Exodus 28:21

28:21 The stones are to be for the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, according to the number of ¹  their names. Each name according to the twelve tribes is to be like ²  the engravings of a seal.

Exodus 28:36

28:36 “You are to make a plate ³  of pure gold and engrave on it the way a seal is engraved: ⁴  “Holiness to the Lord.” ⁵ 

Jeremiah 22:24

Jeconiah Will Be Permanently Exiled

22:24 The Lord says, ⁶ 

“As surely as I am the living God, you, Jeconiah, ⁷  king of Judah, son of Jehoiakim, will not be the earthly representative of my authority. Indeed, I will take that right away from you. ⁸ 

Zechariah 3:9

3:9 As for the stone ⁹  I have set before Joshua – on the one stone there are seven eyes. ¹⁰  I am about to engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘to the effect that I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. ¹¹ 

Ephesians 1:13

1:13 And when ¹²  you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation) – when you believed in Christ ¹³  – you were marked with the seal ¹⁴  of the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁵ 

Ephesians 4:30

4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Ephesians 4:2

4:2 with all humility and gentleness, ¹⁶  with patience, bearing with ¹⁷  one another in love,

Ephesians 2:19

2:19 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,

Revelation 7:2

7:2 Then ¹⁸  I saw another angel ascending from the east, ¹⁹  who had ²⁰  the seal ²¹  of the living God. He ²²  shouted out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given permission ²³  to damage the earth and the sea: ²⁴ 

¹ tn For clarity the words “the number of” have been supplied.

² tn The phrase translated “the engravings of a seal” is an adverbial accusative of manner here.

³ tn The word צִּיץ (tsits) seems to mean “a shining thing” and so here a plate of metal. It originally meant “flower,” but they could not write on a flower. So it must have the sense of something worn openly, visible, and shining. The Rabbinic tradition says it was two fingers wide and stretched from ear to ear, but this is an attempt to give details that the Law does not give (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 818).

⁴ tn Heb “the engravings of a seal”; this phrase is an adverbial accusative of manner.

⁵ sn The engraving was a perpetual reminder of the holiness that was due the Lord (Heb “Yahweh”), that all the clothing, the furnishings, and the activities were to come under that description. This corresponded to the symbolism for the whole nation of binding the law between the eyes. It was to be a perpetual reminder of commitment.

⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

⁷ tn Heb “Coniah.” This is the spelling of this king’s name here and in v. 28 and 37:1. Elsewhere in Jeremiah he is called Jeconiah (24:1; 27:20; 28:4; 29:2 [see also 1 Chr 3:16, 17; Esth 2:6]) and Jehoiachin (52:31, 33 [see also 2 Kgs 24:6, 8, 12, 15; 25:27, 29; 2 Chr 36:8, 9; Ezek 1:2]). For the sake of consistency the present translation uses the name Jeconiah throughout.

⁸ tn Heb “As surely as I live, Jeconiah, King of Judah, son of Jehoiakim will not be a signet ring on my right hand. Indeed I will tear you off from it [i.e., pull you off of my finger as a signet ring].” The signet ring was the king’s seal by which he verified all his legal and political transactions. To have the signet ring was to exercise authority in the king’s name. For examples of this see Gen 41:42, 43; 1 Kgs 21:8; Esth 3:10; 8:2. The figure has been interpreted in the translation for the sake of clarity. The particles כִּי אִם (ki ’im) that stand after the oath formula “As I live” introduce a negative statement according to the usage of Hebrew grammar (cf. BDB 474 s.v. כִּי אִם 1.a and BDB 50 s.v. אִם 1.b[2] and compare 2 Sam 3:35). The particle כִּי that stands in front of “I will tear you off” introduces a positive affirmation according to the same rules of Hebrew grammar (cf. BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.c and compare 1 Sam 14:39, 44). The Lord is swearing emphatically that Jeconiah will not be the earthly representative of his rule; i.e., not carry the authority of the signet ring bearer. As in several other places in Jeremiah there is a sudden shift from the third person to the second person which runs throughout vv. 24-27. The pronouns are leveled in the translation to the second person to avoid confusion. The figures are interpreted in the translation to convey the proper significance. See the study note for explanation.

⁹ sn The stone is also a metaphor for the Messiah, a foundation stone that, at first rejected (Ps 118:22-23; Isa 8:13-15), will become the chief cornerstone of the church (Eph 2:19-22).

¹⁰ tn Some understand the Hebrew term עַיִן (’ayin) here to refer to facets (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “faces” (NCV, CEV “seven sides”) of the stone rather than some representation of organs of sight.

¹¹ sn Inscriptions were common on ancient Near Eastern cornerstones. This inscription speaks of the redemption achieved by the divine resident of the temple, the Messiah, who will in the day of the Lord bring salvation to all Israel (cf. Isa 66:7-9).

¹² tn Grk “in whom you also, when…” (continuing the sentence from v. 12).

¹³ tn Grk “in whom also having believed.” The relative pronoun “whom” has been replaced in the translation with its antecedent (“Christ”) to improve the clarity.

¹⁴ tn Or “you were sealed.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “the Holy Spirit of promise.” Here ἐπαγγελίας (epangelias, “of promise”) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

¹⁶ tn Or “meekness.” The word is often used in Hellenistic Greek of the merciful execution of justice on behalf of those who have no voice by those who are in a position of authority (Matt 11:29; 21:5).

¹⁷ tn Or “putting up with”; or “forbearing.”

¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

¹⁹ tn Grk “from the rising of the sun.” BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατολή 2.a takes this as a geographical direction: “ἀπὸ ἀ. ἡλίου…from the east Rv 7:2; 16:12…simply ἀπὸ ἀ. …21:13.”

²⁰ tn Grk “having,” but v. 3 makes it clear that the angel’s purpose is to seal others with the seal he carries.

²¹ tn Or “signet” (L&N 6.54).

²² tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²³ tn The word “permission” is implied; Grk “to whom it was given to them to damage the earth.”

²⁴ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.