And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
Thy signet ..., х chotaamkaa (H2368)] - a seal or signet bearing some legend, the name of the owner and his father, or some religious sentiment (cf. 2 Timothy 2:19). The Hebrews, like the modern Persians and Arabians, commonly wore their signet-ring suspended from the neck (cf. Song of Solomon 8:6).
And thy bracelets. Bracelets, including armlets, were worn by men as well as women among the Hebrews. But the Hebrew word х paatiyl (H6616)] here rendered "bracelets," signifies the twisted cord or ribbon by which the signet-ring was suspended. Since the signet alone was probably more than an equivalent for the kid, it is not easy to conjecture why the other things were given in addition, except by supposing the perforated seal was attached by a string or chain to the staff. 'Everyone carries a seal, generally about an inch long, and about one-third of their length in diameter, consisting of various materials: a composition in which black manganese is the principal ingredient, or of amethyst, rock-crystal, cornelian, agate, chalcedony, onyx, jasper, pyrites, etc. They are generally hollow, either for the purpose of being worn strung upon a cord, or of admitting a metal axis. The walking-sticks are carved at the top into the form of an apple, a rose, a lily, an eagle, or something similar. In the ancient sculptures persons of dignity are always represented with staves' (Rawlinson's 'Herodotus,' b. 1:, ch. 195).
Judah and the other members of Jacob's family would import the practice of carrying a signet and a staff with them into Canaan, and they would have them constantly with them, as Herodotus testifies the Babylonians had; and a modern Oriental always has his seal with him. 'Since a writer's signature is of no value, except in particular cases, in the East, and as all documents, to be valid, must be sealed with seals bearing the names of the parties to them, the engraved signet is of great importance' (Layard's 'Nineveh and Babylon,' p. 608, note).
Landseer ('Sabaean Researches') says, 'the signet was generally attached to the walking-staffs of persons of authority and rank, in ancient times, among the people of Mesopotamia and Assyria.