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H2856 · Hebrew · Old Testament
חָתַם
Chatam
Verb
To seal, seal up, close

Definition

The verb chatam means to seal with a signet ring, to mark with an official seal of ownership or authorization, or to close something definitively. The seal (chatam) made a document legally binding or a space inviolable.

Usage & Theological Significance

Sealing in Scripture carries divine authority. God seals up iniquity for future reckoning (Job 14:17) and seals prophetic visions for appointed times (Daniel 12:4, 9). The royal signet ring represents delegated authority (Genesis 41:42; Esther 8:8). Most profoundly, Daniel 9:24 prophesies that the Messiah will 'seal up vision and prophecy' — bring all prophetic promise to its final fulfillment. In Revelation, the Lamb alone can break the seven seals (Revelation 5:5), and believers are sealed with the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) as God's own. Chatam thus encompasses authentication, finality, and divine ownership.

Key Bible Verses

Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet.
Job 14:17 My transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my iniquity.
Jeremiah 32:10 I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales.
Daniel 12:4 But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.
1 Kings 21:8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal.

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External Resources

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