Reference: Seal
Easton
commonly a ring engraved with some device (Ge 38:18,25). Jezebel "wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal" (1Ki 21:8). Seals are frequently mentioned in Jewish history (De 32:34; Ne 9:38-10:1; Es 3:12; Song 8:6; Isa 8:16; Jer 22:24; 32:44, etc.). Sealing a document was equivalent to the signature of the owner of the seal. "The use of a signet-ring by the monarch has recently received a remarkable illustration by the discovery of an impression of such a signet on fine clay at Koyunjik, the site of the ancient Nineveh. This seal appears to have been impressed from the bezel of a metallic finger-ring. It is an oval, 2 inches in length by 1 inch wide, and bears the image, name, and titles of the Egyptian king Sabaco" (Rawlinson's Hist. Illus. of the O.T., p. 46). The actual signet-rings of two Egyptian kings (Cheops and Horus) have been discovered. (See Signet.)
The use of seals is mentioned in the New Testament only in connection with the record of our Lord's burial (Mt 27:66). The tomb was sealed by the Pharisees and chief priests for the purpose of making sure that the disciples would not come and steal the body away (Mt 27:63-64). The mode of doing this was probably by stretching a cord across the stone and sealing it at both ends with sealing-clay. When God is said to have sealed the Redeemer, the meaning is, that he has attested his divine mission (Joh 6:27). Circumcision is a seal, an attestation of the covenant (Ro 4:11). Believers are sealed with the Spirit, as God's mark put upon them (Eph 1:13; 4:30). Converts are by Paul styled the seal of his apostleship, i.e., they are its attestation (1Co 9:2). Seals and sealing are frequently mentioned in the book of Revelation (Re 5:1; 6:1; 7:3; 10:4; 22:10).
Illustration: Ancient Jewish Seals Illustration: Egyptian Signet-Rings
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And he said, What pledge shall I give you? And she said, Your signet, and your bracelet, and your staff that is in your hand. And he gave to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him.
When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, I am with child by the man whose things these are. And she said, Please observe. Whose things are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff?
Is not this laid up in store with Me and sealed up among My treasures?
And she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
Then the king's scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded to the king's lieutenants, and to the governors who were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province, according to the writing of it, and to every people according to their language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's ring.
Set me as a seal on Your heart, as a seal on Your arm; for love is strong as death. Jealousy is cruel as the grave; its flames are flames of fire, a flame of Jehovah.
As I live, says Jehovah, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pull you out of there!
Men shall buy fields for silver, and write it in a book, and seal it, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south. For I will cause their captivity to return, says Jehovah.
saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while He was living, After three days I will rise again. Then command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away and say to the people, He has risen from the dead. So the last error will be worse than the first.
And going they made the tomb secure, sealing the stone along with the guard.
Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for that food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you. For God the Father sealed Him.
And he received a sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith while still uncircumcised; so that he might be the father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for righteousness to be imputed to them also;
If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
in whom also you, hearing the Word of Truth, the gospel of our salvation, in whom also believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed until the day of redemption.
And I saw a book on the right of Him sitting on the throne, written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures like a sound of thunder, saying, Come and see.
saying, Do not hurt the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
And when the seven thunders spoke their sounds, I was about to write. And I heard a voice from Heaven saying to me, Seal up what things the seven thunders spoke, and do not write these things.
And he said to me, Do not seal the Words of the prophecy of this Book; for the time is at hand.
Fausets
Used to stamp a document, giving it legal validity. Judah probably wore his suspended from the neck over the breast (Ge 38:18; Song 8:6; Job 38:14). As the plastic clay presents various figures impressed on it by the revolving cylinder seal (one to three inches long, of terra cotta or precious stone, such as is found in Assyria), as "it is turned," so the morning light rolling on over the earth, previously void of form through the darkness, brings out to view hills, valleys, etc. Treasures were sealed up (De 32:34); the lions' den in Daniel's case (Da 6:17); so our Lord's tomb (Mt 27:66).
Sealing up was also to ensure secrecy (Da 12:4; Re 5:1). The signet ring was the symbol of royal authority (Ge 12:20; Es 3:10; 8:10). Clay hardens in the heat, and was therefore used in Assyria and Babylon rather than wax, which melts. A stone cylinder in the Alnwick Museum bears the date of Osirtasin I, between 2,000 and 3,000 B.C. The Assyrian documents were often of baked clay, sealed while wet and burnt afterwards. Often the seal was a lump of clay impressed with a seal and tied the document. Such is the seal of Sabacho or So, king of Egypt (711 B.C.), found at Nimrud (2Ki 17:4).
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And Pharaoh commanded men concerning him. And they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
And he said, What pledge shall I give you? And she said, Your signet, and your bracelet, and your staff that is in your hand. And he gave to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him.
Is not this laid up in store with Me and sealed up among My treasures?
And the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and had brought no taxes to the king of Assyria, as before, year by year. And the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.
And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.
And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's ring. And he sent letters by riders on horseback, riders on royal steeds, stallions, even sons of mares.
It is turned like clay under a seal; and they stand forth like a garment.
Set me as a seal on Your heart, as a seal on Your arm; for love is strong as death. Jealousy is cruel as the grave; its flames are flames of fire, a flame of Jehovah.
And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den. And the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords, that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
But you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
And going they made the tomb secure, sealing the stone along with the guard.
And I saw a book on the right of Him sitting on the throne, written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
Smith
Seal.
The importance attached to seals in the East is so great that without one no document is regarded as authentic. Among the methods of sealing used in Egypt at a very early period were engraved stones, graved stones, pierced through their length and hung by a string or chain from the arm or neck, or set in rings for the finger. The most ancient form used for this purpose was the scarabaeus, formed of precious or common stone, or even of blue pottery or porcelain, on the flat side of which the inscription or device was engraved. In many cases the seal consisted of a lump of clay, impressed with the seal and attached to the document, whether of papyrus or other material, by strings. In other cases wax was used. In sealing a sepulchre or box, the fastening was covered with clay or wax, and the impression from a seal of one in authority was stamped upon it, so that it could not be broken open without discovery. The signet-ring was an ordinary part of a man's equipment.
The ring or the seal as an emblem of authority in Egypt, Persia and elsewhere is mentioned in
Ge 41:42; 1Ki 21:8; Es 3:10,12; 8:2; Da 6:17
and as an evidence of a covenant, in
Jer 32:10,44; Ne 9:38-10:1; Hag 2:23
Engraved signets were in use among the Hebrews in early times.
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And he said, What pledge shall I give you? And she said, Your signet, and your bracelet, and your staff that is in your hand. And he gave to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him.
And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand. And he dressed him with fine linen robes, and put a gold chain around his neck.
With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall make them to be set in settings of gold.
And you shall make a plate of pure gold, and carve on it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO JEHOVAH.
And they made stones of onyx set in plaited work of gold, engraved as signets are engraved, with the names of the sons of Israel.
And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.
Then the king's scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded to the king's lieutenants, and to the governors who were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province, according to the writing of it, and to every people according to their language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's ring.
And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
And I wrote it in the document, and sealed it, and called witnesses, and weighed the silver in the scales.
Men shall buy fields for silver, and write it in a book, and seal it, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south. For I will cause their captivity to return, says Jehovah.
And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den. And the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords, that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
In that day, says Jehovah of Hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel, My servant, the son of Shealtiel, says Jehovah, and will make you like a signet; for I have chosen you, says Jehovah of Hosts.
Watsons
SEAL. The ancient Hebrews wore their seals or signets, in rings on their fingers, or in bracelets on their arms, as is now the custom in the east. Haman sealed the decree of King Ahasuerus against the Jews with the king's seal, Es 3:12. The priests of Bel desired the king to seal the door of their temple with his own seal. The spouse in the Song 8:6, wishes that his spouse would wear him as a signet on her arm. Pliny observes, that the use of seals or signets was rare at the time of the Trojan war, and that they were under the necessity of closing their letters with several knots. But among the Hebrews they are much more ancient. Judah left his seal as a pledge with Tamar, Ge 38:25. Moses says, De 32:34, that God keeps sealed up in his treasuries, under his own seal, the instruments of his vengeance. Job says, Job 9:7, that he keeps the stars as under his seal, and allows them to appear when he thinks proper. He says also, "My transgression is sealed up in a bag," Job 14:7. When they intended to seal up a letter, or a book, they wrapped it round with flax, or thread, then applied the wax to it, and afterward the seal. The Lord commanded Isaiah to tie up or wrap up the book in which his prophecies were written, and to seal them till the time he should bid him publish them, Isa 8:16-17. He gives the same command to Da 12:4. The book that was shown to St. John the evangelist, Re 5:1; 6:1-2, &c, was sealed with seven seals. It was a rare thing to affix such a number of seals, but this insinuated the great importance and secrecy of the matter. In civil contracts they generally made two originals: one continued open, and was kept by him for whose interest the contract was made; the other was sealed and deposited in some public office.
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When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, I am with child by the man whose things these are. And she said, Please observe. Whose things are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff?
Is not this laid up in store with Me and sealed up among My treasures?
Then the king's scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded to the king's lieutenants, and to the governors who were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province, according to the writing of it, and to every people according to their language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's ring.
the One speaking to the sun, and it does not rise; and seals up the stars;
For there is hope of a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its tender branch will not cease.
Set me as a seal on Your heart, as a seal on Your arm; for love is strong as death. Jealousy is cruel as the grave; its flames are flames of fire, a flame of Jehovah.
Bind up the testimony, seal the Law among My disciples. And I will wait on Jehovah, who hides His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look for Him.
But you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
And I saw a book on the right of Him sitting on the throne, written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures like a sound of thunder, saying, Come and see. And I saw. And behold a white horse! And he sitting on it had a bow. And a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer.