H2856 H2856
To seal, affix a seal or signet; to seal up or close; in passive, to be sealed or in a sealed state.
Chatam is the Hebrew verb for sealing — the decisive act of pressing a signet into clay or wax to authenticate, authorize, or permanently close a document. In the ancient Near East, a seal was identity, authority, and finality compressed into a single gesture. Scripture deploys the word across its full range: Jezebel seals letters with Ahab's signet (1 Kgs 21:8), Job's transgressions are 'sealed up in a bag' (Job 14:17), and Daniel is told to 'seal the book' until the end of time (Dan 12:4). The passive participle chatum ('sealed') becomes almost a technical term for documents bearing official authorization, as in Nehemiah's covenant. Arabic khatama and Ethiopic hatama are cognate loanwords, and the Aramaic chatam runs parallel — evidence of how central this legal-ritual act was across Semitic cultures.
6. one who seals, sealer — The Qal active participle used as an agent noun: 'one who seals, the sealer.' In Ezekiel 28:12, the king of Tyre is called chotem toknit — variously rendered 'the sealer of perfection' or 'the signet of proportion.' Spanish sello-de ('seal of') and German chotem both preserve the nominal agent reading. The participial agent-noun usage is a standard Hebrew derivation, but the unique context in Ezekiel's oracle gives it a distinctive near-titular force. 1×
AR["خَاتِمُ"]·ben["সীলমোহর"]·DE["[חותם]"]·EN["sealer-of-"]·FR["sceller"]·heb["חותם"]·HI["मुहर"]·ID["meterai-"]·IT["[חותם]"]·jav["cap"]·KO["도장이었다-"]·PT["selo-de"]·RU["печать"]·ES["sello-de"]·SW["muhuri-wa"]·TR["mühürü"]·urd["مہر-"]
▼ 5 more senses below
Senses
1. to seal, affix a seal — The core Qal active sense: to seal, affix one's seal to a document or object for authentication, authorization, or closure. This covers royal sealing with a signet ring (1 Kgs 21:8; Esth 8:8, 8:10), God sealing up the stars so they cannot shine (Job 9:7), and the prophetic command to seal Isaiah's testimony (Isa 8:16). Spanish sellar, French sceller, and German siegeln all map directly. At 12 occurrences this is the productive verbal core from which all other senses derive — the agent presses the seal, and something is thereby made official, closed, or hidden. 12×
AR["(وَ-لِـ-خَتْمِ)","اِختِم","وَ-اخْتِمُوا","وَ-اُخْتُمْ","وَ-خَتَمَ","وَ-خَتَمَتْ","وَ-لِـ-خَتْمِ","وَخَتَمْتُ","وَخَتْمًا","يَختِمُ","يَخْتِمُ"]·ben["[এবং-সীলমোহর-করতে]","আর-সীলমোহর-দিলাম","আর-সীলমোহর-দেওয়া-হবে","এবং-সীল-দিল","এবং-সীলমোহর-করতে","ও-মোহর-লাগাও","ও-মোহর-লাগাল","ও-সিল-কর","তিনি-মুদ্রাঙ্কিত-করেন","তিনি-সীলমোহর-করেন","মুদ্রাঙ্কিত-কর","মোহর-মারেন"]·DE["[ואחתם]","[וחתום]","[וחתם]","[וחתמו]","[ויחתם]","[ולחתם]","[חתום]","[יחתום]","[יחתם]","und-sealed"]·EN["He-seals","[ketiv:and-to-seal-up]","and-I-sealed","and-seal","and-sealed","and-sealing","and-to-seal-up","he-seals","seal"]·FR["[וחתמו]","[ויחתם]","et-scella","et-sceller","sceller"]·heb["[ו-ל-חתום]","ו-אחתום","ו-חתום","ו-חתמה","ו-חתמו","ו-יחתם","ו-ל-חתום","חתום","יחתום"]·HI["[और-मुहर-लगाने-को]","और-मुहर-करो","और-मुहर-किया","और-मुहर-लगा","और-मुहर-लगाई","और-मुहर-लगाई-जाएगी","और-मुहर-लगाने-को","मुहर-लगा","मुहर-लगाता-है"]·ID["Ia memeteraikan","Ia-menyegel","Meteraikanlah","[dan-menyegel]","dan-aku-memeteraikan","dan-dia-memeterai","dan-dimeteraikan","dan-meteraikan","dan-meteraikanlah","dan-untuk-memeterai"]·IT["[וחתם]","[וחתמו]","[ויחתם]","[ולחתם]","e-sealed","e-sigillare","sigillare"]·jav["Panjenengan-ipun-nyegel","Segelaken","lan-Kawula-nyap","lan-cap","lan-kangge-mungkasi","lan-kangge-nyegel","lan-nyap","lan-piyambakipun-ncap","lan-segelana","nutup"]·KO["[그리고-인보하려]","그가-봉인하신다","그가-인치신다","그리고-봉인하라","그리고-봉인했다","그리고-봉했다","그리고-인봉하려","봉인하신다","봉하라"]·PT["[e-para-selar]","e-para-selar","e-sela","e-selai","e-selar","e-selei","e-selou","sela"]·RU["[и-чтобы-запечатать]","запечатай","запечатлевает","запечатывает","и-запечатай","и-запечатайте","и-запечатал","и-запечатала","и-запечатывать","и-чтобы-запечатать","печатает"]·ES["[y-para-sellar]","pone-sello.","sella","y-para-sellar","y-sella","y-sellad","y-sellando","y-sellé","y-selló"]·SW["[na-kuhitimisha]","anatia-muhuri","anazitia-muhuri","na-akatia-muhuri","na-akatiia-muhuri","na-kutia-muhuri","na-nikaitia-muhuri","na-tia-muhuri","na-tiini-muhuri","tia-muhuri"]·TR["[ve-mühürlemek]","muhurle","mühürler","ve-kapa","ve-mühürledi","ve-mühürledim","ve-mühürlemek-için","ve-mühürlenecek","ve-mühürleyin"]·urd["اور-مہر-لگاؤ","اور-مہر-لگائی","اور-مہر-لگائی-میں-نے","اور-مہر-لگانا","اور-مہر-لگانے-کے-لیے","اور-مہر-کر","مُہر-لگا","مہر لگاتا ہے","مہر-لگاتا-ہے","وہ مہر لگاتا ہے"]
2. sealed (state) — The Qal passive participle used adjectivally: in a sealed state. At 10 occurrences this is the most frequent form after the active Qal, describing documents, springs, and objects that bear the mark of having been sealed. Deuteronomy 32:34 stores up God's judgments 'sealed among my treasures'; Song of Solomon 4:12 praises the beloved as 'a sealed fountain'; Nehemiah 9:38-10:1 lists those on 'the sealed document.' Spanish sellado and French scelle confirm the stative-adjectival reading. The passive participle has almost become a lexicalized adjective meaning 'officially closed and authenticated.' 10×
AR["ال-مَخْتُومِ","ال-مَخْتُومِينَ","الْمَخْتُومَ","الْمَخْتُومِ","حَتُوم","مَخْتُومًا","مَخْتُومٌ","وَ-مَخْتُومَةٌ"]·ben["-সিলমোহর-করা","-সীলমোহরকৃত","ও-সিল-করা","মোহর","মোহরকারীদের","সিলমোহর","সিলমোহর-করা","সিলমোহর।"]·DE["[החתום]","[החתומים]","[וחתמים]","[חתום]","[חתם]","versiegelte"]·EN["and-sealed","book","sealed","the-sealed"]·FR["[החתום]","[החתומים]","et-sceller","sceller","scellée.","sealed"]·heb["ה-חתום","ה-חתומים","ו-חתומים","חתום"]·HI["और-मुहर-लगे","जिन्होंने-मुहर-लगाई-थी","मुहर-बंद","मुहर-लगाते-हैं","मुहरबंद"]·ID["Disegel","dan-termeterai","dimeteraikan","disegel","tersegel","yang-dimeterai","yang-dimeteraikan","yang-tersegel"]·IT["[החתום]","[החתומים]","[וחתמים]","sealed","sigillare"]·jav["cap-punika","dipun-cap","ingkang-dipun-cap","ingkang-dipun-sap","ingkang-kacap","kacap","kang-dipunsegel","lan-dipun-segel"]·KO["그-봉인된-것","그-봉인된-것을","그-인장된-것","그-인장된-것들","그리고-봉인되었으니라","봉인되었나이다","봉한","봉해져-있다","봉해졌다","봉해진"]·PT["Selado","e-seladas","o-selado","os-selados","selado"]·RU["запечатанной","запечатанном","запечатанную","запечатанный.","запечатано","и-закрыты","скреплённом-печатью"]·ES["Sellada","el-sellado","los-sellados","sellado","y-selladas"]·SW["iliyotiwa-muhuri","imefungwa","kilichofungwa","kilichotiwa-muhuri","kimefungwa","muhuri","na-kutiwa-muhuri"]·TR["muhurlu","mühürlü","mühürlüde","mühürlülerde","mühürlüyü","ve-kapalı"]·urd["اور-مہر-ہیں","مہر-بند","مہر-شدہ","مہر-کرنے-والوں","مہربند"]
3. be sealed (passive) — The Nifal passive: to be sealed, focusing on the action of sealing from the document's perspective. Both occurrences are in Esther (3:12; 8:8), describing royal edicts being sealed with the king's ring. Spanish fue-sellado and the Nifal morphology distinguish this from the participle of sense 2: here the sealing is a narrated event ('it was sealed'), not a resulting state ('it is sealed'). The distinction matters legally — the act of sealing versus the status of being sealed. 2×
AR["وَ-خُتِمَ"]·ben["ও-মোহর-লাগানো","ও-সিলমোহর-হল"]·DE["[ונחתום]","[ונחתם]"]·EN["and-sealed","and-was-sealed"]·FR["[ונחתום]","[ונחתם]"]·heb["ו-נחתום","ו-נחתם"]·HI["और-मुहर","और-मुहर-लगी"]·ID["dan-dimeteraikan"]·IT["[ונחתום]","[ונחתם]"]·jav["lan-dipun-cap"]·KO["그리고-봉인되었다","그리고-봉인된"]·PT["e-selado"]·RU["и-запечатано"]·ES["y-fue-sellado","y-sellado"]·SW["na-yamefungwa","ya-mfalme"]·TR["ve-mühürlendi","ve-mühürlenen"]·urd["اور-مہر-لگائی-جائے","اور-مہر-لگائی-گئی"]
4. stop up, block — An extended Hifil sense: to stop up or block, applied to a bodily discharge in Leviticus 15:3. Whether the flesh 'seals over' or 'stops up' its flow, the metaphor transfers the closure of a sealed document to the closure of a physical opening. Spanish retuviere ('retained, held back') captures the blocking nuance. A single occurrence, but the Hifil causative stem and the bodily-fluid context clearly distinguish it from the documentary-sealing core. 1×
AR["اِنْسَدَّ"]·ben["বন্ধ-করেছে"]·DE["stopped-hinauf"]·EN["stopped-up"]·FR["stopped-en-haut"]·heb["החתים"]·HI["उसका स्राव"]·ID["tersumbat"]·IT["stopped-su"]·jav["kapeteg"]·KO["막힌다"]·PT["fechou"]·RU["задерживает"]·ES["retuviere"]·SW["imeziba"]·TR["tıkanırsa"]·urd["بند-ہو"]
5. shut up, seal tightly — The Piel intensive: to shut up or seal tightly with emphasis on completeness. Job 24:16 describes thieves who 'seal themselves up' by day, hiding in houses they marked for burglary at night. The Piel intensification suggests thorough, deliberate sealing — not a quick stamp but a careful barricading. Spanish se-sellan and French sceller both treat it as reflexive closing-up. Only one occurrence, but the stem distinction from the basic Qal is semantically real. 1×
AR["خَتَمُوا-"]·ben["তারা-সীল-করেছে-"]·DE["[חתמו]"]·EN["they-shut-up"]·FR["sceller"]·heb["חתמו"]·HI["वे-मुहर-लगाते-हैं"]·ID["mereka-menutup-diri"]·IT["sigillare"]·jav["piyambakipun-nutup-"]·KO["봉했는데-"]·PT["se-fecham"]·RU["запираются-"]·ES["se-sellan-"]·SW["wanajifunga"]·TR["mühürlerler-"]·urd["بند کرتے ہیں-"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [חָתַם] vb. seal, affix seal, seal up (NH id.; Aramaic חֲתַם, ܚܬܰܡ; Ethiopic ኀተመ Arabic خَتَمَ (whence خَاتَمٌ) is loan-word according to Frä252)— Qal Impf. 3 ms. יַחְתֹּם Jb 9:7; 33:6, יַחְתּוֹם Jb 37:7, וַיַּחְתֹּם Est 8:10, etc.; Imv. חֲתֹם Dn 12:4, חֲתוֹם Is 8:16, חִתְמוּ Est 8:8; Inf. abs. חָתוֹם Je 32:44; cstr. לַחְתֹּם Dn 9:24, + v 24 Kt (Qr לְהָתֵם); Pt. act. חוֹתֵם Ez 28:12; pass.…