sealed

Everyday

1. Closed tightly so that nothing can get in or out. tree →
2. Fixed or made certain: «Our win was sealed». tree →
3. With a seal or stamp on it. tree →

In the lessons

In science, a sealed container stops air or water getting in or out: in experiments, a sealed jar shows that the mass stays the same when ice melts inside; plants in a sealed bottle garden recycle their water. In safety, food and medicine should come in a sealed package; if the seal is broken, do not use it. In stories, a sealed letter or sealed door hides a secret. Phrases: «sealed envelope», «sealed container», «signed, sealed and delivered», «my lips are sealed» (I will keep the secret).

Examples

• Keep the biscuits in a sealed tin so they stay crisp. tree →
• The letter came in a sealed envelope. tree →
• Ice melted in a sealed jar, and the mass stayed the same. tree →
• Don't use a juice carton that isn't sealed. tree →
• The last goal sealed our win. tree →
• The old tomb had been sealed for hundreds of years. tree →
• "My lips are sealed," she said. tree →
• Plants can live for years in a sealed bottle garden. tree →

Note

Spelling: seal → sealed (just add -ed). «My lips are sealed» is about keeping a secret — but secrets that make you feel unsafe should always be told to a trusted adult.

In Jewish tradition

In Deuteronomy it describes something kept in God's treasury. In Job a wrong is sealed in a bag, in the Song of Songs the bride is a "fountain sealed," and Jeremiah seals a deed of purchase. In Sefer Yetzirah God "sealed" each direction with a letter of the name.

Interpretation. The tradition reads the sealing of the six directions as God fixing space itself, so the world has up, down and the four sides. The sealed fountain is read as purity kept safe, and Jeremiah's sealed deed as a sign of hope that Israel would return.

Examples

• 'Is not this laid up in store with Me, sealed up in My treasuries? (Torah DEU.32.34, JPS 1917) tree →
• With them He sealed 6 Edges. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
• Fifth ; He looked above, and sealed the Height (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
• My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and Thou heapest up mine iniquity. (Writings JOB.14.17, JPS 1917) tree →
• A garden shut up is my sister, my bride; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. (Writings SNG.4.12, JPS 1917) tree →
• And I subscribed the deed, and sealed it, and called witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances. (Prophets JER.32.10, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Spelling: seal → sealed (just add -ed). «My lips are sealed» is about keeping a secret — but secrets that make you feel unsafe should always be told to a trusted adult.