THEOSISJerome of Stridon
These are the peripheries of the city: on the northern boundary, it shall be measured at four thousand five hundred units. The gates of the city will correspond to the names of the tribes of Israel. On the north, there will be three gates: the gate for Reuben, the gate for Judah, and the gate for Levi. On the eastern expanse, there will also be four thousand five hundred units, with three gates designated for Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan. The southern perimeter shall likewise be measured at four thousand five hundred units, featuring three gates for Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun. On the western side, it will also measure four thousand five hundred units and will have three gates: one for Gad, one for Asher, and one for Naphtali.
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The total perimeter measures eighteen thousand units, and from that time onward, the name of the city shall be: The Lord is present. It has been mentioned previously that each side measures four thousand five hundred reeds, summing up to a circumference of eighteen thousand reeds, or forty-four thousand paces and three hundred forty paces. Scripture notes that along each side, specifically at eleven thousand paces and at eighty-five paces, three gates are located, referred to as exits or passages in various translations.
It is essential to recall that these tribes arranged their encampments around the tabernacle, positioned in such a way that to the east were Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, descending from Leah, while to the south stood Reuben, Simeon, Gad and the two sons of Leah and the third son of her handmaid, Zilpah. To the west were Ephraim and Manasseh, who are the sons of Rachel, as Joseph's tribe was divided into two for offerings. To the north were Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, with the first and last being born of Rachel's maid while the middle one was born of Leah's maid, reflecting their low status due to their birth circumstances. This arrangement aligns with the directives given by God through Moses in the book of Numbers concerning the tabernacle.
In contrast, our city, the city of the great King—crafted and established by God, which the Psalmist celebrates as ‘Is not Zion, saith the man, and man is born in it, and that is the foundation and the Highest’—distributes the tribes differently in the Holy Land, revealing a unique city plan, including the allocation of lands to each tribe.
The northern side has three gates: Reuben, the firstborn; Judah, the ancestor of the royal line; and Levi, whose name is absent in the tabernacle's description, signifying that we, inheriting the status of firstborn through Christ’s royal and priestly lineage, rise above the chill of the north. To the east stand Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan—two sons of Rachel and a son of her maid. To the south are Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun, all sons of Leah. Westward are Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, with the first two being Zilpah's sons and the last hailing from Bala, Rachel's maid. Who possesses the wisdom to grasp these truths? Indeed, the paths of the Lord are just; the righteous shall follow them, while the wicked shall find them burdensome.
These twelve gates or exits have been attributed to each tribe based on merit and virtue, bearing the names of the apostles and patriarchs, as elaborated in the Revelation of John, which elucidates many mysteries found within scripture. Moreover, the city’s total circumference of eighteen thousand units relates to both the natural law and the grace of the Gospel upon which the Church—the city of the Savior—was founded. The name of this city is Jerusalem, meaning ‘the vision of peace,’ but it will be also known as Adonai sama, translating to ‘The Lord is there,’ who will never abandon it, unlike before when He told His disciples, ‘Arise, let us go from here,’ and to the Jews, ‘Your house is left to you desolate.’ However, He promises eternal reign within it, affirming to His disciples, ‘Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’