fourth
tetartos marks a person, object, time division, or portion as fourth in sequence or measure.
The term predominantly marks the fourth member of an ordered sequence, whether a night watch, seal, creature, angel, foundation, or other item. In Revelation 6:8, it also marks a fourth portion of the earth.
Senses in use
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Fourth in an ordered sequence · dominant
The term identifies a fourth position among successive items or divisions: in Mark 6:48 and Matthew 14:25 the APB renders a night watch as the “fourth watch,” while Revelation 21:19 names the “fourth” foundation after the first three. Revelation 6:7 places both a fourth seal and a fourth living creature within their respective sequences, and Revelation 16:8 and Revelation 8:12 likewise identify a fourth figure in a series.
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A fourth portion · rare
In Revelation 6:8, the accusative neuter form occurs in the clause assigning authority “over a fourth of the earth”; the APB presents a measured portion rather than the next member of a list.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB regularly presents the sequential uses with “fourth,” as in “the fourth watch,” “the fourth seal,” and “the fourth angel.” In Revelation 6:8 it renders a measured expression as “a fourth of the earth”; these renderings reflect whole-verse translation rather than word alignment.