Seal
sphragéŚs
[seal], sphragéŚzoµ
[to seal], katasphragéŚzoµ
[to seal up]
A.
Seal in the Nonbiblical World.
1.
Composition.
Using seals, which identify things by a sign, figure, letter, or word, is an
ancient custom. The term can denote either the instrument that makes the mark
or the impression made. Roll seals or seal cylinders are the oldest form.
Cultic or mythical figures are cut in the sheath, and the cylinder is rolled on
damp clay. Scarabs or rings with scarabs replace cylinders in
2.
Legal Significance.
The seal serves as a legal protection and guarantee. It is thus placed on
property, on wills, etc. Laws prohibit the misuse of seals, which owners often
break just before death. Seals serve as proof of identity. They also protect
houses, graves, etc. against violation. Both testator and witnesses seal wills.
In Roman law all six witnesses must break their own seals to open the will, and
in
3.
Religious Meaning.
From early times seals bear the images of deities. They thus have magical
significance, conferring divine protection. The sealing of sacrifices has both
cultic and legal significance. Later a stamp duty is paid for sealing. Seals
are also placed on chapels when not in use to denote their inviolability. The
marking of followers of Dionysus with the ivy leaf is called sphragéŚzein.
4.
Metaphorical Use.
Plato compares the impressions of memory to those made by seals. Aristotle
compares the well-articulated sounds of clear voices to sharp impressions made
by well-cut seals. In the Orphic Hymn 34.26 the creator’s seal is said
to be stamped on all creation.
B.
Seal in the OT.
1.
Meaning.
a.
The Hebrew equivalent (h\tm) occurs 13 times. sphragéŚs also occurs in Ex. 35:22
for “bracelet.”
b.
The verb h\tm is the main original of the
Greek verbs.
2.
Composition.
The roll seal comes to
3.
Use and Significance.
a.
Although royal seals have not been found in
b.
Seals make documents legally valid (cf. bills of sale, marriage contracts, the
covenant of Neh. 10:1, the book of Is. 29:11).
c.
The verb sphragéŚzoµ can also mean engraving
stone or metal (cf. Ex. 28:21; 36:21).
d.
Since the contents of sealed vessels etc. are inaccessible, the term sphragéŚzoµ takes on the sense “to
close” (Sir.
e.
Mixed in the seal are the various motifs of authorization, power, legal
validity, inviolability, and closure. The OT thus finds for sealing a rich
transferred use (cf. Sir.
C.
Seal in Judaism.
1.
Philo develops the figurative use. The powers around God give form as the seal
produces many copies. God’s word is the original seal. The incorporeal world is
the world of ideas or seals. The verb in Philo can mean “to keep under lock and
key,” but it can also have the sense “to determine” or “to guarantee,” and at
times the weaker sense “to confirm.”
2.
Josephus often refers to the seal in an official sense for authorization. The
seal denotes authority or offers protection.
3.
Judaism often calls circumcision a seal as a mark impressed in the flesh. As a
seal it denotes identity and ownership but also suggests power and protection.
D.
Seal in the NT.
1.
The NT apart from Revelation.
a.
The Literal Sense. The group occurs 32 times in the NT, 22 times in Revelation.
Only seldom is the reference literal. The tomb of Jesus is sealed in Mt. 27:66,
obviously to secure it, though whose seal is used we
are not informed. In Rom.
b.
The Transferred Sense. 2 Tim.
2.
Revelation.
a.
Sealing. In Rev. 22:10 the divine is not to seal his prophecy, i.e., keep it
secret. In 20:3 the angel seals the abyss for a thousand years. In 10:4 sealing
carries the sense of keeping closed or concealing.
b.
The Book with Seven Seals. This book reminds us of Roman law with the seal of
the testator and six witnesses. The sealed book is a double document. The one
NT instance of katasphragéŚzoµ occurs in connection with
its sealing in 5:1. Only the Lamb can undo this seal. One seal is broken after
the other in 6:1ff., and eschatological events move
forward with the breaking of the seals.
c.
The Sealed. The second angel in 7:2 and 9:4 has God’s seal, and he restrains
the four angels of destruction until he seals God’s servants (7:3), 12,000 from
each tribe (7:4ff.). This sealing marks off the people as God’s possession and
protects them through the terrible events of the end-time. The seal is a sign
with distinctive theological significance. It serves both as a literary image
and as a mode of speech among believers. The reality takes shape in the figure.
E.
Seal in the Postapostolic Age.
1.
“Seal” is rare in the apostolic fathers. 1 Clem. 43
(cf. Num. 17:16ff.) uses the word literally. 2 Clem.
7.6 seems to have the Holy Spirit in view. In Barn. 9.6 circumcision is the
seal as a secret sign pointing to Christ. In various “seal” passages in Hermas baptism is called a sphragéŚs (Similitudes
8.2-3; 9.16.3ff.). This seal, of course, is invisible; hence the motif of
eschatological concealment perhaps plays some part. The idea of baptism as a
seal then becomes a common one.
2.a. The seal is an important concept in Gnostic
writings. Baptism is a seal, with which the eucharist is associated. The baptismal seal follows
instruction and grants partial revelations.
b. The Odes of Solomon refers to the sealing of the
abyss (24:7) and the sealing of the faces of God’s people (
c. Mandaean works refer to a sealed letter, to baptismal
sealing as a protection against demons, and to the seal as a mark whereby to
distinguish initiates.
seal, a device by means of which
ownership of objects or origin of documents could be designated. The term is
used in two primary senses in the Bible, with secondary meanings developing
from them through the use of metaphor. The primary references are to an object,
usually a small, semiprecious stone with writing cut into its surface, that
makes an impression on clay or wax; and the second primary sense refers to the
impression itself made by the seal.
Use
and Manufacture:
Seals were widely used throughout the ancient Near East from the fourth
millennium b.c. through the Roman period because they
provided both identification and prestige to the owner. The majority of seals
from the ot period identify the
owner and often these have a title and an emblem or engraved scene as well.
Those persons who possessed seals were usually members of the upper classes and
often associated with the workings of government (see below). Their seals
performed important functions in their professional activities.
Cylinder
seals were popular in antiquity though less so among Israelites and early
Christians. Such seals could be rolled by hand across wet clay in order to
produce an intricate scene once the cylinder had made a complete revolution.
Scenes of religious activities and depictions of deities or royalty could be
executed easily in this fashion and then made public through the distribution
of impressions.
The
question of a seal’s manufacture is an intriguing one, especially because so
many of them are quite small (oval in shape, with some less than an inch long)
yet possessed of exquisite design. Apparently copper and iron were used for
drilling, sometimes with an abrasive glued to the implement. That diamonds were
occasionally used is a recent conjecture, but the evidence is not conclusive.
Water and olive oil were probable lubricants. The lapidary must have possessed
keen hand and eye coordination, artistic talent, and the ability to write in
reverse so that the impression made by the seal could be read correctly. Some
seals are bored through at one end so that they might be fastened to a cord and
worn around the neck (see Gen. 38:18). Others were set in a frame and used for
rings or necklaces.
There
are approximately sixty references to seals and sealing in the Bible.
Representative examples of the use of seals are to render something secure
against tampering (Jer. 32:10; Matt. 27:66), to
demonstrate authority (1 Kings 21:8; John 6:27), to seal a letter (1 Kings
21:8; 1 Cor. 9:2), to seal a covenant (Neh. 9:38), to delegate authority (Esther 8:8; John 6:27),
and to seal documents (Isa. 8:16; Jer.
32:10; Rev. 5:1). Archaeological research suggests some additional uses for
seals among the Israelites known also among other peoples: as amulets,
heirlooms, gifts, deposits in a temple, burial deposits, and as tools used to
imprint pottery vessels.
As
Archaeological Evidence: Seals can be of great benefit to the reconstruction of past
history and cultures, as the following illustrations make clear. On numerous
occasions Egyptian scarab seals (so named because they resemble the sacred
beetle) or cartouches (name-rings used to produce seals) have been found in
excavations in
Recently
discovered clay bullae (hardened seal
impressions) from the postexilic era (i.e., after late sixth century b.c.) in
Over
a thousand seal impressions on jars have been discovered dating to the late
eighth and early seventh centuries b.c.
These impressions have in common the inscription ‘to’ or ‘belonging to the
king’ (Heb. lmlk); a scarab figure with
either two or four wings; and the name of one of four towns in
Personal
Seals: A
number of personal seals have been discovered that may shed light on the
structure of Israelite society in the pre-exilic period. They range in date
from the ninth to the sixth centuries b.c., with the vast majority coming from the eighth and seventh
centuries. Among the titles following the personal name are:
‘Who is over the house,’ probably a title synonymous
with major-domo or royal steward. The office is known from several references in the ot.
‘Scribe.’ A recently discovered impression reads: ‘Barakiah son of Neriah the
Scribe.’ This name and title should be compared with that of Jeremiah’s
faithful friend of the same name and title in Jer.
36:32 (‘Baruch’ and ‘Barakiah’ are the shorter and
longer forms respectively of the same name).
‘Servant of the King.’ A number of seals have been
found with this title.
‘Son’ or ‘Daughter of the King.’ Several examples have been
discovered belonging to men. Recently one example was found that belonged to a
woman; it read: ‘daughter of the King’ (Heb. Mah
adanah). A beautiful lyre was engraved on the seal.
While
the nt uses the terms ‘seal’ and
‘sealing’ in their primary senses (e.g., Rev. 5:1), metaphorical use is made of
the terms as well. Paul refers to the circumcision of Abraham as a ‘seal of the
righteousness which he had by faith’ (Rom.
EAL,
SEALING.
In
the
a.
Uses
(i) As a mark of authenticity and authority. Thus pharaoh
handed a seal to Joseph his deputy (Gn. 41:42) and Ahasuerus sealed royal edicts (Est.
(ii)
To witness a document. The seal was impressed on the clay or wax (*Writing).
Thus, his friends witnessed Jeremiah’s deed of purchase (Je.
32:11-14) and Nehemiah and his contemporaries attested the covenant (Ne.
(iii)
To secure by affixing a seal. Thus, a clay document within its envelope or
other receptacle, or a scroll tied by a cord to which was attached a lump of
clay bearing a seal impression, could be examined and read only when the seal
had been broken by an authorized person (cf. Rev. 5:1f.). A sealed
prophecy (Dn. 12:9) or book (Is. 29:11) was thus a symbol for something as yet
unrevealed.
To
prevent unauthorized entry doors would be sealed by a cord or clay, with the
sealing stretched across the gap between the door and its lock. This was done
to the lions’ den at
Metaphorically
the seal stood for what is securely held, as are the sins of man before God (Dt. 32:34; Jb.
b.
Form
With
the invention of writing in the 4th millennium bc seals were used in large numbers. The cylinder-seal was
the most common and was rolled on clay, though stamp seals are also found in
contemporary use. In
The
seal was pierced so that it could be worn on a cord round the neck (Gn. 38:18; Je.
c.
Materials
Poor
persons could purchase roughly engraved seals made of local terracotta,
bitumen, limestone, frit or wood. The majority of seals, however, were
specially engraved by a skilled seal-cutter who used copper gravers, a cutting
wheel, and sometimes a small bow-drill, perhaps the ‘pen of iron; with a point
of diamond’ (Je. 17:1; *Arts and Crafts), to work the
hard semi-precious stones (*Art). In
Engraved
stones (Ex. 28:11-23; 39:8) were used as insets in the high priest’s breast
ornament. The fine stones and workmanship led to these seal stones or
signet-rings (Heb. t\abbaÔat_; Akkad.
t\imbuŐu) being used as ornaments
(Is.
d.
Designs
Before
the Monarchy cylinder-seals followed the Phoenician or Syrian style, showing
patterns, well-filled designs, rows of men or designs characteristic of the
different fashions prevailing at various periods in
e.
Inscriptions
More
than 200 Hebrew seals have been recovered, inscribed with their owners’ names.
The name may stand alone, or be followed by the father’s name or by a title.
Several belonged to royal retainers, described as ‘servant of the king’. The
finest of them is the jasper seal ‘Of Shema, servant
of Jeroboam’ (i.e. Jeroboam II), found in excavations at
The
value of these seals lies in the range of Hebrew personal names they reveal,
not all known from the OT (e.g. Gamariah, Halasiah). The titles they reveal widen our knowledge of
the administration. The large number of seals, many bearing no design apart
from the names, implies a widespread ability to read in the relatively small
state of
Important
historical information is supplied by a collection of clay sealings
and some stamps on jar-handles, apparently carrying the names of three post-exilic
governors of Judah (Elnathan, Yehoezer,
Ahzai) each styled peh\a, to be placed after Zerubbabel,
and before Ezra. These names are otherwise unknown. (See N. Avigad, Bullae and
Seals from a Post-Exilic Judaean Archive, 1976.)
f.
Stamped jar-handles
Excavations
in
Bibliography. (1) Palestinian seals: A.
Rowe, Catalogue of Egyptian Scarabs in the Palestine Archaeological Museum,
1936; B. Parker, ‘Cylinder Seals of Palestine’, Iraq 11, 1949; J. Nougayrol, Cylindres sceaux et empreintes . . . trouvés en Palestine au cours des
fouilles réguličres,
1939; A. Reifenberg, Ancient Hebrew Seals,
1950; D. Diringer, in DOTT, pp. 218-226. (2)
For other Near Eastern seals: H. Frankfort, Cylinder Seals, 1939; D. J.
Wiseman, Cylinder Seals of Western Asia 1958. d.j.w. a.r.m.
II.
In the New Testament
a.
Literal use
The
verb sphragizoµ (noun sphragis) is occasionally used in
the NT in a literal sense, e.g. of the sealing of the tomb of Christ
after his burial (Mt. 27:66 cf. Ev. Petr.
b.
Figurative use
(i) In Rom.
(ii)
An unusual use of the word sphragis, which carries still the
sense of ‘authentication’, occurs in 1 Cor. 9:2, when
Paul describes his converts in the church at Corinth as the ‘seal’ affixed by
Christ to his work; the vindication, indeed, of his apostolate.
(iii)
In the discussion of Abraham’s exemplary faith in Rom. 4, Paul mentions the seµmeion of circumcision as the
confirming ‘seal’ (v. 11; neb
‘hallmark’) of a righteousness which existed, by faith, before the rite itself
was instituted. This use of the term ‘seal’ compares with that in the
Apocalypse (Rev. 7:2-8; 9:4), where the servants of God are described as being
‘sealed’ with ‘the seal of the living God’ (7:2f.; cf. Ezk. 9:4; Rev. 14:1), as a safeguard as well as a mark of
possession, A. G. Hebert suggests (TWBR, p. 222) that these passages
‘readily fall into a baptismal context’.
III.
Sealing by the Spirit
One
important NT image associates sphragis with pneuma. The Pauline characterization of the Christian inheritance in
Eph. 1, for example, proceeds against a background filled with Christian hope.
In v. 13, accordingly, the Ephesian Christians are
described as ‘sealed with the promised Holy Spirit’; they have received in
time, that is to say, an earnest of what they will become in eternity. Once
more this use of ‘sealing’ includes the concept of ‘possession’ (cf. 2
Tim.
a.
The nature of the seal.
Considerable
discussion has taken place on this point. R. E. O. White, for example (The
Biblical Doctrine of Initiation, 1960, p. 203 and n.), takes the aorists of sphragizoµ in Eph.
Clearly
the Heb. background to the theology of baptism, and to the notion of ‘seal’
itself, cannot be discounted; and Gregory Dix has indicated the extent to which
the early Fathers were indebted to their Jewish antecedents in this respect (Th 51, 1948, pp. 7-12). At the same time, as Dix
points out, it is not necessarily the NT which justifies any later connection
made between ‘baptism’ and ‘seal’; even the Didacheµ does not call water baptism
a ‘sealing’, or connect the sacrament in any way with the gift of the Holy
Spirit.
b.
The moment of sealing.
These
considerations will suggest the doubt that also exists about the precise moment
of the believer’s ‘sealing’. If we are right to associate the gift of the Holy
Spirit with baptism (which is a frequent but not altogether regular pattern in
the NT, cf. Acts 8:36ff.; 10:44), we may consider that this ‘sealing’ by
the Spirit takes place at baptism, or more precisely, perhaps, at the moment of
commitment that finds its focus and expression in the sacrament of baptism. So,
e.g. G. W. H. Lampe (The Seal of the Spirit, 1951) has carefully
examined the origin and meaning of the cognate NT terms sphragis and chrisma, associated with the ‘chrism’ of Christ
himself in whom the Spirit of God was actively present, and shown that (in
Pauline language) incorporation into the body of Christ is effected by baptism
(rather than by any equivalent of ‘confirmation’, incidentally), and ‘sealed’
by the gift of the Holy Spirit (pp. 6, 61f.; for a summary of the arguments
involved, and their proponents, see further White, op.cit.,
pp. 352ff.).
c.
The results of sealing.
It
has become clear from 1st-century papyri that the language of ‘sealing’ came to
acquire in the E the extended and important meaning, particularly in legal
circles, of giving validity to documents, guaranteeing the genuineness of
articles and so on. (The possible parallels that exist between sphragizoµ and initiation into Gk.
mystery cults are less likely to be significant.) It is easy as a result to see
how the word sphragis and its cognates fit
naturally into NT contexts which presuppose the theology of the covenant, and
denote, in terms of the gift of the Holy Spirit, authentication as well as
ownership. We have already discovered these to be aspects of the meaning of the
term in other NT passages.
The
occurrence of similar ideas in other contexts may be noticed in this
connection. The ‘mark’ of initiation administered by John the Baptist, e.g.,
was an entirely eschatological rite (Lk. 3:3ff.; note
the reaction of the people to John’s identity in v. 15); and in line with
normative Jewish apocalyptic his baptism signified an ‘earmarking’ for
salvation in view of coming judgment comparable to certain parts of the Psalms
of Solomon (e.g. 15:6f., 8; cf. 2 Esdras
6:5), and of the NT itself (2 Tim. 2:19; and cf. the thought of ‘sealing
for security’ already noticed in Rev. 7:2ff., etc.; see White, op.cit., p. 88).
In
the NT uses of the term ‘seal’ we have considered, the
ideas of ownership, authentication and security predominate. The three Pauline
passages reviewed (Eph.
SEAL. 1. A stamp used for
signifying documents. Given as a pledge, Gen. 38:18.
Engraved, Ex. 28:11,21,36; 39:6,14,30; 2 Tim. 2:19.
Decrees signified by, 1 Kin. 21:8; Esth. 8:8.
Documents sealed with: Ahab’s letter, 1 Kin. 21:8; covenants, Neh. 9:38; 10:1; Isa. 8:16;
decrees, Esth. 8:8; Dan. 6:9; deeds, Jer. 32:10. Treasures secured by, Deut.
32:34. Lion’s den made sure by, Dan. 6:17; sepulcher of Jesus, Matt.
27:66.Circumcision a seal of righteousness, Rom.
Figurative: Of secrecy, Dan. 12:9; Rev.
5:1. Of certainty of divine approval, John
seal
(Noun and Verb)
A. Noun.
sphragis (sfragiv" , (4973)) denotes (a) a seal or signet, Rev. 7:2, “the seal
of the living God,” an emblem of ownership and security, here combined with
that of destination (as in Ezek. 9:4), the persons to be sealed being secured
from destruction and marked for reward; (b) the impression of a seal or
signet, (1) literal, a seal on a book or roll, combining with the ideas of
security and destination those of secrecy and postponement of disclosures, Rev.
5:1, 2, 5, 9; 6:1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12; 8:1; (2) metaphorical, Rom. 4:11, said of
circumcision, as an authentication of the righteousness of Abraham’s faith, and
an external attestation of the covenant made with him by God; the Rabbis called
circumcision “the seal of Abraham;” in 1 Cor. 9:2, of
converts as a seal or authentication of Paul’s apostleship; in 2 Tim. 2:19,
“the firm foundation of God standeth, having this
seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His,” R.V.,
indicating ownership, authentication, security and destination, “and, Let every
one that nameth the Name of the Lord depart from
unrighteousness,” indicating a ratification on the part of the believer of the
determining counsel of God concerning him; Rev. 9:4 distinguishes those who
will be found without the seal of God on their foreheads [see (a) above
and B, No. 1].¶
B. Verbs.
1. sphragizoµ (sfragivzw , (4972)), to seal (akin to A),
is used to indicate (a) security and permanency (attempted but
impossible), Matt. 27:66; on the contrary, of the doom of Satan, fixed and
certain, Rev. 20:3, R.V., “sealed it over;” (b) in Rom. 15:28, “when … I
have … sealed to them this fruit,” the formal ratification of the ministry of
the churches of the Gentiles in Greece and Galatia to needy saints in Judaea, by Paul’s faithful delivery of the gifts to them;
this material help was the fruit of his spiritual ministry to the Gentiles, who
on their part were bringing forth the fruit of their having shared with them in
spiritual things; the metaphor stresses the sacred formalities of the
transaction (Deissmann illustrates this from the
papyri of Fayyum, in which the sealing of sacks
guarantees the full complement of the contents); (c) secrecy and
security and the postponement of disclosure, Rev. 10:4; in a negative command,
22:10; (d) ownership and security, together with destination, Rev. 7:3,
4, 5 (as with the noun in ver. 2; see A); the same
three indications are conveyed in Eph. 1:13, in the metaphor of the sealing of
believers by the gift of the Holy Spirit, upon believing (i.e., at the time of
their regeneration, not after a lapse of time in their spiritual life, “having
also believed”—not as A.V., “after that ye believed”—; the aorist–participle
marks the definiteness and completeness of the act of faith); the idea of
destination is stressed by the phrase “the Holy Spirit of promise” (see also ver. 14); so 4:30, “ye were sealed unto the day of
redemption;” so in 2 Cor. 1:22, where the Middle
Voice intimates the special interest of the Sealer in His act; (e)
authentication by the believer (by receiving the witness of the Son) of the
fact that “God is true,” John 3:33; authentication by God in sealing the Son as
the Giver of eternal life (with perhaps a figurative allusion to the impress of
a mark upon loaves), 6:27.¶
Note: In Rev. 7, after the 5th
verse (first part) the original does not repeat the mention of the sealing
except in ver. 8 (last part) (hence the omission in
the R.V.).
2. katasphragizoµ (katasfragivzw , (2696)), No. 1, strengthened by kata, intensive, is used of the book
seen in the vision in Rev. 5:1, R.V., “close sealed (with seven seals),” the
successive opening of which discloses the events destined to take place
throughout the period covered by chapters 6 to 19.¶ In the Sept., Job 9:7;
37:7.