𐤓𐤀𐤅𐤁𐤍 · Re’uḇĕn · Sardius — the Date

The name

The World English Bible prints Reuben. Lĕ’ah named him because, she said, “Yahuah has looked at my affliction” (Genesis 29:32). He was Ya‛aqoḇ’s first-born (Genesis 46:8; 49:3).

Ya‛aqoḇ’s word — Genesis 49:3–4

“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength; excelling in dignity, and excelling in power. Boiling over as water, you shall not excel; because you went up to your father’s bed, then defiled it. He went up to my couch.”

Mosheh’s blessing — Deuteronomy 33:6

“Let Reuben live, and not die; Nor let his men be few.”

Story and inheritance

Re’uḇĕn’s first-born dignity was real, but 1 Chronicles 5:1–2 says the birthright passed to Yosĕph’s sons after he profaned his father’s bed (Genesis 35:22). His better moment also stands in the record: he restrained his brothers from killing Yosĕph and later pleaded their earlier guilt (Genesis 37:21–22; 42:22). His descendants received cattle country east of the Jordan, in the southern Transjordan from the Arnon toward Heshbon, and joined Gaḏ in building the witness altar by the Jordan (Numbers 32; Joshua 13:15–23; 22:10–34).

In Revelation

Re’uḇĕn is second in the sealing order of Revelation 7:5. The tribal names stand on the city gates in Revelation 21:12, though no individual gate is assigned to him there.

𐤔𐤌𐤏𐤅𐤍 · Shim‛on · Topaz — the Compass

The name

The World English Bible prints Simeon. Lĕ’ah said, “Because Yahuah has heard that I am hated, he has therefore given me this son also,” and called him Shim‛on (Genesis 29:33).

Ya‛aqoḇ’s word — Genesis 49:5–7

“Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence. My soul, don’t come into their council. My glory, don’t be united to their assembly; for in their anger they killed men. In their self-will they hamstrung cattle. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”

Mosheh’s blessing

No separate blessing for Shim‛on appears in Deuteronomy 33. That omission is itself part of this house’s dossier and is not filled in from another tribe.

Story and inheritance

Shim‛on joined Lĕwi in the violent reprisal at Shekeem after Dinah was defiled (Genesis 34). Yosĕph later detained Shim‛on in Mitsrayim while the brothers returned for Binyamin (Genesis 42:24; 43:23). In the land, Shim‛on’s inheritance lay within Yehuḏah’s territory in the south (Joshua 19:1–9); the tribe fought beside Yehuḏah (Judges 1:3) and was increasingly absorbed among its larger neighbour.

In Revelation

Shim‛on is seventh in the sealing order of Revelation 7:7. His name belongs to the tribal names on the gates in Revelation 21:12, without an individual gate assignment.

𐤋𐤅𐤉 · Lĕwi · Carbuncle — Daily Prayer & Meditation

The name

The World English Bible prints Levi. Lĕ’ah named him from being “joined”: “Now this time will my husband be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons” (Genesis 29:34).

Ya‛aqoḇ’s word — Genesis 49:5, 7

“Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”

Mosheh’s blessing — Deuteronomy 33:10–11

“They shall teach Jacob your ordinances, and Israel your law. They shall put incense before you, and whole burnt offering on your altar. Yahuah, bless his substance. Accept the work of his hands. Strike through the hips of those who rise up against him, of those who hate him, that they not rise again.”

Story and inheritance

Lĕwi shared the rebuke for Shekeem (Genesis 34), yet his descendants were redirected into sanctuary service. At the golden calf, the sons of Lĕwi gathered to Mosheh and were blessed for zeal (Exodus 32:26–29); Aharon’s priestly line and the wider Levitical service followed (Numbers 3; 8; 18). Lĕwi received no single territorial block: Yahuah was his inheritance, and Levitical cities were scattered through the tribes (Numbers 18:20; Joshua 21) — scattering transformed into service.

In Revelation

Lĕwi is eighth in the sealing order of Revelation 7:7. Revelation 21:12 carries the tribal names on the gates, but does not assign Lĕwi a separate gate.

𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤃𐤄 · Yehuḏah · Emerald — Location

The name

The World English Bible prints Judah. Lĕ’ah said, “This time will I praise Yahuah,” and called him Yehuḏah (Genesis 29:35) — the name is bound to praise.

Ya‛aqoḇ’s word — Genesis 49:8–10

“Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father’s sons will bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a lioness. Who will rouse him up? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the obedience of the peoples be.”

Mosheh’s blessing — Deuteronomy 33:7

“This is [the blessing] of Judah: and he said, “Hear, Yahuah, the voice of Judah. Bring him in to his people. With his hands he contended for himself. You shall be a help against his adversaries.””

Story and inheritance

Yehuḏah’s allotment filled the southern hill country and wilderness, including Bĕyth Leḥem and the approaches to Yerushalayim (Joshua 15). From this tribe came Dawiḏ’s royal line and the continuing southern kingdom (Ruth 4:18–22; 2 Samuel 7). The tribe’s lion becomes a title for the Messiah in Revelation, while the sceptre oracle keeps this house tied to rule, praise, and the obedience of peoples.

In Revelation

Yehuḏah is first in the sealing order of Revelation 7:5, and Revelation 5:5 calls the Messiah “the Lion of the tribe of Yehuḏah, the Root of Dawiḏ.” His name is among the tribal gate names in Revelation 21:12.

𐤉𐤔𐤔𐤊𐤓 · Yissasḵar · Sapphire — the Moon

The name

The World English Bible prints Issachar. Lĕ’ah said, “Alyhim has given me my hire,” and named him Yissasḵar (Genesis 30:18) — the naming speaks of hire or reward.

Ya‛aqoḇ’s word — Genesis 49:14–15

“Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the saddlebags. He saw a resting place, that it was good, the land, that it was pleasant. He bows his shoulder to the burden, and becomes a servant doing forced labor.”

Mosheh’s blessing — Deuteronomy 33:19

From the joint Zeḇulun/Yissasḵar oracle in verses 18–19:

“They shall call the peoples to the mountain. There they will offer sacrifices of righteousness, for they shall draw out the abundance of the seas, the hidden treasures of the sand.”

Story and inheritance

Yissasḵar settled the fertile Jezreel corridor and lower Galil, around Mount Taḇor and the approaches to the sea routes (Joshua 19:17–23). The tribe produced the judge Tola (Judges 10:1–2). Its most quoted distinction comes later: “children of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do,” whose two hundred chiefs stood ready at Dawiḏ’s gathering (1 Chronicles 12:32).

In Revelation

Yissasḵar is ninth in the sealing order of Revelation 7:8. His name belongs to the tribal names on the gates in Revelation 21:12.

𐤆𐤁𐤅𐤋𐤅𐤍 · Zeḇulun · Diamond — the Count

The name

The World English Bible prints Zebulun. Lĕ’ah said Alyhim had endowed her with a good dowry and that her husband would now “live” with her; she named the child Zeḇulun (Genesis 30:20).

Ya‛aqoḇ’s word — Genesis 49:13

“Zebulun will dwell at the haven of the sea. He will be for a haven of ships. His border will be on Sidon.”

Mosheh’s blessing — Deuteronomy 33:18–19

Spoken jointly with Yissasḵar:

“Of Zebulun he said, “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out; and Issachar, in your tents. They shall call the peoples to the mountain. There they will offer sacrifices of righteousness, for they shall draw out the abundance of the seas, the hidden treasures of the sand.””

Story and inheritance

Zeḇulun’s allotment lay in lower Galil, with borders reaching toward the routes of the sea and Tsiḏon rather than forming a long coastline of its own (Joshua 19:10–16). Elon the Zeḇulunite judged Yisra’ĕl (Judges 12:11–12). Zeḇulun answered Deborah’s call with notable courage, and its territory later stood in the region where Yeshayahu’s promise of light to Galil was recalled in the Messiah’s ministry (Judges 5:14, 18; Isaiah 9:1–2; Matthew 4:13–16).

In Revelation

Zeḇulun is tenth in the sealing order of Revelation 7:8. His name is among the tribal gate names in Revelation 21:12.

𐤀𐤐𐤓𐤉𐤌 · Ephrayim · Jacinth — Sunrise & Sunset

The name

The World English Bible prints Ephraim. Yosĕph named him because “Alyhim has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Genesis 41:52). Ya‛aqoḇ adopted Ephrayim and Menashsheh as his own sons and deliberately placed the younger Ephrayim before the first-born Menashsheh (Genesis 48:5, 14–20).

Ya‛aqoḇ’s word

Ephrayim receives his father’s oracle through the blessing on Yosĕph, especially Genesis 49:22–26. Its blessing climax reads:

“The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of your ancestors, above the boundaries of the ancient hills. They will be on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the head of him who is separated from his brothers.”

Mosheh’s blessing — Deuteronomy 33:17

Mosheh likewise blesses the house through Yosĕph and names the younger son’s scale:

“The firstborn of his herd, majesty is his. His horns are the horns of the wild ox. With them he shall push the peoples all of them, [even] the ends of the earth: They are the ten thousands of Ephraim. They are the thousands of Manasseh.”

Story and inheritance

Ephrayim occupied the central hill country, with Shiloh at its heart and Bĕth Ĕl near its southern horizon; the ark rested at Shiloh for a formative period (Joshua 16; 18:1). Yehoshua himself was an Ephraimite (Numbers 13:8; Joshua 19:49–50). After the kingdom divided, “Ephraim” often became the prophets’ name for the northern kingdom as a whole (Isaiah 7:2–17; Hosea 4:17; 5:3–14).

In Revelation

Ephrayim is not separately named in Revelation 7. That chapter names Yosĕph and Menashsheh; Scripture does not explicitly say that “Yosĕph” there is a substitute label for Ephrayim, so the distinction stands as written rather than explained away.

𐤍𐤐𐤕𐤋𐤉 · Naphtali · Agate — Yah’s Time Alerts

The name

The World English Bible prints Naphtali. Raḥĕl said, “With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed,” and called him Naphtali (Genesis 30:8).

Ya‛aqoḇ’s word — Genesis 49:21

“Naphtali is a doe set free, who bears beautiful fawns.”

Mosheh’s blessing — Deuteronomy 33:23

“Of Naphtali he said, “Naphtali, satisfied with favor, full of the blessing of Yahuah, Possess the west and the south.””

Story and inheritance

Naphtali received the upper Galil, the western shore region of the Sea of Galil, the Ḥatsor valley, and strong northern cities including Qeḏesh (Joshua 19:32–39). Baraq was summoned from Qeḏesh Naphtali to join Deborah against Sisera (Judges 4:6–10). The master craftsman Ḥiram’s mother was a widow from Naphtali, joining this northern house to the workmanship of the temple (1 Kings 7:13–14).

In Revelation

Naphtali is fifth in the sealing order of Revelation 7:6. His name belongs to the tribal names on the gates in Revelation 21:12.

𐤂𐤃 · Gaḏ · Amethyst — the Weekly Torah Portion

The name

The World English Bible prints Gad. At his birth through Zilpah, Lĕ’ah exclaimed, “How fortunate!” and called his name Gaḏ (Genesis 30:11). The stored naming verse gives the exclamation without a longer explanation, so no fuller “meaning” is presented here as though the verse stated it.

Ya‛aqoḇ’s word — Genesis 49:19

“A troop will press on Gad, but he will press on their heel.”

Mosheh’s blessing — Deuteronomy 33:20–21

“Of Gad he said, “He who enlarges Gad is blessed. He dwells as a lioness, and tears the arm, yes, the crown of the head. He provided the first part for himself, for there was the lawgiver’s portion reserved. He came [with] the heads of the people. He executed the righteousness of Yahuah, His ordinances with Israel.””

Story and inheritance

Gaḏ chose rich cattle land in Gilead east of the Jordan, yet its fighting men crossed over armed to help the western tribes before settling (Numbers 32; Joshua 13:24–28; 22). Gadite warriors who joined Dawiḏ are described as lion-faced men, swift as gazelles and trained for battle (1 Chronicles 12:8–15). The house’s enduring picture is strength under pressure: raided, but answering at the heel.

In Revelation

Gaḏ is third in the sealing order of Revelation 7:5. His name is among the tribal gate names in Revelation 21:12.

𐤀𐤔𐤓 · Ashĕr · Beryl — the Appointed Times

The name

The World English Bible prints Asher. Lĕ’ah said, “Happy am I, for the daughters will call me happy,” and called him Ashĕr (Genesis 30:13) — blessing and happiness are written into the naming.

Ya‛aqoḇ’s word — Genesis 49:20

“Asher’s food will be rich. He will yield royal dainties.”

Mosheh’s blessing — Deuteronomy 33:24–25

“Of Asher he said, “Asher is blessed with children. Let him be acceptable to his brothers. Let him dip his foot in oil. Your bars shall be iron and brass. As your days, so your strength will be.””

Story and inheritance

Ashĕr’s allotment ran through western Galil toward Karmel, Tsidon, and the coast (Joshua 19:24–31). Its richness is pictured in food, oil, and durable strength, though Judges also records that Ashĕr did not dispossess the coastal inhabitants and lived among them (Judges 1:31–32). In the Messiah’s infancy account, the prophetess Ḥannah is identified as a daughter of Penu’ĕl “of the tribe of Asher” (Luke 2:36).

In Revelation

Ashĕr is fourth in the sealing order of Revelation 7:6. His name belongs to the tribal gate names in Revelation 21:12.

𐤉𐤅𐤎𐤐 · Yosĕph · Onyx — the Year

The name

The World English Bible prints Joseph. Raḥĕl called him Yosĕph and said, “May Yahuah add another son to me” (Genesis 30:24). He is both a patriarch in his own right and the father of Ephraim and Menashsheh, the two houses Ya‛aqoḇ adopted as his own (Genesis 48:5).

Ya‛aqoḇ’s word — Genesis 49:22, 24, 26

“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring. His branches run over the wall. But his bow remained strong. The arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel), The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of your ancestors, above the boundaries of the ancient hills. They will be on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the head of him who is separated from his brothers.”

Mosheh’s blessing — Deuteronomy 33:13, 16–17

“Of Joseph he said, “His land is blessed by Yahuah, for the precious things of the heavens, for the dew, for the deep that couches beneath, for the precious things of the earth and its fullness, the good will of him who lived in the bush. Let [the blessing] come on the head of Joseph, On the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers. The firstborn of his herd, majesty is his. His horns are the horns of the wild ox. With them he shall push the peoples all of them, [even] the ends of the earth: They are the ten thousands of Ephraim. They are the thousands of Manasseh.””

Story and inheritance

Yosĕph was favoured, dreamed, was sold by his brothers, resisted temptation, interpreted dreams in prison, and was raised to administer Mitsrayim through famine (Genesis 37–47). He preserved the family he forgave, and his bones were carried up and buried at Shekeem (Genesis 50:24–26; Exodus 13:19; Joshua 24:32). He received no single allotment under his own name; his inheritance unfolded through Ephraim and Menashsheh.

In Revelation

Yosĕph is eleventh in the sealing order of Revelation 7:8. Revelation 21:12 places the tribal names on the gates, without assigning Yosĕph an individual gate.

𐤁𐤍𐤉𐤌𐤉𐤍 · Binyamin · Jasper — Announcements & Contact

The name

The World English Bible prints Benjamin. Dying after his birth, Raḥĕl called him Ben-Oni; his father called him Binyamin (Genesis 35:18). “Ben-Oni” is explained by the scene as a name spoken in her departing life; the father’s enduring name for the child is Binyamin.

Ya‛aqoḇ’s word — Genesis 49:27

“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning he will devour the prey. At evening he will divide the spoil.”

Mosheh’s blessing — Deuteronomy 33:12

“Of Benjamin he said, “The beloved of Yahuah shall dwell in safety by him. He covers him all the day long. He dwells between his shoulders.””

Story and inheritance

Binyamin’s compact territory lay between Yehuḏah and Ephraim and included Yeriḥo, Bĕyth Ĕl, Giḇ‛on, Mitspeh, and the Jebusite city area in its border list (Joshua 18:11–28). The tribe was nearly destroyed after the outrage at Giḇ‛ah and the civil war that followed, then was preserved through a painful restoration (Judges 19–21). It produced Ehud the left-handed deliverer and Sha’ul the first sovereign, and centuries later Sha’ul of Tarsus identified himself as “of the tribe of Benjamin” (Judges 3:15; 1 Samuel 9:1–2; Philippians 3:5).

In Revelation

Binyamin is twelfth and last in the sealing order of Revelation 7:8. His name belongs to the tribal names on the city gates in Revelation 21:12.

𐤌𐤍𐤔𐤄 · Menashsheh · Onyx — the Shofar

The name

The World English Bible prints Manasseh. Yosĕph called the first-born Menashsheh, “For Alyhim has made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house” (Genesis 41:51). Ya‛aqoḇ adopted him with Ephrayim, while knowingly placing the younger brother first (Genesis 48:5, 14–20).

Ya‛aqoḇ’s word — Genesis 48:19

Ya‛aqoḇ speaks directly to Menashsheh’s future here, within the blessing he also receives through Yosĕph in Genesis 49:22–26:

“I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a multitude of nations.”

Mosheh’s blessing — Deuteronomy 33:17

Menashsheh is named at the end of Mosheh’s blessing on Yosĕph’s house:

“The firstborn of his herd, majesty is his. His horns are the horns of the wild ox. With them he shall push the peoples all of them, [even] the ends of the earth: They are the ten thousands of Ephraim. They are the thousands of Manasseh.”

Story and inheritance

Menashsheh held territory on both sides of the Jordan: a western portion in the central hills and an eastern half-tribe in Gilead and Bashan (Joshua 17; 1 Chronicles 5:23–24). The daughters of Tselophḥaḏ, from this tribe, successfully sought an inheritance and helped establish a lasting ruling for daughters when there was no son (Numbers 27:1–11; 36). Giḏ‛on came from the Aḇi‛ezer clan of Menashsheh in Ophrah (Judges 6:11–15).

In Revelation

Menashsheh is sixth in the sealing order of Revelation 7:6. His name belongs to the tribal names on the gates in Revelation 21:12, with no individual gate assignment stated.

Shim‛on, called Kĕpha · Shim‛on Bar-Yonah

The calling

Shim‛on was a fisherman working with his brother Andri beside the Sea of Galil:

“Walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.”” — Matthew 4:18–19

Yoḥanan’s account adds that Andri brought Shim‛on to the Messiah and that he received the name Kĕpha, explained there as “Peter” (John 1:40–42). John 1:44 identifies Bĕyth Tsaiḏa as the city of Andri and Kĕpha.

Work and witness

Kĕpha confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living Alyhim” (Matthew 16:16), denied the Master, and was restored with the charge, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17). At Pentecost he stood with the eleven and called the crowd to repentance and immersion (Acts 2:14, 38–41); he later carried the message to Cornelius’s household and defended the acceptance of gentile believers (Acts 10–11; 15:7). The letters called 1 Peter and 2 Peter name Kĕpha/Shim‛on Kĕpha as their sender in the text itself (1 Peter 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1).

Revelation 21:14 sets the names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb on the city’s twelve foundations, without saying which name belongs to which foundation.

Andri · brother of Shim‛on Kĕpha

The calling

Andri was one of the two taught ones who heard Yoḥanan the Immerser say, “Behold, the Lamb of Alyhim!” and followed יהושע (John 1:35–40). His first recorded act is a family errand of witness:

“He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ).” — John 1:41

He was also called from the nets together with Shim‛on (Matthew 4:18–20). Andri and Kĕpha were from Bĕyth Tsaiḏa (John 1:44), and Andri worked as a fisherman.

Work and witness

Scripture gives Andri a pattern rather than a long narrative: he brings people to the Messiah. He brought Shim‛on (John 1:41–42), pointed out the boy with the loaves and fish (John 6:8–9), and joined Philip in bringing the Greeks who asked to see יהושע (John 12:20–22). No writing in the stored corpus names Andri as its author.

Revelation 21:14 sets the names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb on the city’s twelve foundations, without saying which name belongs to which foundation.

Ya‛aqoḇ the son of Zaḇdai · one of the Beni-Reḡes, “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17)

The calling

Ya‛aqoḇ was mending nets in the boat with his father Zaḇdai and his brother Yoḥanan:

“Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them. They immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.” — Matthew 4:21–22

Work and witness

With Kĕpha and Yoḥanan, he belonged to the three repeatedly taken apart with the Messiah: at the raising of Ya’ir’s daughter, at the transfiguration, and in Gethsemane (Mark 5:37; Matthew 17:1; Mark 14:33). The brothers’ request for the highest seats and their wish to call down fire show ambition and zeal corrected by their Master (Mark 10:35–40; Luke 9:51–56). Acts gives his witness its stark ending: “He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword” (Acts 12:2). No stored Scripture names him as the author of a book.

Revelation 21:14 sets the names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb on the city’s twelve foundations, without saying which name belongs to which foundation.

Yoḥanan · brother of Ya‛aqoḇ, son of Zaḇdai · one of the “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17)

The calling

Yoḥanan left the boat, the nets, and his father’s hired servants together with Ya‛aqoḇ (Matthew 4:21–22; Mark 1:19–20). He is traditionally identified with the unnamed “taught one whom יהושע loved,” who reclined close at the supper, stood by the stake, received the care of the Messiah’s mother, ran to the tomb, and recognised the risen Master from the boat (John 13:23; 19:26–27; 20:2–8; 21:7).

Work and witness

Yoḥanan worked beside Kĕpha in the temple healing witness, before the council, and in Shomeron (Acts 3–4; 8:14–25). The Fourth Gospel does not print the author’s personal name; it identifies its witness as the beloved taught one and concludes, “This is the disciple who testifies about these things, and wrote these things” (John 21:24). Revelation names its servant Yoḥanan directly (Revelation 1:1, 9). The epistles traditionally assigned to Yoḥanan are not internally signed “Yoḥanan” in the same direct way, so the text’s own signatures stand distinct from the early church’s identification.

Revelation 21:14 sets the names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb on the city’s twelve foundations, without saying which name belongs to which foundation.

Philip · of Bĕyth Tsaiḏa

The calling

Philip receives one of the shortest direct calls in the Gospels:

“On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”” — John 1:43

Philip was “from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter” (John 1:44). He immediately brought Nethanĕ’l to יהושע (John 1:45–46).

Work and witness

Philip is asked about bread before the feeding of the crowd and answers in practical numbers (John 6:5–7). Greeks approach him when they wish to see יהושע, and he takes the request to Andri (John 12:20–22). At the supper he asks, “Yahuah, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us,” drawing the answer that seeing the Son is seeing the Father at work (John 14:8–10). The Philip who meets the Kushite official in Acts 8 is elsewhere identified by Acts as “Philip the evangelist,” one of the Seven (Acts 6:5; 8:26–40; 21:8) — a different house from Philip the emissary in the usual reading of Acts, so that narrative is not claimed for this plaque.

Revelation 21:14 sets the names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb on the city’s twelve foundations, without saying which name belongs to which foundation.

Bartholomi · named in the lists after Philip

The calling

No separate call narrative for Bartholomi is recorded. He appears in the apostolic lists immediately after Philip (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13). The common identification is with Nethanĕ’l: Philip brings Nethanĕ’l in John 1; Bartholomi follows Philip in the Synoptic lists; and John 21:2 places Nethanĕ’l of Qanah among the taught ones after the resurrection. This is a strong traditional and common reading, but John never says “Nethanĕ’l is Bartholomi,” so the identification is labelled as such.

People, place, and witness

If the identification is accepted, Nethanĕ’l came from Qanah in Galil (John 21:2) and confessed:

“Rabbi, you are the Son of Alyhim! You are King of Israel!” — John 1:49

That confession followed the word that he had been seen under the fig tree before Philip called him (John 1:48). Apart from the lists — and Nethanĕ’l’s scenes if the identification is accepted — the stored Scripture records no separate speech, journey, or writing for Bartholomi.

Revelation 21:14 sets the names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb on the city’s twelve foundations, without saying which name belongs to which foundation.

T’oma · “called Didymus” (John 11:16; 20:24; 21:2)

The calling

T’oma is named among the appointed twelve (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13), but no individual call scene, hometown, family, or trade is recorded for him.

Work and witness

His recorded words trace a complete arc: loyalty, honest uncertainty, and confession. When the Master turns toward Bethany and danger, T’oma says, “Let’s go also, that we may die with him” (John 11:16). When he does not know the way, he asks directly and receives the answer, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:5–6). After the resurrection he moves from demanding visible proof to the Gospel’s fullest personal confession:

“My Yahuah and my Alyhim!” — John 20:28

The next verse blesses those who believe without seeing (John 20:29). No book in the stored corpus names T’oma as its author.

Revelation 21:14 sets the names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb on the city’s twelve foundations, without saying which name belongs to which foundation.

Mattithyahu · “Mattithyahu the tax collector” (Matthew 10:3)

The calling

His call is a two-word command and an immediate rising:

“As Jesus passed by from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office. He said to him, “Follow me.” He got up and followed him.” — Matthew 9:9

People and place

Scripture places Mattithyahu at a tax office, in the world of toll records and public resentment toward collectors. Mark and Luke tell the parallel call of Lĕwi — Mark adds “son of Alphai” (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27–28). The identification of Mattithyahu with Lĕwi is the common and traditional reading of the parallel accounts; the stored text does not print a sentence saying the two names belong to the same man, so the identification is labelled rather than silently merged.

Work and witness

After his call, a house meal with tax collectors and sinners becomes the scene of the defence that the healthy do not need a physician (Matthew 9:10–13). The Gospel that bears his name is anonymous inside the text itself; its attribution to Mattithyahu comes from early church tradition. No later individual mission is narrated in the stored corpus.

Revelation 21:14 sets the names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb on the city’s twelve foundations, without saying which name belongs to which foundation.

Ya‛aqoḇ the son of Alphai (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13)

The calling

No individual call scene is recorded. His calling is known from the collective appointment of the twelve: “He appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach” (Mark 3:14).

People and place

Scripture identifies him by his father, Alphai, and gives no hometown, trade, speech, journey, or separate act. He is not quietly merged here with Ya‛aqoḇ the brother of Yoḥanan, Ya‛aqoḇ “the Less,” or Ya‛aqoḇ the brother of the Master: the stored lists distinguish the son of Alphai, while the identity relationships among every “Ya‛aqoḇ” in the Second Writings remain disputed. In particular, the Ya‛aqoḇ who leads in Acts 15 and Acts 21 is not assigned to this plaque without an explicit identification note.

Work and witness

His scriptural witness is presence in the appointed company: in the lists, in the upper room after the ascension, and among the emissaries awaiting the promised Spirit (Acts 1:13–14). No stored book names Ya‛aqoḇ son of Alphai as its author; the epistle signed simply “James, a servant of Alyhim and of the Yahuah Jesus Christ” (James 1:1) does not add “son of Alphai.”

Revelation 21:14 sets the names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb on the city’s twelve foundations, without saying which name belongs to which foundation.

Taddai · Yehuḏah the son of Ya‛aqoḇ

The name

Matthew’s list gives “Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus” (Matthew 10:3); Mark prints Taddai (Mark 3:18). Luke and Acts list Yehuḏah the son of Ya‛aqoḇ in the corresponding place (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13), and John distinguishes a Yehuḏah – not the one from Qerioth (John 14:22). The Gospel-list identification of these names as one house is followed here: Thaddaeus.

The calling

No separate call narrative is recorded; he stands in the appointment lists of the twelve (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:13–16; Acts 1:13).

Work and witness

If the Yehuḏah of John 14 is this house — the standard list correspondence — his one recorded question asks why the manifestation of the Master is given to the taught ones and not to the world:

“Yahuah, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” — John 14:22

The answer turns on love, obedience, and the Father and Son making their home with the obedient believer (John 14:23). Beyond the lists and this question, the stored corpus records no journey or speech for him. The epistle of Jude is signed “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James” (Jude 1:1); that signature alone does not prove its author is the emissary in Luke’s list, so authorship is not claimed for this plaque.

Revelation 21:14 sets the names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb on the city’s twelve foundations, without saying which name belongs to which foundation.

Shim‛on the Kena‛anite · “who was called the Zealot” (Luke 6:15) · “Shim‛on the Zealot” (Acts 1:13)

The calling

No individual call story, hometown, family, trade, or speech is recorded. He is called and counted in the collective appointment of the twelve “that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach” (Mark 3:14). The titles point to zeal and ardour; the stored text does not identify him with Shim‛on Kĕpha.

Work and witness

Scripture’s record is deliberately spare: Shim‛on remains in the apostolic company in the lists and in the upper room (Acts 1:13). No journey, sermon, miracle, or writing in the stored corpus is assigned to him. His dossier therefore teaches the value of a named foundation-stone whose public record is mostly hidden, without inventing exploits to fill the silence.

Revelation 21:14 sets the names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb on the city’s twelve foundations, without saying which name belongs to which foundation.

Mattithyahu · the same printed name as the tax collector, a different man

The appointment

This house stands twelfth in place of Yehuḏah from Qerioth, “who also betrayed him” (Matthew 10). After his fall, Kĕpha set the qualification: the replacement must have accompanied the company from the immersion of Yoḥanan until the ascension and become “a witness with us of his resurrection” (Acts 1:21–22). Joseph Barsabba and Mattithyahu were put forward; the company prayed and cast lots:

“You, Yahuah, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place.” They drew lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. — Acts 1:24–26

People and place

Scripture gives no hometown, family, occupation, separate speech, or later journey for Mattithyahu. His qualification is the witness he carried from the beginning of the public ministry through the resurrection and ascension.

Work and witness

His recorded work is foundational rather than narrative: he completes the twelve before Pentecost (Acts 1:26; 2:14). No stored book is attributed to him.

Revelation 21:14 sets the names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb on the city’s twelve foundations, without saying which name belongs to which foundation.