When God challenged righteous Job to acknowledge his sovereignty, he said that the light of dawn makes the features of the landscape stand out in the same way as when clay is shaped under a seal (Job 38:12-14).

Throughout the Bible we read of seals being used to make sure that a document could not be changed without anyone knowing.  Often damp clay was used to form a seal and carry an impression which would be damaged if the document was tampered with.

Nowadays, we use a signature or on-line password because only the “owner” of the signature or password will be able to provide it.  In the past, a cylindrical seal or signet ring was treated in much the same way: only the actual person had their own seal or signet ring.  Later in Job, God describes the scales on Leviathan’s back as being shut up tightly as with a seal (Job 41:15).  This makes it clear what a seal was meant to do.  A document could be sealed and dispatched: if the seal was still intact when it arrived, the recipient could have confidence that the document had not been tampered with – in fact, not even read.  Isaiah depicts the same situation when he describes giving a sealed scroll to someone and asking them to read it.  There is no surprise when they say that they cannot, because it is sealed (Isaiah 29:11).

Queen Jezebel wrote letters in King Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal (1 Kings 21:8).  This description suggests that letters were “signed” – possibly just with a written name.  Paul said that this writing of his name was a mark of the letters he wrote (2 Thessalonians 3:17).  A seal or signet ring made an impression that was a distinctive identifier showing who had sent the letter.

In the time of Nehemiah, a covenant was made by the people and their leaders’ names were written on the document, which was then sealed so that it could not be altered.

In Esther 3:10, we read of King Ahasuerus having a signet ring which he unwisely took off and gave to Haman, who used it to write letters “in the name of king Ahasuerus”.  After Haman proved himself untrustworthy, the king gave the ring to Mordecai (Esther 8:8-10), who wrote other letters to counteract the letters of Haman.

It appears that the king’s name was written on a letter or edict which was then rolled up or folded in such a way that the contents could not be seen – in much the same way as we use an envelope now.  The letter was also held closed with a seal made of clay or some other material that would show clearly if anyone tampered with it.  The impression of the king’s seal or signet ring was impressed on the seal so that the recipient could be sure who had sent the letter and that it had not been changed.

Daniel was put into a lions’ den and King Darius used his signet ring to seal the stone that covered the entrance (Daniel 6:17).  His lords also used their signet rings to do the same.  In this case, many witnesses were “signing” a statutory declaration that Daniel had been put into the den.  When the seals were all intact in the morning, it was proof that no-one had interfered with the sentence.  This confirmed that Daniel’s survival was not due to human interference.  The same idea was used when sealing the stone over Jesus’ tomb (Matthew 27:66).

Ephesians 4:30 uses the picture of a seal also:

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

The expression “grieving the Holy Spirit of God” seems to be equivalent to breaking a seal early – before the day of redemption at Jesus’ return.  If we break the seal, the confidence, security and credibility of the promise of redemption are destroyed.  Maybe Hebrews 6:4-8 is describing the result.  A seal can only provide confidence while it is unbroken.

Sometimes, we hear the expression “Signed, sealed and delivered”.  It is not really connected with the use of a seal as we have looked at here.  However, if you are interested in looking at what it means, have a look here: (http://blog.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/uncategorized/signed-sealed-delivered-what-does-this-mean/)

God willing, our next article in two weeks' time will look more at how a seal might be carried by its owner and the archaeological evidence we can find for seals in Israel.