Original Word: δώδεκα
Part of Speech: Indeclinable Numeral (Adjective)
Transliteration: dódeka
Pronunciation: DOH-deh-kah
Phonetic Spelling: (do'-dek-ah)
KJV: twelve
NASB: twelve
Word Origin: [from G1417 (δύο - two) and G1176 (δέκα - ten)]

1. two and ten, i.e. a dozen

twelve.

From duo and deka; two and ten, i.e. A dozen -- twelve.

see GREEK duo

see GREEK deka

1427 dṓdeka – twelve. 1427 /dṓdeka ("12") is used with literal and figurative meaning in Scripture – and with "double entendre," i.e. conveying both senses at once.

Word Origin
from duo and deka
Definition
two and ten, i.e. twelve
NASB Translation
twelve (74).

STRONGS NT 1427: δώδεκα

δώδεκα, οἱ, αἱ, τά (from Homer down), twelve: Matthew 9:20; Matthew 10:1; (L T Tr WH in Acts 19:7; Acts 24:11 for δεκαδύο); Revelation 7:5 (R G i b'); Revelation 21:21, etc.; οἱ δώδεκα, the twelve apostles of Jesus, so called by way of eminence: Mark 9:35; Mark 10:32; Mark 11:11; Matthew 26:14, 20; Luke 22:3, etc.

Numerical Identity of Covenant People

“Twelve” first frames Israel’s story. From Jacob’s sons (Genesis 35:22-26) flow the twelve tribes that bear his new name. Centuries later Stephen recalls the covenant: “Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs” (Acts 7:8). James still writes “To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion” (James 1:1), showing the figure’s enduring power to define the people of God. Future hope likewise rests on this number; Revelation 7:5-8 records twelve thousand sealed from each tribe, and Revelation 21:12 pictures the New Jerusalem with “twelve gates … and names written on them, which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel”.

The Twelve Apostles: Foundation of the Church

Jesus selected twelve men to signify a restored Israel: “He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated apostles” (Luke 6:13). Their appointment (Matthew 10:1-5; Mark 3:14-19) answers Israel’s twelve tribal heads, and their number stands until Pentecost, even after Judas’s fall (Acts 1:15-26). The risen Lord appears to “the twelve” (1 Corinthians 15:5), anchoring apostolic witness. Luke reports, “The twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples” (Acts 6:2), showing their ongoing governing role. Christ promises them eschatological authority: “You who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28; cf. Luke 22:30).

Miracles and Healings Framed by Twelve

Mark interweaves two healings to spotlight divine completeness: a woman has bled “twelve years” (Mark 5:25) and Jairus’s daughter is “about twelve years old” (Mark 5:42). The hemorrhaging ceases and the girl rises—double testimony that Messiah brings perfect wholeness. Feeding accounts stress surplus beyond need: after five thousand eat, “they picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces” (Matthew 14:20; John 6:13). When Jesus recalls this sign He asks, “When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They answer, “Twelve” (Mark 8:19). The number signals sufficiency for all Israel and forecasts the Church’s mission.

Travel and Instruction with the Twelve

Evangelists often note Jesus “took the twelve aside” for private teaching (Matthew 20:17; Mark 10:32; Luke 18:31). Parable explanations likewise occur “when He was alone with the Twelve” (Mark 4:10). Such references highlight intimate discipleship and the transmission of kingdom truth destined for global proclamation.

Eschatological Vision and Heavenly Architecture

Revelation weaves “twelve” into climactic imagery of consummated redemption. The woman clothed with the sun wears “a crown of twelve stars” (Revelation 12:1), evoking both Israel’s patriarchs and the apostolic band. The Holy City’s symmetry is exhaustive: twelve gates, twelve angels, twelve foundations, each foundation bearing “the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:14). Its dimensions—twelve thousand stadia squared (Revelation 21:16)—and its main street’s “twelve kinds of fruit” borne monthly by the tree of life (Revelation 22:2) proclaim eternal wholeness.

Twelve Beyond Israel and the Apostles

Luke records “about twelve men in all” who receive the Spirit in Ephesus (Acts 19:7), a micro-representation of new covenant extension to the nations. Paul’s trial timetable, “twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem” (Acts 24:11), and Jesus’ rhetorical “Are there not twelve hours of daylight?” (John 11:9) use the number in ordinary reckoning, yet their inclusion continues the pervasive biblical rhythm.

Symbolic Completeness and Authority

Across Scripture the number twelve marks governmental perfection, covenanted community, and eschatological fulfillment. Whether naming tribes, apostles, gates, foundations, or baskets of bread, it signals that God’s redemptive purposes are whole, ordered, and certain.

δωδεκα δώδεκα δώδεκά δωδεκάμηνον dodeka dōdeka dṓdekaInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts