H2857 — חֲתַם (chătham, Aramaic)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2857
Original: חֲתַם
Transliteration: chătham
Pronunciation: khath-am'
Part of Speech: Verb (Aramaic)
Root: חתם — corresponding to Hebrew H2856 חָתַם (châtham), "to close up, to seal"
Occurrences: 2 tokens, 1 unique verse, 1 book
First Occurrence: Dan 6:17 (English) / Dan 6:18 (Hebrew) — "And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel."
Hapax Legomenon: YES — appears only once in the entire Bible

Lexicon Definition¶

(Aramaic) A root corresponding to H2856; to seal: — seal.

BDB entry: Pe'al perfect 3rd person masculine singular with suffix (of stone) חַתְמֶהּ, Daniel 6:18 [Heb.] / 6:17 [Eng.] (ב instrumental).

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Peal	1	to seal (basic action — Aramaic equivalent of Hebrew Qal)

Morphological form in Dan 6:18 [Heb.]: וְחַתְמַ֨הּ — Peal perfect 3ms with 3fs pronominal suffix ("and he sealed it"), where the suffix refers to the feminine noun אֶבֶן (eben, "stone"). The instrumental ב prefix on עִזְקְתֵהּ indicates the signet ring as the means of sealing.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
sealed it	1	100%

As a hapax, the entire KJV translation record consists of "the king sealed it" in Dan 6:17.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Daniel	1	0.3

Confined to the Aramaic section of Daniel (Dan 2:4b–7:28). The Hebrew cognate H2856 also appears in Daniel (9:24; 12:4; 12:9) but in the Hebrew sections.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Physical Sealing for Security¶

The sole occurrence describes a physical act of securing the lions' den with a stone and signet impressions, rendering the enclosure tamper-proof so that "the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel." - Dan 6:17 — "and the king sealed it (חַתְמַהּ) with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel"

The act involves: (1) a stone placed over the mouth of the den, (2) the king's personal signet ring impressed in wax or clay on the stone, (3) the lords' signets added alongside as witnesses. The double-seal guaranteed that neither the king nor the lords could unilaterally remove the stone — a safeguard initiated by the plotters against Daniel.

Common Collocations¶

As a hapax, no statistically significant collocations exist. However, the verse-level context contains several important associated terms:

Word	Strong's	Notes
עִזְקָה (izqah)	H5696	seal ring / signet — the instrument used to seal
אֶבֶן (eben)	H69 (Aram.)	stone — the object sealed
גֻּב (gub)	H1358	pit / den — the location sealed
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4430 (Aram.)	king — the agent who seals
רַבְרְבָנִין (rabrebanin)	H7261	lords / nobles — co-sealers as witnesses

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2856 חָתַם (châtham) — Hebrew cognate: to close up, to seal; 24 unique verses across 11 books; encompasses legal/documentary sealing, divine sealing of hidden things, prophetic sealing of revelation, and physical closure
H2368 חוֹתָם (chowtham) — Hebrew noun: the seal or signet ring (the instrument); from the same root; 14 occurrences

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
חָתַם (châtham)	H2856	both → "seal"	H2856 is the Hebrew verb with full semantic range (legal, prophetic, divine); H2857 is the Aramaic cognate limited to physical sealing
σφραγίζω (sphragizō)	G4972	both → "seal/sealed"	NT Greek functional equivalent; extends OT sealing into Spirit-sealing (Eph 1:13; 4:30) and eschatological sealing (Rev 7:3-8)
סָתַם (çâtham)	H5640	both translated "shut up" / "sealed" in prophetic contexts	H5640 emphasizes blocking access or hiding; H2857/H2856 emphasizes authentication and tamper-proof closure

LXX Mapping¶

No direct LXX alignments exist for H2857 (the Aramaic sections of Daniel were rendered separately from the Hebrew OT in the LXX tradition). The Hebrew cognate H2856 maps primarily to:

Greek Equivalent	Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
σφραγίζω (sphragizō) G4972	15x	9.53	Primary LXX rendering of H2856 — direct verbal equivalent

The Theodotionic and OG Greek texts of Daniel 6:18 use σφραγίζω to render this Aramaic form, consistent with the H2856 → G4972 pattern.