Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical times, the concept of "stamping" is not directly associated with the modern understanding of stamps used for postage or official seals. However, the act of stamping, as a forceful action, is mentioned in the Scriptures and carries significant symbolic meaning.
Biblical References:1.
Symbol of Judgment and Authority: The act of stamping is often used metaphorically in the Bible to signify judgment or the exertion of authority. In
Ezekiel 6:11 , the prophet is instructed to "clap your hands, stamp your feet, and declare, ‘Alas, because of all the wicked abominations of the house of Israel, who will fall by sword, famine, and plague!’" Here, stamping is an expression of divine judgment against the sins of Israel, emphasizing the seriousness and certainty of God's impending punishment.
2.
Expression of Anger or Indignation: Stamping is also depicted as an expression of anger or indignation. In
Daniel 8:7 , during the vision of the ram and the goat, it is described, "I saw him approach the ram in a rage and strike him, shattering his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him; the goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on him, and there was no one to rescue the ram from his power." The trampling, akin to stamping, signifies the complete and overwhelming defeat of the ram, symbolizing the Medo-Persian Empire, by the goat, representing Greece.
3.
Symbol of Victory and Dominion: Stamping can also symbolize victory and dominion over enemies. In
Malachi 4:3 , it is prophesied, "Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing," says the LORD of Hosts." This imagery of trampling the wicked underfoot conveys the ultimate triumph of the righteous over evil, as ordained by God.
Cultural and Historical Context:In the ancient Near Eastern context, stamping or trampling was a common metaphor for conquest and subjugation. Kings and conquerors would often depict themselves trampling their enemies in reliefs and inscriptions, symbolizing their dominance and the humiliation of their foes. This cultural backdrop provides a deeper understanding of the biblical usage of stamping as a powerful image of authority and victory.
Theological Implications:From a theological perspective, the act of stamping in the Bible underscores God's sovereign power and the certainty of His judgments. It serves as a reminder of the consequences of sin and the ultimate victory of God's righteousness. The imagery of stamping conveys both the severity of divine retribution and the hope of deliverance for the faithful, who will witness the defeat of evil and the establishment of God's kingdom.
In summary, while the Bible does not reference stamps in the modern sense, the act of stamping carries rich symbolic meaning, reflecting themes of judgment, authority, anger, and victory within the biblical narrative.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
v. i.) To strike beat, or press forcibly with the bottom of the foot, or by thrusting the foot downward.
2. (v. i.) To bring down (the foot) forcibly on the ground or floor; as, he stamped his foot with rage.
3. (v. i.) To crush; to pulverize; specifically (Metal.), to crush by the blow of a heavy stamp, as ore in a mill.
4. (v. i.) To impress with some mark or figure; as, to stamp a plate with arms or initials.
5. (v. i.) Fig.: To impress; to imprint; to fix deeply; as, to stamp virtuous principles on the heart.
6. (v. i.) To cut out, bend, or indent, as paper, sheet metal, etc., into various forms, by a blow or suddenly applied pressure with a stamp or die, etc.; to mint; to coin.
7. (v. i.) To put a stamp on, as for postage; as, to stamp a letter; to stamp a legal document.
8. (v. i.) To strike; to beat; to crush.
9. (v. i.) To strike the foot forcibly downward.
10. (n.) The act of stamping, as with the foot.
11. (n.) The which stamps; any instrument for making impressions on other bodies, as a die.
12. (n.) The mark made by stamping; a mark imprinted; an impression.
13. (n.) that which is marked; a thing stamped.
14. (n.) A picture cut in wood or metal, or made by impression; a cut; a plate.
15. (n.) An official mark set upon things chargeable with a duty or tax to government, as evidence that the duty or tax is paid; as, the stamp on a bill of exchange.
16. (v. t.) Hence, a stamped or printed device, issued by the government at a fixed price, and required by law to be affixed to, or stamped on, certain papers, as evidence that the government dues are paid; as, a postage stamp; a receipt stamp, etc.
17. (n.) An instrument for cutting out, or shaping, materials, as paper, leather, etc., by a downward pressure.
18. (n.) A character or reputation, good or bad, fixed on anything as if by an imprinted mark; current value; authority; as, these persons have the stamp of dishonesty; the Scriptures bear the stamp of a divine origin.
19. (v. t.) Make; cast; form; character; as, a man of the same stamp, or of a different stamp.
20. (n.) A kind of heavy hammer, or pestle, raised by water or steam power, for beating ores to powder; anything like a pestle, used for pounding or bathing.
21. (n.) A half-penny.
22. (v. t.) Money, esp. paper money.
Greek
5480. charagma -- astamp, impress... a
stamp, impress. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: charagma Phonetic
Spelling: (khar'-ag-mah) Short Definition: sculpture, a
stamp, sign Definition
...5179b. tupos -- the mark (of a blow), an impression,stamp (made...
... 5179a, 5179b. tupos. 5180 . the mark (of a blow), an impression,stamp (made
by a die). Transliteration: tupos Short Definition: example....
4972. sphragizo -- to seal
... 4972 (from 4973 , "a seal") -- properly, to seal (affix) with a signet ring or other
instrument tostamp (a roller or seal), ie to , () what is sealed....
5481. charakter -- a tool for engraving
... Finally it stood for astamp or impress used on a coin or seal (see , 368). In
each case, thestamp conveyed the reality behind the image.]....
5179. tupos -- typically
... tupos Phonetic Spelling: (too'-pos) Short Definition: a figure, model, type Definition:
(originally: the mark of a blow, then astamp struck by a die), (a) a...
4973. sphragis -- a seal, a signet
... Probably strengthened from phrasso; a signet (as fencing in or protecting from
misappropriation); by implication, thestamp impressed (as a mark of privacy, or...
4746. stoibas -- branch.
... From a primary steibo (to "step" or "stamp"); a spread (as if tramped flat) of loose
materials for a couch, ie (by implication) a bough of a tree so employed...
Strong's Hebrew
7554. raqa -- to beat,stamp, beat out, spread out... raqa. 7555 . to beat,
stamp, beat out, spread out. Transliteration: raqa Phonetic
Spelling: (raw-kah') Short Definition: spread. Word Origin a prim.
...7511. raphas -- tostamp, tread
... raphas or raphas. 7512 . tostamp, tread. Transliteration: raphas or raphas Phonetic
Spelling: (raw-fas') Short Definition: foul. Word Origin a prim....
1854. daqaq -- to crush, pulverize, thresh
... thresh (1), very fine (1). beat in pieces small, bruise, make dust, into powder,
be, very small,stamp small. A primitive root (compare...
3807. kathath -- to beat, crush by beating
... beat down, to pieces, break in pieces, crushed, destroy, discomfit, smite,
stamp. A primitive root; to bruise or violently strike...
7512. rephas -- to tread, trample
... trampled down (2).stamp. (Aramaic) corresponding to raphac --stamp. see HEBREW
raphac. 7511, 7512. rephas. 7513 . Strong's Numbers.
7429. ramas -- to trample
... oppressor,stamp upon, trample under feet, tread down, upon. A primitive
root; to tread upon (as a potter, in walking or abusively...
1916. hadom -- a stool, footstool
... footstool. From an unused root meaning tostamp upon; a foot stool --
(foot-)stool. 1915, 1916. hadom. 1917 . Strong's Numbers.
7540. raqad -- to skip about
... dance, jump, leap, skip. A primitive root; properly, tostamp, ie To spring about
(wildly or for joy) -- dance, jump, leap, skip. 7539, 7540. raqad. 7541 ....
1986. halam -- to smite, hammer, strike down
... A primitive root; to strike down; by implication, to hammer,stamp, conquer, disband --
beat (down), break (down), overcome, smite (with the hammer)....
3096. Yahats -- a place in Moab
... Or Yahtsah {yah'-tsaw}; or (feminine) Yahtsah {yah-tsaw'}; from an unused root meaning
tostamp; perhaps threshing-floor; Jahats or Jahtsah, a place East of...
Library
How the Upright Man Ought to be Like aStamp not of Wax but of...
... II. Second Conference of Abbot Moses. Chapter XII. How the upright man
ought to be like astamp not of wax but of hard steel. And...
The Little Ones and their Angels.
... and the same holds of the great, and of those of middle height,"so also among the
souls of men, there are some things which give them thestamp of littleness...
The Covenant of Grace
... Tamerlane refused a pot of gold, when he saw it had not his father'sstamp
upon it, but the Romanstamp. Holiness is God'sstamp...
The Beauty and Excellency of this World Consists, not Only in the...
... As God had moulded the rest of the world into a beautiful frame, by the firststamp
of his finger, so he did engrave upon the hearts of men such a principle...
Faith
... The king'sstamp makes the coin pass for current; if he would put hisstamp upon
leather, as well as silver, it would make it current: so God having put his...
The Knowledge that God Is, Combined with the Knowledge that He is...
... received them as traditions from your fathers, and because you are taught so by
the precepts of men, and are accustomed so to do: therefore thestamp of God's...
Of the Unity of the Godhead and the Trinity of Persons
... The soul returns to its first husband, from whom it went a whoring, and now the
stamp of God is so upon it that it is changed into his image and glory....
Sanctified Commonplaces
... And yet, you see, according to this statement the samestamp of holiness
is to be put upon them all. Even the most commonplace of...
The Glory of the Cross
... what you will? Well"he is a great man: but I know a greater, and nobler,
and more gloriousstamp of man; and you do also. Let us...
To the Magnesians
... Each bears its ownstamp"unbelievers that of this world; believers, who are spurred
by love, thestamp of God the Father through Jesus Christ....
Thesaurus
Stamp (25 Occurrences)... 3. (vi) To crush; to pulverize; specifically (Metal.), to crush by the blow
of a heavy
stamp, as ore in a mill. 4. (vi) To impress
...Undone (20 Occurrences)
... (WEB KJV ASV BBE WBS NIV). Revelation 6:3 And when the secondstamp was undone,
the voice of the second beast came to my ears, saying, Come and see. (BBE)....
Print (3 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (vt) To fix or impress, as astamp, mark,
character, idea, etc., into or upon something. 2. (vt) To...
Stamped (27 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (imp. & pp) ofStamp. Multi-Version Concordance
Stamped (27 Occurrences). Acts 4:25 and didst say through...
Impress (6 Occurrences)
... 1. (vt) To press,stamp, or print something in or upon; to mark by pressure, or
as by pressure; to imprint (that which bears the impression)....
Printed (2 Occurrences)
... a writing than a printing process, but may be either, according as the color is
laid on by drawing or by the "pintadera." The "pintadera" or "stamp used to...
Printing
... a writing than a printing process, but may be either, according as the color is
laid on by drawing or by the "pintadera." The "pintadera" or "stamp used to...
Cutting (178 Occurrences)
... Exodus 28:11 With the work of a jeweller, like the cutting of astamp, the names
of the children of Israel are to be cut on them, and they are to be fixed in...
Impression (2 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) The act of impressing, or the state of being impressed; the communication
of astamp, mold, style, or character, by external force or by influence....
Imprint (2 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (vt) To impress; to mark by pressure; to
indent; tostamp. 2. (vt) Tostamp or mark, as letters on...
Resources
What does it mean that Zerubbabel was the LORD's signet ring (Haggai 2:23)? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the seal of God? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the history of Christianity? | GotQuestions.orgStamp: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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