Seal

A seal was a personal stamp pressed into clay or wax to say, this is mine, or this is approved. Jezebel uses Ahab’s seal on forged letters, and the high priest’s stones are engraved like a signet with the names of Israel’s tribes. Paul borrows the picture for believers: God “hath also sealed us,” and the Spirit marks them “unto the day of redemption.” Daniel is told to seal up a book until the time comes. Christians read the believer’s sealing in different ways, but the image is always ownership and safekeeping. See Ephesians 1:13 and 4:30.

23 verses

Exodus

Exodus 25:5

And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,

Exodus 26:14

And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers' skins.

Exodus 28:11

With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.

Exodus 28:21

And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.

Exodus 28:36

And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

Exodus 35:7

And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,

Exodus 35:23

And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them.

Exodus 36:19

And he made a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above that.

Exodus 39:6

And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel.

Exodus 39:14

And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to the twelve tribes.

Exodus 39:30

And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

Exodus 39:34

And the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering,

Numbers

Numbers 4:25

And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers' skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

1 Kings

1 Kings 21:8

So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.

Nehemiah

Nehemiah 9:38

And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.

Nehemiah 10:1

Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah,

Esther

Esther 8:8

Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse.

Daniel

Daniel 12:9

And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

John

John 6:27

Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Romans

Romans 15:28

When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 1:22

Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Ephesians

Ephesians 1:13

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Ephesians 4:30

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

Commonly a ring engraved with some device (Gen. 38:18, 25). Jezebel “wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal” (1 Kings 21:8). Seals are frequently mentioned in Jewish history (Deut. 32:34; Neh. 9:38; 10:1; Esther 3:12; Cant. 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.)

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The use of seals is mentioned in the New Testament only in connection with the record of our Lord’s burial (Matt. 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 (ver. 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 (John 6:27). Circumcision is a seal, an attestation of the covenant (Rom. 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 (1 Cor. 9:2). Seals and sealing are frequently mentioned in the book of Revelation (5:1; 6:1; 7:3; 10:4; 22:10).

From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

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. (Genesis 38:18) The ring or the seal as an emblem of authority in Egypt, Persia and elsewhere is mentioned in (Genesis 41:42; 1 Kings 21:8; Esther 3:10,12; 8:2; Daniel 6:17) and as an evidence of a covenant, in (Jeremiah 32:10,44; Nehemiah 9:38; 10:1; Haggai 2:23) Engraved signets were in use among the Hebrews in early times. (Exodus 28:11,36; 39:6)