Stadion: Edit history

Occurrences in Scripture

The stadion appears in the Greek text of the New Testament in two verses of Revelation, where the King James Version renders it as "furlongs":

• Revelation 14:20: The blood flowing from the winepress of God's wrath spread "by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs."
• Revelation 21:16: An angel measured the New Jerusalem with a reed and found it to be "twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal."

The same unit also appears in the Greek text of the Gospels. Examples include the distance between Jerusalem and Emmaus in Luke 24:13 ("threescore furlongs"), the distance the disciples rowed in John 6:19 ("about five and twenty or thirty furlongs"), and the distance between Jerusalem and Bethany in John 11:18 ("about fifteen furlongs"). The distance to Emmaus is 60 stadia in the original text, though some manuscripts read 160 stadia.

In the Korean Revised Korean Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong), the term is transliterated directly only in the two verses of Revelation; in the Gospel passages, that translation renders it with the traditional Korean unit of distance, the ri.

Background and Meaning of the Word

The stadion was a Greek unit of length equal to 600 Greek feet. Because the length of the foot varied by region, one stadion ranged from roughly 180 to 190 meters; it is commonly reckoned at about 185 meters. The same word was used for a footrace run over this distance and, by extension, for the arena in which the race was held. The English word "stadium" derives from it.

When Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 9:24 of "they which run in a race," the underlying Greek likewise uses this word. Paul uses the image of the runner to explain the self-discipline and the goal of the life of faith.

Biblical-Theological Significance

The stadion itself is an ordinary unit of measurement. Its theological significance is discussed chiefly in connection with the numbers in Revelation. Converted at 185 meters, 12,000 stadia comes to about 2,200 kilometers. The city's cubic shape, with equal length, breadth, and height, is frequently linked to the record that the Most Holy Place of the Old Testament temple was equal in length, breadth, and height (1 Kings 6:20). On this reading, the entire New Jerusalem is portrayed as a Most Holy Place where God is present.

Interpretations and Points of Debate

• Symbolic view: Many commentators take 12,000 as 12 × 1,000 and read it as a number expressing the fullness and completeness of God's people. The number 12 recalls the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve disciples (Revelation 21:12–14). This view appeals to the fact that Revelation belongs to apocalyptic literature. The figure of 1,600 stadia is likewise often interpreted as a multiple of 4 or 40, signifying a judgment that extends over the whole earth.
• Literal view: Some interpreters in the dispensationalist tradition accept the dimensions of the New Jerusalem as actual measurements and hold that the future city will be built on that scale.

Conversions into modern distances vary depending on the value assigned to one stadion; such figures are not stated by the biblical text itself.