Exploring the Meaning of Charagma in Greek

χάραγμα denotes an image or mark. In the New Testament it appears once in Acts in a discussion of crafted representations of deity, and repeatedly in Revelation in scenes where a mark is received and functions as a dividing line of allegiance and outcome.

Occurrences

Acts 17:29 — “Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man.”

Here χάραγμα stands in the sphere of craftsmanship: something “engraved” and produced by “art and design of man.” The word contributes the idea of a made, shaped representation—an object that bears an impressed or fashioned form. Within the argument of the sentence, the point is contrastive: the “Divine Nature” is not to be conceived as comparable to a human-produced engraved object, even if made from precious materials (“gold, or silver, or stone”). χάραγμα thus belongs to the category of tangible, humanly fashioned religious items, and it helps frame the critique by emphasizing their manufactured character.

Revelation 13:16 — “He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads;”

In this scene χάραγμα is plural (“marks”) and is explicitly located on the body: “on their right hands, or on their foreheads.” It is not presented as incidental or private, but as something imposed broadly (“He causes all…”) across social and economic distinctions. The mark functions as a standardized sign distributed without regard to status—small/great, rich/poor, free/slave—making it a public identifier in the narrative world of the passage.

Revelation 13:17 — “and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.”

χάραγμα is now singular (“that mark”) and is tied to participation in ordinary commerce: “buy or… sell.” The verse explains the mark’s content or identifying value in the storyline: it is “the name of the beast or the number of his name.” The word therefore carries a practical weight here: the mark is not merely a sign; it is the condition for access to economic exchange. Within the verse’s logic, absence of the mark produces exclusion from buying and selling.

Revelation 14:9 — “Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or on his hand,”

χάραγμα appears in a warning framed conditionally (“If anyone…”). The mark is paired with acts of devotion: “worships the beast and his image,” and also “receives a mark.” The placement repeats the bodily locations already given—“on his forehead, or on his hand”—and the word contributes to the picture of allegiance being both enacted (worship) and received (a mark). In this line, receiving χάραγμα is narrated as an action that accompanies worship.

Revelation 14:11 — “The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

Here χάραγμα is woven into the description of ongoing judgment imagery: “smoke… goes up forever and ever,” “no rest day and night.” Those characterized in this way are defined by worship and by reception of the mark: “whoever receives the mark of his name.” The word helps mark out the group in view; it is not simply that a mark exists, but that receiving it is a defining identifier linked with the passage’s portrayal of unrelieved torment.

Revelation 15:2 — “I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who overcame the beast, his image, and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.”

χάραγμα does not appear explicitly in the verse’s wording, but the same complex of ideas from nearby scenes is present: “the beast, his image, and the number of his name.” The narrative focus is on “those who overcame” these realities and are pictured “standing on the sea of glass.” In relation to earlier statements where the mark is identified with “the name… or the number of his name,” the verse’s phrasing situates the overcoming as victory over the same identifying system connected with the beast and his image.

Revelation 16:2 — “The first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth, and it became a harmful and evil sore on the people who had the mark of the beast, and who worshiped his image.”

In this judgment scene χάραγμα again functions as a classifier: “the people who had the mark of the beast.” The result described—“a harmful and evil sore”—falls specifically on those identified by possession of the mark and by worship (“and who worshiped his image”). The word’s contribution is to define the targeted recipients of the plague-like affliction; having χάραγμα is an identifying trait that aligns with worship and distinguishes the afflicted group.

Revelation 19:20 — “The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.”

χάραγμα appears in a retrospective description of deception: the false prophet “deceived those who had received the mark of the beast.” Again the mark is paired with worshipers (“and those who worshiped his image”), showing two overlapping descriptions of the same constituency. The word highlights reception of the mark as something that occurs within a larger process of persuasion and deception by signs. The scene then moves to the capture of “the beast” and “the false prophet,” but χάραγμα remains crucial for identifying those who were deceived and thus implicated in the narrative conflict.

Revelation 20:4 — “I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

In this vision χάραγμα appears in a negative characterization: those in view “didn’t receive the mark.” The refusal is stated alongside refusal of worship (“didn’t worship the beast nor his image”), with the familiar bodily locations repeated (“on their forehead and on their hand”). The word contributes to the contrast between two sets of people: those who receive the mark and worship, and those who do neither. In this scene, the latter are associated with “thrones,” “judgment,” and living and reigning—so abstaining from χάραγμα is part of how the passage defines the group granted this outcome.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages χάραγμα functions as a visible, identifying feature—either as a crafted form (Acts) or as an imposed, received bodily identifier (Revelation). Acts 17:29 places the word in the domain of human artistry: something “engraved by art and design of man,” a material object shaped to represent what people imagine of deity. Revelation, by contrast, shifts from crafted objects to embodied identification: the mark is “given” and “received,” and its locations (“right hands… foreheads”) emphasize its public and personal character at once.

Within Revelation, χάραγμα also carries a strong social function. It is not presented as a mere symbol but as a gatekeeper to participation in ordinary life: “no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark” (Revelation 13:17). The mark thereby becomes an instrument of inclusion and exclusion, and its universality is underlined by the enumeration of social categories (Revelation 13:16). The scenes repeatedly join χάραγμα with worship language (“worships the beast and his image”), so that the mark is not only an identifier but a narrative marker of allegiance, aligning one’s visible status with one’s devotion.

Finally, the word helps structure Revelation’s portrayals of consequence. Those who “receive the mark of his name” are grouped with those who have “no rest day and night” under the imagery of rising smoke (Revelation 14:11). Those who “had the mark of the beast” are singled out as recipients of a “harmful and evil sore” (Revelation 16:2). Those who “had received the mark of the beast” are explicitly named as the deceived audience of the false prophet’s signs (Revelation 19:20). Against them stand those who “didn’t receive the mark,” associated with judgment granted and reigning (Revelation 20:4). In this way χάραγμα becomes a repeated narrative hinge: it identifies, aligns, and distinguishes groups as the visions unfold.

Imagery in Context

The imagery attached to χάραγμα moves from the workshop to the body. In Acts, it evokes the tactile idea of engraving—form impressed or shaped into “gold, or silver, or stone” (Acts 17:29). In Revelation, the repeated mention of hand and forehead fixes the mark in places associated with action and public identity, and the surrounding scenes present it as something administered, carried, and recognized. The recurring pairing of “mark,” “name,” and “number” (Revelation 13:17) reinforces that χάραγμα is not portrayed as an isolated token but as a form of identifiable marking that integrates personal reception, social recognition, and the story’s dividing lines of worship, deception, judgment, and vindication.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).