THEOSISJerome of Stridon
The descriptions of the city’s perimeters are as follows: on the northern side, one should measure four thousand five hundred cubits. The gates of the city are designated according to the names of the tribes of Israel. On the northern side, there are three gates: one for Reuben, one for Judah, and one for Levi. To the east, there is a measure of four thousand five hundred cubits, featuring three gates designated for Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan. The southern side also measures four thousand five hundred cubits, with three gates appointed for Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun. The western side has the same measurement of four thousand five hundred cubits and includes three gates: one for Gad, one for Asher, and one for Naphtali. Thus, the total circumference is eighteen thousand cubits.
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The city's name from that time forward is “The Lord is there.”
It has been previously noted that each side of the city spans four thousand five hundred reeds, totaling eighteen thousand reeds, equating to forty-four thousand three hundred forty paces. It is mentioned that on each side, at a distance of eleven thousand paces and eighty-five paces, there are three gates, referred to in other translations as "passages." For context, it is worth recalling how the tribes camped around the tabernacle: to the east, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, descendants of Leah, were positioned; to the south were Reuben, Simeon, Gad, and others; to the west was Ephraim with Manasseh, along with Benjamin, Rachel's sons; and to the north camped Dan, Asher, and Naphtali—who had lesser genealogy, coming from the handmaids of Leah and Rachel.
The description of the city aligning with the divine order is derived from the book of Numbers and reflects the pattern established by the command of God through Moses. In contrast, the city of the great King, which the Lord Himself constructs, differs in the layout of the tribes within the holy land, its dimensions, and the arrangements of each tribe's land. On the northern side, the first three gates are attributed to Reuben, Judah, and Levi, the latter absent from the tabernacle's priestly description, representing our elevation to a royal and priestly status, rendering us impervious to the cold of the north. To the east are the gates for Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan; to the south are Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun—all sons of Leah; and to the west are Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, the first two being sons of Zilpah and the last of Bala.
Who among us is discerning enough to grasp these teachings? The paths of the Lord are just, and the upright shall navigate them, while the wicked shall falter along the way. These twelve gates, I believe, symbolize the virtues and merits assigned to each of the tribes as reflected in the names of the apostles and patriarchs, elaborated in the Revelation of John, which highlights several mysteries within divine Scriptures. This city’s dimensions must encompass eighteen thousand reeds, a number echoed in Psalm eighteen, which speaks of natural law and the grace of the Gospel that establishes the Church, the city of the Savior.
Moreover, this city shall forever bear the title of Jerusalem, signifying the divine vision, but it is ultimately named Adonai S̆ama, translated in Latin as “Dominus ibidem,” meaning "the Lord is there,” who will remain steadfast, unlike how He previously departed from the people, saying to the disciples, "Arise, let us go from here," and to the Jews, "Behold, your house is left to you desolate." Yet, He will maintain everlasting reign within it, and He Himself will be its dominion, fulfilling His assurance to the disciples: “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”