Revelation 5:5 - Exposition

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not . One of the elders, as representing the Church (see on Revelation 4:4 ), bids St. John to take heed to him who was about to disclose to some extent the future of that Church. There is, of course, no indication that any particular individual is signified, though some have striven to identify the elder. Thus De Lyra mentions St. Peter, who was already martyred; others, referred to by De Lyra, say St. Matthew, who, in his Gospel, declares Christ's power ( Matthew 28:18 ). Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda. The title is accorded to Christ, in illustration of the following act. The Representative of the royal and victorious tribe of Judah was he who had prevailed to open the book, where others had failed (cf. Genesis 40:9 , "Judah is a lion's whelp;" Hebrews 7:14 , "For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah"). The Root of David . The Root of David is a synonym for Stem or Branch (cf. Isaiah 11:1 , "There shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots;" and Romans 15:12 , "Esaias saith, There shall be a Root of Jesse"). Further, Christ may be said to have been the Root of David, by virtue of his pre-existence and his creative power. It is one of the paradoxes of the Incarnation, that he who is the Root of David should also be a Branch. Hath prevailed to open the book ; hath conquered ( ἐνίκησεν ). Not, as the Authorized Version appears to read, that the act of victory consisted in the opening of the book, but the ability to open was a consequence of a former act of victory, viz. the redemption. So in verse 9 the ascription of praise runs, "Thou art worthy because thou wast slain" (on the infinitive epexegetic, see Winer). Some see a reference here to Revelation 3:7 , "He that openeth, and no man shutteth." And to loose the seven seals thereof; and the seven seals thereof (Revised Version). Omit "to loose?"