Inscriptions

An inscription can signify ownership or jurisdiction

Matthew 22:20–21 parallels Mark 12:16–17, Luke 20:24–25; Acts 17:23

The inscription on objects set apart for God

Zechariah 14:20–21 See also Exodus 39:30

On that day, HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the house of the LORD will be like the sprinkling bowls before the altar. Indeed, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD of Hosts, and all who sacrifice will come and take some pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of Hosts.

An inscription can be symbolic of permanence

Of a person's words

Isaiah 30:8; 2 Timothy 2:19 See also Job 19:23–24

Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the days to come, a witness forever and ever.

Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”

Of the effect of sin

Jeremiah 17:1

“The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus, engraved with a diamond point on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.

Inscriptions written by the finger of God

Exodus 31:18 See also Exodus 32:15–16; Deuteronomy 9:10; Daniel 5:5, Daniel 5:22–28; Zechariah 3:9

When the LORD had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.