Sign

"sign; mark." Cognates of this word appear in Aramaic and Arabic. It occurs 78 times in biblical Hebrew and in all periods of the language.

This word represents something by which a person or group is characteristically marked. This is its emphasis in Gen 4:15: "And the Lord set a mark [nasb, "sign"] upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him." In Exod 8:23 God promises to "put a division between my people and thy people: tomorrow shall this sign be" (cf. Exod 12:13). Num 2:2 uses ’ôt to represent a military banner, while Job 21:29 uses the word of the identifying banners of nomadic tribes. Rahab asked her Israelite guests for a trustworthy "mark" (nasb, "pledge of truth"), which they stipulated to be the scarlet cord by which she lowered them out of her window and outside Jericho's walls (Josh 2:12, 18).

The word means "sign" as a reminder of one's duty. This usage first appears in Gen 9:12: "This [the rainbow] is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature…" (cf. vv. Gen 9:4-15).

A reminding token is represented by ’ôt: "And it [the observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread] shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth…" (Exod 13:9).

A "sign" eventually showing the truth of a statement is indicating by ’ôt: "Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain" (Exod 3:12).

In passages such as Exod 4:8 ’ôt represents a miraculous "sign": "And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign." "Signs" are attestations of the validity of a prophetic message, but they are not the highest or final test of a prophet; he must speak in conformity to past revelation (cf. Deut 13:1-5).

Several passages use ’ôt of omens and/or indications of future events: "But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the Lord hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us": (1Sam 14:10).

An ’ôt can be a "warning sign": "The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel" (Num 16:38).

The first occurrence of ’ôt is in Gen 1:14. Here it refers to the stars, indicators of the time of day and seasons.

"a sign, mark, indication, token," is used (a) of that which distinguished a person or thing from others, e.g., Mat 26:48, Luk 2:12, Rom 4:11, 2Co 12:12 (1st part); 2Th 3:17, "token," i.e., his autograph attesting the authenticity of his letters; (b) of a "sign" as a warning or admonition, e.g., Mat 12:39, "the sign of (i.e., consisting of) the prophet Jonas;" Mat 16:4, Luk 2:34, Luk 1:11-30; (c) of miraculous acts (1) as tokens of Divine authority and power, e.g., Mat 1:12-39 (1st part); Joh 2:11, RV, "signs;" Joh 3:2 (ditto); Joh 4:54, "(the second) sign," RV; Joh 10:41 (ditto); Joh 20:30; in 1Co 1:22, "the Jews ask for signs," RV, indicates that the Apostles were met with the same demand from Jews as Christ had been: "signs were vouchsafed in plenty, signs of God's power and love, but these were not the signs which they sought ... They wanted signs of an outward Messianic Kingdom, of temporal triumph, of material greatness for the chosen people. ... With such cravings the Gospel of a 'crucified Messiah' was to them a stumblingblock indeed" (Lightfoot); 1Co 14:22; (2) by demons, Rev 16:14; (3) by false teachers or prophets, indications of assumed authority, e.g., Mat 24:24, Mar 13:22; (4) by Satan through his special agents, 2Th 2:9, Rev 1:13-14, Rev 19:20; (d) of tokens portending future events, e.g., Mat 24:3, where "the sign of the Son of Man" signifies, subjectively, that the Son of Man is Himself the "sign" of what He is about to do; Mar 13:4, Luk 21:7, Luk 21:11, Luk 21:25, Act 2:19, Rev 12:1, RV; Rev 12:3, RV; Rev 15:1.

"Signs" confirmatory of what God had accomplished in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, His resurrection and ascension, and of the sending of the Holy Spirit, were given to the Jews for their recognition, as at Pentecost, and supernatural acts by apostolic ministry, as well as by the supernatural operations in the churches, such as the gift of tongues and prophesyings; there is no record of the continuance of these latter after the circumstances recorded in Acts 1:19-20.

an adjective meaning "marked at the side" (para, "beside," sema, "mark"), is used in Act 28:11 as a noun denoting the figurehead of a vessel.