StrongerBible

sphragizō

σφραγίζω

GreekG4972“seal, seal up”

Appears 25 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Mat 27:66Jhn 3:33Jhn 6:27Rom 15:282Co 1:22Eph 1:13Eph 4:30Rev 7:3Rev 7:4 (2×)Rev 7:5 (3×)Rev 7:6 (3×)Rev 7:7 (3×)Rev 7:8 (2×)Rev 10:4Rev 20:3Rev 22:10
Names & words formed with this
Word studysfrah-GID-zohverb

What sphragizō means

to set a seal on something, so that the seal secures it, marks it as owned, vouches that it is true, or closes it up

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintyStrong

In the ancient world a seal was a personal signet, a ring or stamp with its owner's mark, pressed into soft wax or clay. Everything this word means flows from what that mark did once it was made. A sealed thing could not be opened without breaking the seal, so it stayed secure and untampered. The mark named its owner, so a seal could brand a person or object as belonging to someone. And because only the owner could make that exact mark, a seal served as a signature, vouching that a claim or a document was genuine.

The New Testament uses the word across all of these. It seals a tomb and a prison so no one can get in or out. It seals up a message to keep it hidden, or refuses to seal one so it stays open. It stamps the servants of God, and marks believers as God's own by giving them his Spirit. And it certifies that a testimony or a person is true.

The theological weight sits mostly in the ownership sense. When God seals believers with his Spirit, the one mark carries several things at once: they are named as his, kept safe under his protection, and guaranteed a future he has promised. Reading only one of those into it, or flattening it to a mere guarantee, loses the others.

Nuances

1ato close something up securely with a seal so it cannot be opened or tampered with
Mat 27:66Rev 20:3
1bto seal up a message so it stays hidden, or (in the negative) to leave it unsealed and open
Rev 10:4Rev 22:10
1cto stamp a person or thing with a seal that marks it as owned and keeps it under protection
2Co 1:22Eph 1:13Eph 4:30Rev 7:3Rev 7:4 (2×)Rev 7:5 (3×)Rev 7:6 (3×)Rev 7:7 (3×)Rev 7:8 (2×)
1dto put one's seal on a claim, vouching that it is true and genuine
Jhn 3:33Jhn 6:27
1eto formally secure and hand something over, guaranteeing it reaches its destination intact
CertaintyContested
Rom 15:28
Rom 15:28

What the sealing image denotes for the collection Paul is delivering to Jerusalem in Romans 15:28.

  • majorityA metaphor from commerce: Paul seals the gathered gift as one seals goods for transport, certifying its contents and guaranteeing its safe, official delivery to the Jerusalem church.; C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans (ICC), vol. 2, on 15:28; James D. G. Dunn, Romans 9-16 (WBC 38B), on 15:28
  • minorityThe seal chiefly marks Paul's own responsibility as formally discharged and the gift as duly confirmed and handed over, with the emphasis on completion rather than on securing it for transit.; BDAG, s.v. σφραγίζω

What scholars say about sphragizō

The lexical sense of the verb is settled: to affix a seal, with the standard cluster of derived senses (secure against tampering, mark as owned, authenticate, close up or keep secret) laid out in BDAG s.v. and traced through the ancient use of the signet in TDNT 7:939-953 (G. Fitzer, "σφραγίς κτλ."). The theologically weighty use is the sealing of believers with the Spirit (2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30), where the seal denotes ownership, protection, and guarantee of eschatological redemption together; commentators debate its background (metaphor of ownership versus later baptismal practice) but not the word's meaning. The one genuine crux of sense is Rom 15:28, where the metaphor of sealing the collection is variously explained as securing goods for transit or as formally confirming a completed transaction.

Sources

  • BDAG, s.v. σφραγίζωlexicon
  • G. Fitzer, 'σφραγίς κτλ.', TDNT 7:939-953dictionary
  • C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans (ICC), vol. 2, on 15:28commentary

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of σφραγίζω

perfect passive participle nominative m p

ἐσφραγισμένοι

Rev 7:4, Rev 7:5, Rev 7:5, Rev 7:5, Rev 7:6, Rev 7:6, Rev 7:6, Rev 7:7

aorist active indicative 3s

ἐσφράγισεν

Jhn 3:33, Jhn 6:27, Rev 20:3

aorist middle participle nominative m s

σφραγισάμενος

Rom 15:28, 2Co 1:22

aorist passive indicative 2p

ἐσφραγίσθητε

Eph 1:13, Eph 4:30

aorist active imperative 2s

σφράγισον

Rev 10:4

aorist active participle nominative m p

σφραγίσαντες

Mat 27:66

aorist active subjunctive 1p

σφραγίσωμεν

Rev 7:3

aorist active subjunctive 2s

σφραγίσῃς

Rev 22:10

perfect passive participle genitive m p

ἐσφραγισμένων

Rev 7:4