Bible Lexicons

χάραγμα in the sense of the impress made by a stamp occurs septies in Rev, ter with special reference to ";the mark or the beast"; (Rev. 13:17, 16:2, 19:20). The exact meaning of the figure has been much discussed. Deissmann (BS, p. 240 ff.) suggests that an explanation may be found in the fact that, according to papyrus texts, it was customary to affix to bills of sale or official documents of the 1st and 2nd centuries of the Empire a seal giving the year and name of the reigning Emperor, and possibly his effigy. Thus on the back of CPR I. 11 (A.D. 108), an agreement regarding a house, there can still be deciphered a red seal with the inscr. (ἔτους) ι ̄β ̄ Αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος Νέρουα Τραιανοῦ. But no evidence has been produced of a similar seal being attached to persons, and Swete (Comm. ad Rev. 3:16) is content to find an explanation of the mysterious ";mark"; in the general symbolism of the book. ";As the servants of God receive on their foreheads (vii. 3) the impress of the Divine Seal, so the servants of the Beast are marked with the ‘stamp’ of the Beast.";

Χάραγμα is also used in connexion with the attestation of the copy of a document or writing, e.g. Preisigke 5275.11 (A.D. 11) ἀντίγραφον ἀπ᾽ ἀντιγράφου χαράγματος καὶ ὑπαγραφῆς Ἑλληνικοῖς γράμμασι, and similarly 5231.11 (A.D. 11) and 5247.34 (A.D. 147).

Other exx. of the word are BGU IV. 1088.5 (A.D. 142) a female camel χαλ [αγ ]μέ (νην) Ἀραβι ̣κοῖς χαράγμασ [ιν, similarly P Grenf II. 50 (a).4 (A.D. 142), and the closing words of a letter P Lond V. 1658.8 (iv/A.D.) (=Ghedini, p. 151) διὰ χαραγμάτων εὔχο [μαι, which Ghedini understands as =";I pray for your health in this letter."; In P Oxy I. 144.6 (A.D. 580) χρυσοῦ ἐν ὀβρύζῳ χαράγματι the reference is to gold in pure coin or stamped money.

For the subst. χαραγμός, cf. P Ryl II. 160 (a).10 (A.D. 14–37) ἀντίγρ (αφον) χ ]αραγμοῦ : for χάραξις, cf. ib 164.18 (A.D. 171) καθ ]α ̣ρ ̣ο ̣, ν ̣ α ̣̓π ̣ο ̣, [ἀλίφατος καὶ ἐπιγ ]ραφῆς καὶ χαράξ [εως · and for the verb χαράσσω, cf. id. 160.6 (A.D. 28–9) τ ]ῷ πρὸς τὸ γρ [αφε ]ίῳ χ ̣αράξα ̣ν ̣τι ἀποδοῦναι, ";to pay the clerk of the record-office when he has endorsed the deed"; (Edd.), (cf. 3Ma. 2:29).

We may add two interesting exx. of the compd. verb ἐγχαράσσω. The first is P Lond 854.11 (i/ii A.D.) (= III. p. 206, Selections p. 70), where in making the Nile tour a traveller announces that he had engraved the names of his friends on the temples—τῶν φίλων [ἐ ]μ [ῶν τ ]ὰ ὀνόματ ̣α ̣ ἐνεχάραξα τοῖς ἱ [ε ]ροῖς. And the second is P Oxy XIV. 1680.12 (iii/iv A.D.), where a son anxious for his father’s safety owing to the general insecurity writes—σ ̣ῆ ̣[μα ἠ ]θέλησα ἐνχαράξαι σοι, ";I wanted to stamp a mark on you.";