The Arrabon is a Phonetian maritime trade word that was used as a pledge granted by the buyer that guaranteed payment to the seller. It was both a pledge and a guarantee but it was not a downpayment because what was pledged was not kept as a first installment. A downpayment is an initial payment that gives the buyer access to the thing purchased with the understanding that payments of the same kind will continue until it is paid in full. This is not the meaning, here. In today’s world, a down payment does not guarantee the payment of the entire sum due. Rarely do buyers possess a house by fully paying it. They may pay it off at closing, in which case, they no longer possess it.
Instead, the word is a pledge that is fulfilled when payment is made. However, since the pledge secured the payment, if payment was never made, the seller could retain the pledge but it was not always valuable to the seller. What made it a “guarantee” was the value it had to the buyer. Because of such value to the buyer, it guaranteed the likelihood that payment would be made as soon as possible.
We must understand the difference between the payment and the guarantee. The guarantee is not in kind for payment. For example, if you traded 20 bushels of grain in that era for a donkey, you might seal it with your signet ring that indicated your status of wealth and ability to fulfill the contract. It guaranteed that you will deliver the grain. You are not giving your seal or the ring as a payment for the grain. The seal has no monetary value to the owner of the donkey. It merely assures him that you can and will deliver. Similarly, the Holy Spirit was not a payment in kind. The Holy Spirit was not what was being delivered as the inheritance of redemption and salvation. He was the seal that guaranteed the deliverance of the inheritance.
Furthermore, confusion exists on who is providing this guarantee. It is not the Christian who is making a downpayment as he has nothing of value to offer. Heaven, our ultimate inheritance package, is not for sale. If it were, we could never afford it. God is doing the purchasing here, not man. He is the one who is providing the blessing and the inheritance made available through Christ. Ephesians 1:13-14 describes an action that has already taken place. They have already heard the gospel and have already come to believe in Him. God’s purchased possession is people who have already been bought by the blood of Jesus (Acts 20:28, 1 Cor. 6:20) and who have obeyed him (Acts 2:38). Furthermore, the sealing with the Holy Spirit has already taken place, also. Therefore, the sealing with the Holy Spirit is neither our downpayment of the heavenly possession nor His downpayment toward our being purchased. Instead, he guarantees that we are already His possession and will one day enjoy the inheritance that children receive from their Father.
Another difference is to recognize that the purchase possession is the “called out” people, i.e., his possession. He’s not purchasing some inanimate object. Other figures are used to describe this relationship and the one that plays a role in this text is the household figure. As children of God, we are expected to receive the inheritance. The blessing of the inheritance is realized in the future, but the relationship as children is present. How could the Ephesian brethren know that this transaction was made, verified, and true? How could they be assured that they were truly his children? The answer is that God had given his seal with the Holy Spirit of promise as a guarantee that they are His possession and will receive their inheritance.
Illustration of Judah and Tamar: An excellent example of the use of arrabon in the Septuagint is the pledge that Judah gave to his daughter-in-law, Tamar, in Genesis 38:17-20. Because Tamar had not received his son who was promised to her, Tamar pretends to be a prostitute and ensnares Judah to come into her. Tamar asks Judah if he will offer a pledge until payment for her is received. The actual payment was livestock. The pledge was his signet, cord, and staff in his hand. These are all symbols of his identity and authority and have no personal value to her. But, it meant everything to him. A signet ring was a personal seal used to seal business contracts. His staff was a symbol of authority. The example of Xerxes and Esther illustrates the use of a staff as a symbol of authority. Persian law said if you’re not called for and he does not extend that scepter to you, you are dead. In the same way, Judah’s staff was a symbol of his power. His chord was a sash (belt), which was another symbol of social status and wealth. Different color chords refected the status in their culture. If purple was its color, it indicated great wealth because one gram of purple die was extremely expensive. These things are of greater value than someone today being asked for their name, social security card, and driver’s license to be held as a guarantee that the debtor will return to exchange it with payment. However, it is similar is that both reflect their identity and importance only to them. What Tamar is asking him is to give up his identity and proof of personal worth, which was necessary for trade and deals. Remember, she is without inheritance. She has no identity as a woman and little worth in their society. What she is holding as a guarantee of payment for her services is huge and was not intended to be a downpayment for future payments in kind. From this example, one can see that the payment is one thing but the pledge or guarantee is another thing. This illustrates the meaning of the Holy Spirit being the pledge or guarantee of their inheritance.