Greek word · G4972

σφραγίζω

sphragizō

to seal

To mark something with a seal (σφραγίς, sphragis). Seals were made with a signet ring or stamp pressed into clay or wax. The verb covers several overlapping ideas: Ownership: "this belongs to me". Authentication: "this is genuine, I vouch for it".

Appears 15 times in 14 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

σφραγίζω

[in LXX chiefly for חָתַם (Deuteronomy 32:34, al.), also for סָתַם (Da TH Daniel 8:26) ;]

to seal,

(a) for security: Matthew 27:66, Revelation 20:3; τ. καρπὸν τοῦτον, figuratively (cf. Deiss., BS, 238 f.; MM, xxiv; DB, iv, 427a), Romans 15:28;

(b) for concealment, hence, metaphorically, to hide (Da TH Daniel 9:24, John 14:17): Revelation 10:4 22:10;

(with) for distinction, Revelation 7:3-8; metaphorically, Ephesians 4:30; mid., 2 Corinthians 1:22;

(d) for authentication (Esther 8:8): John 3:33 6:27 (cf. κατα-σφραγίζω).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Ephesians 1:13

Range of meaning

To mark something with a seal (σφραγίς, sphragis). Seals were made with a signet ring or stamp pressed into clay or wax. The verb covers several overlapping ideas:

  • Ownership: "this belongs to me".
  • Authentication: "this is genuine, I vouch for it".
  • Security and protection: "this is closed and guarded, do not tamper with it" (a sealed jar or tomb, Matt 27:66).
  • Confirmation: certifying a document or a transaction (John 3:33, "has set his seal that God is true").
Against the English

Most versions keep "sealed". The NIV's "marked … with a seal" and the NLT's "identified you as his own" bring out the ownership idea. Plain "sealed" can suggest to a modern reader something shut tight or airtight, which catches only the protection idea and loses ownership and authentication.

How it drifted

In modern English "seal" mostly means closing something (seal an envelope, a sealed container, hermetically sealed). The ancient seal was above all a personal mark of identity: a sign pressed into material that said whose it was.

Used elsewhere in the period

Seals are everywhere in Greco-Roman papyri and archaeology: on contracts, wills (sealed by witnesses), cargo, storage jars and sacks of grain. In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), documents are sealed with the king's ring (Esther 8:8; 1 Kings 21:8). Ezekiel 9:4-6 has a protective mark placed on the foreheads of the faithful before judgment, and Revelation 7:2-4 takes this up as God's "seal" on his servants. Paul calls circumcision a "seal" (sphragis) of righteousness in Romans 4:11. In 2 Corinthians 1:22 God "sealed us and gave the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge", the same pairing as Ephesians 1:13-14. Ephesians 4:30 says the readers were sealed "for the day of redemption". Writers of the 2nd century and later (2 Clement 7:6; Shepherd of Hermas, Similitudes 9.16) use "the seal" as a name for baptism, but that usage comes after Ephesians.

From the study of Revelation 20:3

Range of meaning

To mark with a seal. Depending on context: to certify or authenticate, to mark as someone's property, to protect, or to close something up so that it cannot be opened without the authority behind the seal.

Against the English

'Sealed it over him' (BSB, NASB, WEB, NIV) and KJV 'set a seal upon him' are both accurate. A modern reader may hear 'airtight', while the ancient image is about authority: an official stamp in clay or wax that nobody dares break.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 6:17 (LXX): the king seals the stone over the lions' den with his signet 'so that nothing might be changed' concerning Daniel. Matthew 27:66: the tomb of Jesus is secured by sealing the stone. Within Revelation, the sealing language works both ways: God's servants are sealed for protection (7:3–8; 9:4), and sealed scrolls can be opened only by the one who is worthy (5:1–9).

From the study of Ephesians 4:30

Range of meaning

To mark with a seal, as on wax, clay or goods. The seal served to: (1) show ownership, (2) authenticate a document or person as genuine, (3) secure and protect contents against tampering until the proper time of opening, and (4) confirm or ratify (BDAG).

Against the English

"Sealed" is accurate, but modern readers may picture an envelope sealed shut or a "sealed deal". The ancient seal was above all a mark of ownership and protection: the owner's stamp on what belongs to him. KJV's "ye are sealed" turns a past event into a present state.

How it drifted

Modern English has mostly lost the everyday picture of a seal ring pressed into wax or clay to mark property.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezekiel 9:4–6: a mark is placed on the foreheads of the faithful to protect them in judgment, and Revelation 7:3–4 takes up the same image. In 2 Cor 1:22 God "sealed us and gave the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment". In Rom 4:11 circumcision is a "seal" of righteousness. Papyri and inscriptions show seals on contracts, wills, and sacks of grain. From the 2nd century, Christian writers called baptism "the seal" (sphragis): 2 Clement 7:6; 8:6; Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 9.16. That usage is later than Ephesians.

Similar words

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 27:66 σφραγίσαντες having sealed

    So they went and secured the tomb by sealing the stone and posting the guard.

    Here: "Having sealed": this explains how they secured the tomb. A seal (probably a cord or clay across the joint between stone and rock face, stamped with a signet) did not make the stone heavier. It made any tampering visible and put an authority's name on it.

John · 2

  1. John 3:33 ἐσφράγισεν has set his seal

    Whoever accepts His testimony has certified that God is truthful.

    Here: 'Has put his seal to it.' Like a witness pressing a signet into wax or clay on a document, the one who accepts the testimony formally endorses it and publicly vouches for it. The past tense presents the act of accepting as already being the act of endorsing.

  2. John 6:27 ἐσφράγισεν has sealed

    Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”

    Here: Aorist, a completed act: God stamped him with his seal. Like a seal on a document or on goods, this marks him as authentic, authorized and God's own.

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 15:28 σφραγισάμενος having sealed

    So after I have completed this service and have safely delivered this bounty to them, I will set off to Spain by way of you.

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 1:22 σφραγισάμενος having sealed

    placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.

    Here: "Having put his seal on". It describes a completed act: God pressed his mark on them, which showed they were his, vouched for them and protected them. The middle form may hint at "sealed for himself", though that nuance should not be pressed.

Ephesians · 2

  1. Ephesians 1:13 ἐσφραγίσθητε you were sealed

    And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

    Here: The main verb of the whole verse. It is passive, so God is the one who seals. They were marked with God's stamp, showing that they are his property, that they are genuine, and that they are under his protection.

  2. Ephesians 4:30 ἐσφραγίσθητε you were sealed

    And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

    Here: "You were sealed": a completed past event (when they believed, 1:13), done to them by God. A seal marked something as owned, genuine and protected.

Revelation · 8

  1. Revelation 7:3 σφραγίσωμεν we may have sealed

    “Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have placed a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

    Here: To put an owner's mark on someone. The tense looks at the sealing as one completed act ('until we have sealed'). 'We' means the sealing angel together with other heavenly agents.

  2. Revelation 7:4 ἐσφραγισμένων· ἐσφραγισμένοι sealed;, sealed

    And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel:

    Here: A Greek tense for a completed act whose result lasts: they have been sealed and now carry the seal. This is the seal of the living God from 7:2–3, placed on their foreheads to mark them as his and keep them safe.

  3. Revelation 7:5 ἐσφραγισμένοι· sealed;

    From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

    Here: A perfect passive participle: they have been sealed, and they stay in that sealed state. It refers to the seal of the living God put on their foreheads (7:2–3), which marks them as God's property and protects them through the coming judgments. The word is masculine because it agrees with the people meant, not with the feminine word 'thousands.'

  4. Revelation 7:8 ἐσφραγισμένοι.¶ sealed.

    from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, and from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

  5. Revelation 10:4 σφράγισον do seal

    When the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to put it in writing. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.”

    Here: A direct command: 'Seal!' Since nothing has been written yet, there is no actual document to seal. 'Seal' here means 'keep it closed, keep it secret.'

  6. Revelation 20:3 ἐσφράγισεν sealed [it]

    And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time.

    Here: He put a seal on the shut entrance. An ancient seal was an official mark: breaking it meant defying the authority that set it. The point is that nobody may open this, not merely that it is hard to open.

  7. Revelation 22:10 σφραγίσῃς may seal

    Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of prophecy in this book, because the time is near.

    Here: To close a document with a seal so it stays shut and unread until an authorized moment. With μή this verb form forbids the act altogether: do not put a seal on it at all. YLT's "thou mayest not" is too literal; this is a command.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.