Albert Barnes Commentary Revelation 19:16

"And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KINGS OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." — Revelation 19:16 (ASV)

And he hath on his vesture. That is, this name was conspicuously written on his garment—probably his military robe.

And on his thigh. The robe or military cloak may be conceived of as open and flowing, so as to expose the limbs of the rider. The idea is that the name was conspicuously written not only on the flowing robe but also on the other parts of his dress, so that it must be conspicuous whether his military cloak was wrapped closely around him or whether it was open to the breeze. Grotius supposes that this name was on the edge or hilt of the sword that hung from his thigh.

A name written. Or a title descriptive of his character.

King of kings, and Lord of lords. As in Revelation 17:5, so here, there is nothing in the original to denote that this should be distinguished as it is by capital letters. As a conspicuous title, however, it is not improper. It means that he is, in fact, the sovereign over the kings of the earth, and that all nobles and princes are under his control—a rank that properly belongs to the Son of God. Compare Ephesians 1:20-22.

See also Revelation 19:12 of this chapter. The custom alluded to here, of inscribing the name or rank of distinguished individuals on their garments so that they might be readily recognized, was not uncommon in ancient times.

For full proof of this, see Rosenmuller, Morgenland, iii. 232-236. The authorities quoted there are Thevenot's Travels, i. 149; Gruter, p. 989; Dempster's Etruria Regalis, T. ii. tab. 93; and Montfaucon, Antiq. Expliq., T. iii. tab. 39.

Thus Herodotus (2.106), speaking of the figures of Sesostris in Ionia, says that, "Across his breast, from shoulder to shoulder, there is this inscription in the sacred characters of Egypt, 'I conquered this country by the force of my arms.'"

Compare Cicero, Verrines 4.23; Le Moyne on Jeremiah 23:6; and Munter, Dissertation on Revelation 17:5, as referred to by Professor Stuart, in loco.