In the vision of the prophet Ezekiel, the scribe was to put the sign «𐤕» (the Phoenician letter Tav) on the foreheads of certain people.
The prophet Ezekiel sees a vision of the deeds of the Jews that are abominable to God, for which God sends executioners against them, headed by a scribe. The scribe puts a sign on the foreheads of those people to whom all those abominations are as repugnant as they are to God. Those who bear these seals, by God’s command, will not be touched by the punishment.
“and the LORD said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.’ To the others He said in my hearing, ‘Go after him through the city and kill <…> but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark’” (Ezek. 9:4-6).
In Hebrew “put a mark” is written as «הִתְוִיתָ תָּו» [taw-vaw' tawv].
Literally it can be translated as “draw a תָּ” (the letter Tav), but the prophet Ezekiel was born at a time when the Jews still used the Phoenician script, or the Paleo-Hebrew script derived from the Phoenician, in which the letter Tav is written like this: «𐤕». Thus, literally the following is written: “draw 𐤕”.
In the same way the early Christians traced the cross on their foreheads: the sign of the cross (in Russian)
The Jews used the Phoenician alphabet (the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet derived from the Phoenician) from roughly the 10th to the 7th century before the Nativity of Christ. That is, it was used before the Babylonian captivity. The Jews were carried off to Babylon in several stages over 16 years (598–582 BC).
The prophet Ezekiel lived in the years c. 622 – c. 570 BC (52 years in all).
At 25 years of age (in Russian) he was carried off into captivity with his people.
That is, he was born and educated while the Phoenician script was still in use.
At 30 years of age his prophetic ministry begins (Ezek. 1:1).
At this time Ezekiel writes his prophetic book.
We are interested in the event described in chapters 8–9, which takes place a further 1 year and two months later (Ezek. 8:1).
One way or another, we arrive somewhere at the boundary of the 7th–6th centuries BC, at the very beginning of the Babylonian captivity, when the gradual formation of a new script among the Jews is only beginning. The alphabet did not change at once. This happened over a long period in captivity.
Most likely the prophet still used the Phoenician script, understood by the Jewish people, and accordingly wrote Tav like this: «𐤕». And if this is correct, then the scribe was to put the symbol «𐤕» on people’s foreheads, delivering them from punishment, which also points us to the saving meaning of the Cross of the Lord.