2435. hilastérion

Lexicon

hilastérion: Propitiation, Atonement Cover, Mercy Seat

Original Word: ἱλαστήριον
Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter
Transliteration: hilastérion
Pronunciation: hē-lä-stā'-rē-on
Phonetic Spelling: (hil-as-tay'-ree-on)
Definition: Propitiation, Atonement Cover, Mercy Seat
Meaning: (a) a sin offering, by which the wrath of the deity shall be appeased; a means of propitiation, (b) the covering of the ark, which was sprinkled with the atoning blood on the Day of Atonement.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

mercy seat

Neuter of a derivative of hilaskomai; an expiatory (place or thing), i.e. (concretely) an atoning victim, or (specially) the lid of the Ark (in the Temple) -- mercyseat, propitiation.

see GREEK hilaskomai

HELPS Word-studies

2435 hilastḗrion (a substantival adjective, derived from 2433 /hiláskomai, "to propitiate") – the place of propitiation; the lid of the golden ark (the mercy-seat) where the blood of a vicarious lamb appeased God's wrath on sin. See also 2434 (hilasmós).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from hilastérios; from hilaskomai
Definition
propitiatory
NASB Translation
mercy seat (1), propitiation (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 2435: ἱλαστήριος

ἱλαστήριος, ἱλαστηρια, ἱλαστήριον (ἱλάσκομαι, which see), relating to appeasing or expiating, having placating or expiating force, expiatory: μνῆμα ἱλαστήριον, a monument built to propitiate God, Josephus, Antiquities 16, 7, 1; ἱλαστήριος θάνατος, 4 Macc. 17:22; χεῖρας ἱκετηριους, εἰ βούλει δέ ἱλαστηριους, ἐκτείνας Θεῷ, Niceph. in act. SS. edition Mai, vol. v., p. 335, 17. Neuter τό ἱλαστήριον, as a substantive, a means of appeasing or expiating, a propitiation (German Versöhnungs- oderSühnmittel); cf. Winer's Grammar, 96 (91); (592 (551)). So used of:

1. the well-known cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of holies, which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the annual day of atonement (this rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they had merited by their sins, was offered to God in the blood as the life of the victim, and that God by this ceremony was appeased and their sins were expiated); hence, the lid of expiation, the propitiatory, Vulg.propitiatorium; Luth.Gnadensruhl (A. V. mercy-seat): Hebrews 9:5 (the Sept. Exodus 25:18ff; Leviticus 16:2, etc.; more fully ἱλαστήριον ἐπίθεμα, Exodus 25:17; Exodus 38:7 (Exodus 37:6), for the Hebrew כַּפֹּרֶת, from כִּפֶּר to cover, namely, sins, i. e. to pardon). Theodoret, Theophylact, Oecumenius, Luther, Grotius, Tholuck, Wilke, Philippi, Umbreit (Cremer (4te Aufl.)) and others give this meaning to the word also in Romans 3:25, viz. that Christ, besprinkled with his own blood, was truly that which the cover or 'mercy-seat' had been typically, i. e., the sign and pledge of expiation; but in opposed to this interpretation see Fritzsche, Meyer, Van Hengel (Godet, Oltramare) and others at the passage

2. an expiatory sacrifice; a piacular victim (Vulg.propitiatio): Romans 3:25 (after the analogy of the words χαριστηρια sacrifices expressive of gratitude, thank-offerings, σωτηρία sacrifices for safety obtained. On the other hand, in Dio Chrysostom or. 11, 121, p. 355, Reiske edition, the reference is not to a sacrifice but to a monument, as the preceding words show: καταλείψειν γάρ αὐτούς ἀνάθημα κάλλιστον καί μέγιστον τῇ Ἀθηνα καί ἐπιγράψειν, ἱλαστήριον Ἀχαιοι τῇ Ἰλιαδι). (See the full discussion of the word in Dr. Jets. Morison, Critical Exposition of the Third Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, pp. 281-303.)

Topical Lexicon

Word Origin: Derived from the Greek verb ἱλάσκομαι (hilaskomai), meaning "to appease" or "to propitiate."

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: • H3727 כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet): Refers to the mercy seat, the cover of the Ark of the Covenant, associated with atonement and the presence of God.

Usage: The word ἱλαστήριον is used in the New Testament to describe the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as well as the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant. It appears in the following passages:
• Romans 3:25: "God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand."
• Hebrews 9:5: "Above it were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now."

Context: The term ἱλαστήριον holds significant theological importance in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Septuagint, it is used to translate the Hebrew word כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet), which refers to the "mercy seat" on the Ark of the Covenant. This was the place where the high priest would sprinkle the blood of the sacrificial offering on the Day of Atonement, symbolizing the atonement of the people's sins and God's presence among them.

In the New Testament, ἱλαστήριον is used to describe the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ. In Romans 3:25, Paul explains that God presented Christ as a ἱλαστήριον, emphasizing that through His sacrificial death, Jesus became the means by which God's wrath against sin was appeased, and believers are reconciled to God. This highlights the transition from the Old Covenant's sacrificial system to the New Covenant, where Christ's once-for-all sacrifice fulfills and surpasses the former atonement rituals.

The use of ἱλαστήριον in Hebrews 9:5 further connects the concept of atonement with the imagery of the mercy seat, underscoring the continuity and fulfillment of God's redemptive plan through Christ. The mercy seat, as the place of divine presence and atonement, finds its ultimate expression in the person and work of Jesus, who is both the high priest and the sacrifice.

Forms and Transliterations

ιλαστηριον ιλαστήριον ἱλαστήριον ιλαστηρίου hilasterion hilastērion hilastḗrion ilasterion ilastērion

Englishman's Concordance

Romans 3:25 N-ANS
GRK: ὁ θεὸς ἱλαστήριον διὰ τῆς
NAS: displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood
KJV: hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through
INT: God a mercy seat through the

Hebrews 9:5 N-ANS
GRK: κατασκιάζοντα τὸ ἱλαστήριον περὶ ὧν
NAS: overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things
KJV: shadowing the mercyseat; of
INT: overshadowing the mercy seat concerning which

Strong's Greek 2435
2 Occurrences

ἱλαστήριον — 2 Occ.