Sign The word σημε ῖ ον (‘sign’) is used (1) of the autographic part of a letter, the mark of authenticity-2 Thessalonians 3:17 (EV [Note: V English Version.] ‘token’); (2) as meaning a ‘symbol’-Romans 4:11 (the ‘sign of circumcision,’ i.e. circumcision as a sign of the covenant); (3) as an ‘indication’-Matthew 26:48 (Judas’ kiss), Luke 2:12 (to the Shepherds) 2:34 (the child Jesus set for a sign); (4) hence for some wonderful indication-Matthew 24:3, Matthew 24:30, Mark 13:4 (of Christ’s Coming), Matthew 16:1, Matthew 16:4, Mark 8:11, ‘Mk’ 16:17, 20, Luke 11:15, Luke 11:29 (to show Christ’s power), Matthew 16:3 (signs of the times) 16:4 (sign of Jonah), 1 Corinthians 14:22 (tongues and prophesying as a sign of the power of Christianity); and therefore for a ‘miracle’ or wonderful deed which has instruction as its object. The ‘signs in heaven’ of Revelation 12:1, Revelation 12:3, Revelation 12:15 : are a connecting link between these two shades of meaning. The usual sense of σημε ῖ ον in the NT is a ‘miracle,’ especially in the plural (See art. [Note: rt. article.] Miracle).
In the EV [Note: V English Version.] the word ‘sign’ is used in two places where σημε ῖ ον does not occur. In Luke 1:62 ‘they made signs’ renders ἐ νένευον, a verb used in Proverbs 6:3, Proverbs 10:10 (LXX [Note: XX Septuagint.]) of winking with the eye. In Acts 28:11 ‘a ship whose sign was the Dioscuri’ renders πλοί ῳ παρασήμ ῳ Διοσκούροις, where παρασήμ ῳ is either an adjective (= ‘marked’) or else, less probably, a substantive with Διοσκούροις in apposition (but in that case it means a ship’s flag in classical Greek; See Liddell and Scott, s.v.). A. J. Maclean.