And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
Ver. 12. And had a wall] Far better than that of Babylon. Indeed this celestial China needs no wall to divide it from the Tartars; this is Arabia Felix, the people whereof live in security, and fear no enemy. They are in a far happier condition than the people of Tombutum in Africa, which are said to spend their whole time in singing and dancing.
And had twelve gates] Thebes had a hundred gates, and was therefore called εκατομτυλος, but nothing so well set and so commodious for passengers as this city with twelve gates.
Twelve angels] As porters to let in, not as swordsmen to keep out, as the angel that stood sentinel at the porch of Paradise, Genesis 3:24 .