus Herodotus, (ii. 106,) speaking of the figures of Sesostris in Ionia, says that, "Across his breast, from shoulder to shoulder, there is this inscription in the sacred characters of Egypt, 'I conquered this country by the force of my arms.'" Comp. Cic. Verr. iv. 23; Le Moyne ad Jer. 23:6; Munter, Diss. ad Apoc. xvii. 5, as referred to by Prof. Stuart, in loc.

{l} "KING OF KINGS" Re 17:14