ἱλαστήριον
Propitiation
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What does ἱλαστήριον (hilastḗrion) mean in the Bible?
ἱλαστήριον (hilastḗrion) is a Greek word meaning "propitiation". ἱλαστήριος, -α, -ον (ἱλάσκομαι), [in LXX: 4Ma. It identifies Christ’s death as the means by which God’s wrath is satisfied and justice upheld. This term runs through the canonical themes of Justice, Messiah, Priesthood.
Full entry for ἱλαστήριον (G2435) · Browse the biblical lexicon
Meaning
God's instrument for turning away wrath through atoning sacrifice, not merely covering sin
(ἱλάσκομαι), [in LXX: 4Ma.17:22; neut., Exo.25:16 (17) ff. Exo.31:7 35:12 37:6 ff., Lev.16:2, 13 ff. Num.7:89 (כַּפֹּרֶת), Eze.43:14, 17 43:20 (עֲזָרָה) Amo.9:1 (on the original here, see Deiss., BS, 127)* ;] propitiatory (μνῆμα, FlJ, Ant., xvi, 7, 1; θάνατος, 2Mac, l.with): of Christ, Rom.3:25; as subst., το ἱ. (sc. ἐπίθεμα, Exo.25:16-17, where the word first occurs in LXX and where ἱ. ἐ. = כַּפֹּרֶת (which see in BDB, see word), elsewhere rendered simply τὸ ἱ; cf. Deiss., 124 ff.; Westc., He., in l), Heb.9:5.
Why This Word Matters
It identifies Christ’s death as the means by which God’s wrath is satisfied and justice upheld. Hebrews 9:1-10
Anticipates Christ's propitiatory sacrifice. Romans 3:21-26
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Canonical Themes
Biblical Occurrences
Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.
Word Pictures (Robertson)
A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.
A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain