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 saith, 'What is the pledge that I give to thee?' and she saith, 'Thy seal, and thy ribbon, and thy staff which is in thy hand;' and he giveth to her, and goeth in unto her, and she conceiveth to him;
She is brought out, and she hath sent unto her husband's father, saying, 'To a man whose these are, I am pregnant;' and she saith, 'Discern, I pray thee, whose are these -- the seal, and the ribbons, and the staff.'
Is it not laid up with Me? Sealed among My treasures?
And she writeth letters in the name of Ahab, and sealeth with his seal, and sendeth the letters unto the elders, and unto the freemen, who are in his city, those dwelling with Naboth,
And scribes of the king are called, on the first month, on the thirteenth day of it, and it is written according to all that Haman hath commanded, unto lieutenants of the king, and unto the governors who are over province and province, and unto the heads of people and people, province and province, according to its writing, and people and people according to its tongue, in the name of the king Ahasuerus it hath been written and sealed with the signet of the king,
Set me as a seal on thy heart, as a seal on thine arm, For strong as death is love, Sharp as Sheol is jealousy, Its burnings are burnings of fire, a flame of Jah!
I live -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Though Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah Were a seal on My right hand, Surely thence I draw thee away,
Fields with money they buy, so as to write in a book, and to seal, and to cause witnesses to testify, in the land of Benjamin, and in suburbs of Jerusalem, and in cities of Judah, and in cities of the hill-country, and in cities of the low country, and in cities of the south, for I turn back their captivity -- an affirmation of Jehovah.'
saying, 'Sir, we have remembered that that deceiver said while yet living, After three days I do rise; command, then, the sepulchre to be made secure till the third day, lest his disciples, having come by night, may steal him away, and may say to the people, He rose from the dead, and the last deceit shall be worse than the first.'
and they, having gone, did make the sepulchre secure, having sealed the stone, together with the watch.
work not for the food that is perishing, but for the food that is remaining to life age-during, which the Son of Man will give to you, for him did the Father seal -- even God.'
and a sign he did receive of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith in the uncircumcision, for his being father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for the righteousness also being reckoned to them,
if to others I am not an apostle -- yet doubtless to you I am; for the seal of my apostleship are ye in the Lord.
in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth -- the good news of your salvation -- in whom also having believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise,
and make not sorrowful the Holy Spirit of God, in which ye were sealed to a day of redemption.
And I saw upon the right hand of Him who is sitting upon the throne a scroll, written within 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 saying, as it were a voice of thunder, 'Come and behold!'
'Do not injure the land, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we may seal the servants of our God upon their foreheads.'
and when the seven thunders spake their voices, I was about to write, and I heard a voice out of the heaven saying to me, 'Seal the things that the seven thunders spake,' and, 'Thou mayest not write these things.'
And he saith to me, 'Thou mayest not seal the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is nigh;
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 chargeth men concerning him, and they send him away, and his wife, an all that he hath.
and he saith, 'What is the pledge that I give to thee?' and she saith, 'Thy seal, and thy ribbon, and thy staff which is in thy hand;' and he giveth to her, and goeth in unto her, and she conceiveth to him;
Is it not laid up with Me? Sealed among My treasures?
And the king of Asshur findeth in Hoshea a conspiracy, in that he hath sent messengers unto So king of Egypt, and hath not caused a present to go up to the king of Asshur, as year by year, and the king of Asshur restraineth him, and bindeth him in a house of restraint.
And the king turneth aside his signet from off his hand, and giveth it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, adversary of the Jews;
And he writeth in the name of the king Ahasuerus, and sealeth with the signet of the king, and sendeth letters by the hand of the runners with horses, riders of the dromedary, the mules, the young mares,
It turneth itself as clay of a seal And they station themselves as clothed.
Set me as a seal on thy heart, as a seal on thine arm, For strong as death is love, Sharp as Sheol is jealousy, Its burnings are burnings of fire, a flame of Jah!
And a stone hath been brought and placed at the mouth of the den, and the king hath sealed it with his signet, and with the signet of his great men, that the purpose be not changed concerning Daniel.
And thou, O Daniel, hide the things, and seal the book till the time of the end, many do go to and fro, and knowledge is multiplied.'
and they, having gone, did make the sepulchre secure, having sealed the stone, together with the watch.
And I saw upon the right hand of Him who is sitting upon the throne a scroll, written within 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 saith, 'What is the pledge that I give to thee?' and she saith, 'Thy seal, and thy ribbon, and thy staff which is in thy hand;' and he giveth to her, and goeth in unto her, and she conceiveth to him;
And Pharaoh turneth aside his seal-ring from off his hand, and putteth it on the hand of Joseph, and clotheth him with garments of fine linen, and placeth a chain of gold on his neck,
the work of an engraver in stone, openings of a signet, thou dost open the two stones by the names of the sons of Israel; turned round, embroidered with gold, thou dost make them.
And thou hast made a flower of pure gold, and hast opened on it -- openings of a signet -- 'Holy to Jehovah;'
And they prepare the shoham stones, set, embroidered with gold, opened with openings of a signet, by the names of the sons of Israel;
And the king turneth aside his signet from off his hand, and giveth it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, adversary of the Jews;
And scribes of the king are called, on the first month, on the thirteenth day of it, and it is written according to all that Haman hath commanded, unto lieutenants of the king, and unto the governors who are over province and province, and unto the heads of people and people, province and province, according to its writing, and people and people according to its tongue, in the name of the king Ahasuerus it hath been written and sealed with the signet of the king,
and the king turneth aside his signet, that he hath caused to pass away from Haman, and giveth it to Mordecai, and Esther setteth Mordecai over the house of Haman.
And I write in a book, and seal, and cause witnesses to testify, and weigh the silver in balances;
Fields with money they buy, so as to write in a book, and to seal, and to cause witnesses to testify, in the land of Benjamin, and in suburbs of Jerusalem, and in cities of Judah, and in cities of the hill-country, and in cities of the low country, and in cities of the south, for I turn back their captivity -- an affirmation of Jehovah.'
And a stone hath been brought and placed at the mouth of the den, and the king hath sealed it with his signet, and with the signet of his great men, that the purpose be not changed concerning Daniel.
In that day -- an affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, I take thee, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And have set thee as a signet, for on thee I have fixed, An affirmation of 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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She is brought out, and she hath sent unto her husband's father, saying, 'To a man whose these are, I am pregnant;' and she saith, 'Discern, I pray thee, whose are these -- the seal, and the ribbons, and the staff.'
Is it not laid up with Me? Sealed among My treasures?
And scribes of the king are called, on the first month, on the thirteenth day of it, and it is written according to all that Haman hath commanded, unto lieutenants of the king, and unto the governors who are over province and province, and unto the heads of people and people, province and province, according to its writing, and people and people according to its tongue, in the name of the king Ahasuerus it hath been written and sealed with the signet of the king,
Who is speaking to the sun, and it riseth not, And the stars He sealeth up.
For there is of a tree hope, if it be cut down, That again it doth change, That its tender branch doth not cease.
Set me as a seal on thy heart, as a seal on thine arm, For strong as death is love, Sharp as Sheol is jealousy, Its burnings are burnings of fire, a flame of Jah!
Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among My disciples. And I have waited for Jehovah, Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob, And I have looked for Him.
And thou, O Daniel, hide the things, and seal the book till the time of the end, many do go to and fro, and knowledge is multiplied.'
And I saw upon the right hand of Him who is sitting upon the throne a scroll, written within 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 saying, as it were a voice of thunder, 'Come and behold!' and I saw, and lo, a white horse, and he who is sitting upon it is having a bow, and there was given to him a crown, and he went forth overcoming, and that he may overcome.