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Bible Dictionaries
Seal
People's Dictionary of the Bible
or Seal. Among seals used in Egypt at a very early period were engraved stones, pierced through their length and hung by a string or chain from the arm or neck, or set in rings for the finger. The most ancient form used for this purpose was the scarabæus (beetle), formed of precious or common stone, or even of blue pottery or porcelain, on the fiat side of which some inscription or device was engraved. In many cases the seal consisted of a lump of to the document by strings. In sealing a sepulchre the fastening was covered with clay or wax, and the seal was stamped upon it, so that it could not be broken open without discovery. The signet-ring was an ordinary part of a man's equipment. Genesis 38:18. The ring or the seal as an emblem of authority in Egypt, Persia, and elsewhere is mentioned in Genesis 41:42; 1 Kings 21:8; Esther 3:10; Esther 3:12; Esther 8:2; Daniel 6:17; and as an evidence of a covenant, in Jeremiah 32:10; Jeremiah 32:44; Nehemiah 9:38; Nehemiah 10:1; Haggai 2:23. Engraved signets were in use among the Hebrews in early times. Exodus 28:11; Exodus 28:36; Exodus 39:6.
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Rice, Edwin Wilbur, DD. Entry for 'Seal'. People's Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/rpd/s/seal.html. 1893.
