Hilasterion Word Study

Romans 3:21–26 NLT

21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

I was intrigued again by something that appears in v 25 of our text...

Depending upon which translation of English we read, there is a word that is translated in different ways...

Romans 3:25 NLT

25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,

Romans 3:25 NIV

25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—

Romans 3:25 NKJV

25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,

ESV, NASB, KJV, translated this word the same way...

Romans 3:25 LEB

25 whom God made publicly available as the mercy seat through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness, because of the passing over of previously committed sins,

So, what is the word?

In Greek the word is hilasterion…

Lexham Theological Wordbook ἱλαστήριον

ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion). n. neut. means of expiation, place of propitiation

Ok What do those words mean?

Tyndale Bible Dictionary Propitiation

PROPITIATION* The act of appeasing another person’s anger by the offering of a gift.

Tyndale Bible Dictionary Propitiation

PROPITIATION* The act of appeasing another person’s anger by the offering of a gift. The word was often used by the pagans in antiquity, for they thought of their gods as unpredictable beings, liable to become angry with their worshipers for any trifle. When disaster struck, it was often thought that a god was angry and was therefore punishing his worshipers. The remedy was to offer a sacrifice without delay. A well-chosen offering would appease the god and put him in a good mood again. This process was called propitiation.

Understandably, some modern theologians have reacted against using the term in reference to the God of the Bible. They do not see him as one who can be bribed to become favorable, so they reject the whole idea. When they come to the term in the Greek NT, they translate it by “expiation” or some equivalent term that lacks any reference to anger.

Tyndale Bible Dictionary Expiation

EXPIATION* Atonement, purification, or removal of sin or its guilt

Tyndale Bible Dictionary Expiation

EXPIATION* Atonement, purification, or removal of sin or its guilt. The term occurs in some English translations (such as ASV, ERV) for “reconciliation” (

There are those who have issues with the theories of atonement that make God angry or wrathful.

1st, God is angry at SIN - not human beings

2nd, those theories pick at the idea that God must be “appeased” of God’s anger. It’s not so much appeasement as though God were a bully, but appeasement of the judicial offense against God and God’s order of creation.

3rd, those who take issue with this FAIL to recognize that God, in the person of Jesus Christ, was the one who offered HIMSELF as the atonement, propitiation, etc… for humankind. In other words, God did not RANDOMLY pick some poor person to be the sacrifice. God became flesh and HE BECAME SIN for our sinfulness!

2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT

21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

1 Peter 2:24 NLT

24 He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.

So, that’s the ENGLISH, but what ACTUALLY does it mean in Greek?

The word hilasterion appears only TWO TIMES in the New Testament.

Romans 3:25 and Hebrews 9:1-5

Although the word itself appears only two times, it’s cognates appear many times.

It is from the root

New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries: Updated Edition 2436 ἵλεως (hileōs)

ἵλεως hileōs; another spelling of ἵλαος hilaos (propitious, gracious); propitious:—god forbid(1), merciful(1)

And cognates of this word are...

Lexham Theological Wordbook ἱλασμός

ἱλασμός (hilasmos). n. masc. expiation, sin offering. Refers to the sacrifice of atonement.

Lexham Theological Wordbook ἱλασμός

In the Septuagint, hilasmos sometimes is used to translate כִּפֻּרִים (kippurîm, “atonement”). In the NT, the word appears only in 1 John (2:2; 4:10). Both passages refer to Christ as the hilasmos for humankind’s sins—i.e., the sacrifice of atonement.

Lexham Theological Wordbook ἱλάσκομαι

ἱλάσκομαι (hilaskomai). vb. to be propitiated, show mercy, make atonement. Refers to the act of making atonement or of accepting atonement (and thus, being merciful).

Lexham Theological Wordbook ἱλάσκομαι

The verb hilaskomai occurs twice in the NT. In Jesus’ parable about Pharisee and the tax collector, the tax collector asks God to “be merciful” (hilaskomai;

Some passages where these words appear...

1 John 2:2 NIV

2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 4:10 NIV

10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Luke 18:13 NIV

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

Hebrews 2:17 NIV

17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

However, to fully understand this word, we still need to go deeper...

As I said hilasterion appears two times in the New Testament.

Romans 3:25 NLT

25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,

Hebrews 9:1–5 NLT

1 That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth. 2 There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. 3 Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. 4 In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.

The author of Hebrews mentions “The Place of Atonement” as the ark’s cover. That word is, you guessed it, “HILASTERION”

Remember this definition?

Lexham Theological Wordbook ἱλαστήριον

ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion). n. neut. means of expiation, place of propitiation.

Well there is a little more to it...

Lexham Theological Wordbook ἱλαστήριον

Literally, the cover of the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle; metaphorically, a means or place of atonement.

This word is a translation of the Hebrew word

Lexham Theological Wordbook ἱλαστήριον

כַּפֺּרֶת (kappōret)

Lexham Theological Wordbook ἱλαστήριον

In the Septuagint, the term hilastērion usually translates the Hebrew word כַּפֺּרֶת (kappōret). It thus refers to the cover of the ark of the covenant. In the description of the structure and furniture of the earthly tabernacle in

Ok, so what what the point of the “MERCY SEAT”?

Well, what was the purpose of the ark?

It was a reminder of God’s presence AND God’s footstool

1 Samuel 4:4 NLT

4 So they sent men to Shiloh to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were also there with the Ark of the Covenant of God.

1 Chronicles 28:2 NLT

2 David rose to his feet and said: “My brothers and my people! It was my desire to build a Temple where the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, God’s footstool, could rest permanently. I made the necessary preparations for building it,

It was the place where God dealt mercifully with the people

Exodus 25:17–22 NLT

17 “Then make the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold. It must be 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. 18 Then make two cherubim from hammered gold, and place them on the two ends of the atonement cover. 19 Mold the cherubim on each end of the atonement cover, making it all of one piece of gold. 20 The cherubim will face each other and look down on the atonement cover. With their wings spread above it, they will protect it. 21 Place inside the Ark the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, which I will give to you. Then put the atonement cover on top of the Ark. 22 I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel.

Leviticus 16 gives VERY specific instructions for the High Priest (Aaron) to follow on the Day of Atonement before entering into the most holy place (where the Ark was kept).

First, he must present a bull as a sacrifice for HIS OWN SIN

Leviticus 16:6 NLT

6 “Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the Lord.

2nd there are two goats that he presents to God

One Goat will be sacrificed and the other will be the scapegoat

Leviticus 16:7–10 NLT

7 Then he must take the two male goats and present them to the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 8 He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the Lord and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. 9 Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the Lord. 10 The other goat, the scapegoat chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing before the Lord. When it is sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, the people will be purified and made right with the Lord.

Then he will slaughter the bull for his sins and his families sins

Leviticus 16:11 NLT

11 “Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the Lord. After he has slaughtered the bull as a sin offering,

Leviticus 16:14 NLT

14 Then he must take some of the blood of the bull, dip his finger in it, and sprinkle it on the east side of the atonement cover. He must sprinkle blood seven times with his finger in front of the atonement cover.

Leviticus 16:15–17 NLT

15 “Then Aaron must slaughter the first goat as a sin offering for the people and carry its blood behind the inner curtain. There he will sprinkle the goat’s blood over the atonement cover and in front of it, just as he did with the bull’s blood. 16 Through this process, he will purify the Most Holy Place, and he will do the same for the entire Tabernacle, because of the defiling sin and rebellion of the Israelites. 17 No one else is allowed inside the Tabernacle when Aaron enters it for the purification ceremony in the Most Holy Place. No one may enter until he comes out again after purifying himself, his family, and all the congregation of Israel, making them right with the Lord.

Leviticus 16:23–26 NLT

23 “When Aaron goes back into the Tabernacle, he must take off the linen garments he was wearing when he entered the Most Holy Place, and he must leave the garments there. 24 Then he must bathe himself with water in a sacred place, put on his regular garments, and go out to sacrifice a burnt offering for himself and a burnt offering for the people. Through this process, he will purify himself and the people, making them right with the Lord. 25 He must then burn all the fat of the sin offering on the altar. 26 “The man chosen to drive the scapegoat into the wilderness of Azazel must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Then he may return to the camp.

Ok, so now what?

The High Priest had to do this ANNUALLY!!

But… Christ is the HILASTERION of God

He IS the place of MERCY

He IS not simply the person that God appointed to die for us - HE IS THE VERY PLACE OF GOD’S MERCY, JUDGEMENT AND ERADICATION OF SIN!

Hebrews 9:11–15 NLT

11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. 13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

Hebrews 10:11–12 NLT

11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

Hebrews 4:14–5:4 NLT

14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. 1 Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. 2 And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. 3 That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs. 4 And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was.

Throne of our gracious God - Receive mercy and grace...

Although these are NOT the exact words of hilasterion, they convey a similar idea

Throne of Grace is literally that is Greek (or gracious throne, throne defined by grace etc...) But, that THRONE is the MERCY SEAT, or the footstool of that throne is the mercy seat.

The point? Because CHRIST is the HILASTERION we have access to the FATHER!

God is NOT a brute! God sent Jesus to be the PLACE OF MERCY for our world and everyone in it.

And, because of this we have access to the Father through Jesus Christ!!!

Mark 15:37–38 NLT

37 Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

Luke 23:44–46 NLT

44 By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 45 The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. 46 Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.

Hebrews 10:19–25 NLT

19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

God did not appoint one to suffer because God is a bully! God appointed Jesus to be God’s place of MERCY so God could cleanse us of our sin, redeem us, transform us, make us holy. And, so that we can have access TOGETHER and ONE ON ONE with God!

GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES!!!!