SEAL

Seal. Seal
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.)

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).

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SEAL. 1. A stamp used for signifying documents
* Given as a pledge Ge 38:18
* Engraved Ex 28:11,21,36; 39:6,14,30; 2Ti 2:19
* Decrees signified by 1Ki 21:8; Es 8:8
* Documents sealed with
* Ahab' s letter 1Ki 21:8
* Covenants Ne 9:38; 10:1; Isa 8:16
* Decrees Es 8:8; Da 6:9
* Deeds Jer 32:10
* Treasures secured by De 32:34
* Lion' s den secured by Da 6:17
* The gravesite of Jesus Mt 27:66
* Circumcision was regarded as a seal of righteousness Ro 4:11

→ FIGURATIVE
* Of secrecy Da 12:9; Re 5:1
* Of certainty of divine approval Joh 6:27; Ro 15:28; 2Co 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30; Re 7:3,4

2. An amphibious animal
* Skins of, according to the Revised Version, were used as a covering of the tabernacle Ex 25:5; 26:14; 35:7,23; 36:19; 39:34; Nu 4:25

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a signet, or stamp 1Ki 21:8; Es 8:8; Jer 32:10; Da 6:17; Mt 27:66

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seal. Seal, n. a stamp, mark, confirmation, sea-calf

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Seal (sēl), n. [[OE. sele, AS. seolh; akin to OHG. selah, Dan. sæl, Sw. själ, Icel. selr.]] (Zoöl.) Any aquatic carnivorous mammal of the families Phocidæ and Otariidæ. ☞ Seals inhabit seacoasts, and are found principally in the higher latitudes of both hemispheres. There are numerous species, bearing such popular names as sea lion, sea leopard, sea bear, or ursine seal, fur seal, and sea elephant. The bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), the hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), and the ringed seal (Phoca fœtida), are northern species. See also Eared seal, Harp seal, Monk seal, and Fur seal, under Eared, Harp, Monk, and Fur. Seals are much hunted for their skins and fur, and also for their oil, which in some species is very abundant. Harbor seal (Zoöl.), the common seal (Phoca vitulina). It inhabits both the North Atlantic and the North Pacific Ocean, and often ascends rivers; — called also marbled seal, native seal, river seal, bay seal, land seal, sea calf, sea cat, sea dog, dotard, ranger, selchie, tangfish.