Word Studies¶

G5480 χάραγμα (charagma) — Mark/Stamp/Brand¶

Original: χάραγμα Transliteration: cháragma Part of Speech: neuter noun Definition: "a scratch or etching, i.e. stamp (as a badge of servitude)"

Occurrences (9 total, 3 translations)¶

mark (7x): Rev 13:17; 14:9; 14:11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4
graven (1x): Acts 17:29
a mark (1x): Rev 13:16 (implied from context)

Key Verses¶

Rev 13:16 — "to receive a mark (charagma) in their right hand, or in their foreheads"
Rev 13:17 — "no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark"
Rev 14:9 — "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand"
Rev 14:11 — "whosoever receiveth the mark of his name"
Rev 15:2 — "gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark"
Rev 16:2 — "noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast"
Rev 19:20 — "them that had received the mark of the beast"
Rev 20:4 — "neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands"
Acts 17:29 — "we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device" (ONLY non-Revelation use — idolatry context)

Etymological Note¶

Shares root charasso (to scratch/engrave) with G5481 χαρακτήρ (charakter, Heb 1:3). Christ bears God's charakter (character/express image); beast-followers bear the beast's charagma (brand/mark). The theological irony is deliberate.

G5481 χαρακτήρ (charakter) — Express Image¶

Original: χαρακτήρ Transliteration: charaktḗr Part of Speech: masculine noun Definition: "a graver (the tool or the person), i.e. (by implication) an engraving ('character')" Occurrences: 1 — "the express image" (Heb 1:3)

Key Verse¶

Heb 1:3 — "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image (charakter) of his person"

Same root family as charagma. The Son bears the Father's charakter; beast-worshippers bear the beast's charagma. The counterfeit inversion is: divine character vs. bestial brand.

G1504 εἰκών (eikon) — Image/Likeness¶

Original: εἰκών Transliteration: eikṓn Part of Speech: feminine noun Definition: "a likeness, i.e. (literally) statue, profile"

Occurrences (23 total, 4 translations)¶

image (17x): Mat 22:20; Mar 12:16; Luk 20:24; Rom 8:29; 1 Co 15:49 (2x); 2 Co 3:18; Heb 10:1; Rev 13:15 (3x); 14:9; 14:11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4
the image (3x): Rev 13:14 (2x); 2 Co 4:4
an image (2x): Rom 1:23; Col 1:15
Other (1x)

Theological Range¶

Image of God — Gen 1:26-27 (LXX eikon); man created in God's image
Christ as Image of God — Col 1:15 ("the image of the invisible God"); 2 Co 4:4 ("the image of God"); Heb 1:3 (charakter, related concept)
Believers conformed to Image — Rom 8:29 ("conformed to the image of his Son"); 2 Co 3:18 ("changed into the same image")
Beast's Image — Rev 13:14-15 ("make an image to the beast"); 14:9,11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4

The Genitive Shift (v.14 → v.15)¶

Rev 13:14: εἰκόνα τῷ θηρίῳ (DATIVE — image FOR the beast)
Rev 13:15: εἰκόνα/εἰκὼν τοῦ θηρίου (GENITIVE — image OF the beast) The image begins as something made for the beast's benefit and becomes identified with the beast.

G4973 σφραγίς (sphragis) — Seal/Signet¶

Original: σφραγίς Transliteration: sphragís Part of Speech: feminine noun Definition: "a signet (as fencing in or protecting from misappropriation); the stamp impressed"

Occurrences (16 total)¶

seal (9x): 1 Co 9:2; 2 Tim 2:19; Rev 6:3,5,7,9,12; 8:1; 9:4
seals (5x): Rev 5:1,2,5,9; 6:1
a seal (1x): Rev 7:2
the seal (1x): Rom 4:11

Key Verses for Seal of God¶

Rev 7:2 — "having the seal of the living God"
Rev 7:3 — "till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads"
Rev 9:4 — "only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads"
Rom 4:11 — "a seal of the righteousness of the faith"
2 Tim 2:19 — "the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal"

G4972 σφραγίζω (sphragizo) — To Seal¶

Original: σφραγίζω Transliteration: sphragízō Part of Speech: verb Definition: "to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security or preservation"

Occurrences (25 total)¶

sealed (14x): 2 Co 1:22; Rev 7:4-8 (12 tribes, each "sealed")
Key: Rev 7:3 — "sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads"
Eph 1:13 — "ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise"
Eph 4:30 — "grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed"

LXX Connection¶

H2856 chatham → G4972 sphragizo: PMI score 9.53, count 15 — very strong alignment. The Hebrew concept of sealing maps directly to the Greek.

G5578 ψευδοπροφήτης (pseudoprophetes) — False Prophet¶

Original: ψευδοπροφήτης Transliteration: pseudoprophḗtēs Part of Speech: masculine noun Definition: "a spurious prophet, i.e. pretended foreteller or religious impostor"

All 10 NT Occurrences¶

false prophets (6x): Mat 7:15; 24:11; 24:24; Mar 13:22; Luk 6:26; 2 Pe 2:1
false prophet (3x): Rev 16:13; 19:20; 20:10
a false prophet (1x): Act 13:6

The False Prophet = Earth Beast¶

Rev 19:20 explicitly identifies the false prophet as the one who "wrought miracles before him [the beast], with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image" — matching the earth beast's activities in Rev 13:13-14.

Jesus's Warnings¶

Mat 7:15 — "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (cf. lamb-like appearance, dragon speech)
Mat 24:24 — "false prophets... shall shew great signs and wonders" (cf. Rev 13:13-14)

G4352 προσκυνέω (proskyneo) — To Worship¶

Original: προσκυνέω Transliteration: proskynéō Part of Speech: verb Definition: "to prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore)" BLB count: 60

Escalation in Revelation 13¶

Rev 13:4 — prosekunesan (AORIST): "they worshipped" — spontaneous, narrative fact
Rev 13:8 — proskunesousin (FUTURE): "shall worship" — prophetic certainty
Rev 13:12 — poiei... hina proskunesousin: "causes... so that they worship" — coerced, present causative
Rev 13:15 — ean me proskunesosin... apoktanthosin: whoever does NOT worship will be KILLED — death-enforced

Key Rev 13-14 Occurrences¶

Rev 13:4 (2x), 13:8, 13:12, 13:15, 14:7, 14:9, 14:11

G4160 ποιέω (poieo) — To Make/Do/Cause¶

Original: ποιέω Transliteration: poiéō Part of Speech: verb BLB count: 579 (one of most common NT verbs)

Rev 13 Usage (Critical)¶

The earth beast's ENTIRE program is expressed through poieo: - 13:12 — ποιεῖ (present): "exercises" (all authority) - 13:12 — ποιεῖ + ἵνα: "causes" (worship) - 13:13 — ποιεῖ: "performs" (great signs) - 13:13 — ποιῇ: "makes" (fire come down) - 13:14 — ποιῆσαι (2x): "to perform" (signs), "to make" (image) - 13:15 — ποιήσῃ: "should cause" (death for non-worship) - 13:16 — ποιεῖ + ἵνα: "causes" (mark-receiving)

The poiei + hina construction in both v.12 and v.16 grammatically binds worship-causation and mark-imposition as twin outcomes of the same agent.

G4151 πνεῦμα (pneuma) — Spirit/Breath¶

Original: πνεῦμα Transliteration: pneûma Part of Speech: neuter noun Definition: "a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit" BLB count: 385 (342 KJV occurrences)

In Rev 13:15¶

Translated "life" (KJV): "he had power to give life (pneuma) unto the image of the beast" The Greek is pneuma, not zoe (life) or bios (biological life). This is breath/spirit — a counterfeit animation, not true life. The earth beast gives pneuma to an otherwise dead image, counterfeiting the Spirit's life-giving work.

In Rev 16:13¶

"three unclean spirits (pneumata)" — demonic spirits from dragon, beast, false prophet. The counterfeit trinity produces counterfeit spirits.

G5585 ψηφίζω (psephizo) — To Calculate/Count¶

Original: ψηφίζω Transliteration: psēphízō Part of Speech: verb Definition: "to use pebbles in enumeration, i.e. (generally) to compute" From: G5586 ψῆφος (psephos) — a pebble (used for voting/counting)

Occurrences (2 only)¶

Rev 13:18 — "Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast"
Luk 14:28 — "sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost"

The imperative ψηφισάτω (aorist active imperative, 3rd person) is a direct command: "let him calculate." The rarity of this word (only 2 NT uses) makes its appearance in Rev 13:18 significant.

G706 ἀριθμός (arithmos) — Number¶

Original: ἀριθμός Transliteration: arithmós Part of Speech: masculine noun Definition: "a number (as reckoned up)" Occurrences: 17 total; "number" (13x)

In Rev 13:17-18¶

13:17 — "the number (arithmon) of his name"
13:18 — "count the number (arithmon) of the beast" ... "and his number (arithmos) is 666" The number appears three times in these two verses, creating a triple emphasis.

H8420 תָּו (tav) — Mark¶

Original: תָּו Transliteration: tâv Part of Speech: masculine noun Definition: "a mark; by implication, a signature"

All 3 Occurrences¶

Job 31:35 — "my desire" (i.e., my signature/mark)
Ezek 9:4 — "set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry"
Ezek 9:6 — "come not near any man upon whom is the mark"

Significance¶

Tav (ת) is the LAST letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In ancient paleo-Hebrew, the letter tav was written as a cross or X-mark. The mark placed on the faithful in Ezekiel 9 was literally the tav — a sign of ownership, protection, and identification. This is THE Old Testament template for the sealing of Rev 7:3 and the contrast with the mark of Rev 13:16.

H226 אוֹת (oth) — Sign/Token¶

Original: אוֹת Transliteration: ʼôwth Part of Speech: feminine noun Definition: "a signal, as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence; mark, miracle, sign, token" Occurrences: 85 total

The Sabbath as Sign (oth)¶

Exo 31:13 — "it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations"
Exo 31:17 — "It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever"
Ezk 20:12 — "I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them"
Ezk 20:20 — "they shall be a sign between me and you"

The Hand/Forehead Pattern¶

Exo 13:9 — "a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes"
Exo 13:16 — "a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes"
Deu 6:8 — "bind them for a sign upon thine hand"
Deu 11:18 — "bind them for a sign upon your hand"

LXX Connection¶

H226 oth → G4592 semeion (sign): PMI 7.79, count 72 — the primary Greek equivalent

H2856 חָתַם (chatham) — To Seal¶

Original: חָתַם Transliteration: châtham Part of Speech: verb Definition: "a primitive root; to close up; especially to seal" Occurrences: 25 total

Key Verses¶

Dan 9:24 — "to seal up the vision and prophecy"
Dan 12:4 — "shut up the words, and seal the book"
Dan 12:9 — "the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end"
Isa 8:16 — "seal the law among my disciples"

LXX Connection¶

H2856 chatham → G4972 sphragizo: PMI 9.53, count 15 — VERY strong alignment. The Hebrew "to seal" maps precisely to the Greek "to seal" used for the sealing of God's servants in Revelation 7.

H2368 חוֹתָם (chotham) — Signet-Ring¶

Original: חוֹתָם Transliteration: chôwthâm Part of Speech: masculine noun Definition: "a signature-ring; seal, signet" Occurrences: 13 total

Key Verses¶

Gen 38:18 — "Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff"
Exo 28:11 — "Like the engravings of a signet"
Hag 2:23 — "I will make thee as a signet" (divine authority)
Jer 22:24 — "Though Coniah... were the signet upon my right hand"

The signet ring = the instrument of authority. God's seal on His people is His authoritative claim of ownership.