Lexical Summary dekaduo: Twelve Original Word: δεκαδύο Strong's Exhaustive Concordance twelve. From deka and duo; two and ten, i.e. Twelve -- twelve. see GREEK deka see GREEK duo NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originvariant reading for dódeka, q.v. Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 1177: δεκαδύοδεκαδύο, rare in the earlier writings, frequent in the later (see Passow, under the word δέκα (especially Sophocles Lexicon, under the word; cf. Winers Grammar, 23 (22); Lightfoot on Galatians 1:18)), and in the Sept.; equivalent to δώδεκα, twelve: Acts 19:7 and STRONGS NT 1177b: δεκαέξ [δεκαέξ, sixteen: Revelation 13:18 L marginal reading (the Sept., others.) STRONGS NT 1177a: δεκαοκτώ [δεκαοκτώ for δέκα καί ὀκτώ, eighteen: Tdf. in Luke 13:4, 11, but WH omits; L Tr brackets καί; cf. under the word καί, I. 1 b. While the numerical adjective δεκαδύο is not attested in the extant text of the Greek New Testament, it belongs to the same family of words that render “twelve.” Scripture consistently employs the number as a figure of covenantal fullness, governmental completeness, and representative wholeness of the people of God. Old Testament Foundations • The sons of Jacob form the paradigm: “The sons of Jacob were twelve” (Genesis 35:22–26). – twelve pillars at Sinai (Exodus 24:4) – twelve stones from the Jordan (Joshua 4:3) – Elijah’s twelve-stone altar on Carmel (1 Kings 18:31) Thematic Significance in the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ • Jesus deliberately chooses “twelve whom He called apostles” (Mark 3:14), signaling the reconstitution of God’s people around Himself. – “They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces” (Matthew 14:20). – The Jairus narrative intertwines a girl “about twelve years old” with a woman who “had suffered a hemorrhage for twelve years” (Luke 8:42–43), setting twin testimonies of restoration. The Twelve Apostles and Apostolic Authority The church preserves the number after Judas’ fall; Matthias is elected “to take the place in this ministry” (Acts 1:25), underscoring the apostolic band as a complete witness corps (compare Acts 1:21–22). The maintenance of twelve testifies to: 1. Continuity with Israel’s tribal structure. Symbolism in Prophetic and Apocalyptic Passages • Paul references the “twelve tribes” still “serving God fervently night and day” (Acts 26:7), and James addresses “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion” (James 1:1), linking the church to Israel’s hope. – 144,000 sealed—twelve thousand from each tribe (Revelation 7:4–8). – The woman crowned with “twelve stars” (Revelation 12:1). – The New Jerusalem’s architecture: twelve gates, twelve angels, twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles, its dimensions multiples of twelve, and “twelve kinds of fruit” from the tree of life (Revelation 21:12–21; 22:2). These images project the final, perfect community of God, harmonizing Israel and the church in one redeemed people. Practical and Theological Reflections 1. Covenant Faithfulness: Twelve affirms God’s unwavering commitment to form and keep a people for Himself. Thus δεκαδύο, though absent as a textual form in the Greek New Testament, points to a pervasive biblical theme: God is building, preserving, and perfecting a people marked by covenantal fullness and ordered for His glory. Englishman's Concordance δεῖνα — 1 Occ.δεινῶς — 2 Occ. δειπνῆσαι — 2 Occ. δειπνήσω — 2 Occ. δείπνῳ — 1 Occ. δείπνοις — 3 Occ. δεῖπνον — 8 Occ. δείπνου — 4 Occ. δεισιδαιμονεστέρους — 1 Occ. δεισιδαιμονίας — 1 Occ. δεκαπέντε — 3 Occ. Δεκαπόλει — 1 Occ. Δεκαπόλεως — 2 Occ. δεκατέσσαρες — 3 Occ. δεκατεσσάρων — 2 Occ. δεκάτας — 2 Occ. δεκάτην — 2 Occ. δεκάτη — 1 Occ. δέκατον — 1 Occ. δέκατος — 1 Occ. |
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