Seal

In biblical antiquity, a seal (Hebrew chotam; Greek sphragis) was a signet ring or stamp used to authenticate documents, secure property, and confer authority by pressing a unique impression into clay or wax. Signet rings were personal marks of identity and delegated power: Pharaoh gave Joseph his signet ring (Gen. 41:42), and Jezebel sealed letters with Ahab's seal to engineer Naboth's death (1 Kgs. 21:8). The sealed scroll in Daniel 12:4 and the seven-sealed book in Revelation 5–8 employ the image to indicate divine hiddenness until the appointed time. Theologically, Paul uses sphragis to describe circumcision as a "seal" of the righteousness of faith Abraham had (Rom. 4:11) and the Holy Spirit as God's seal of ownership upon believers (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30).