v. Propitiation, Redemption
Exo 29:33 those things with which it was made and
Exo_2930:10 on his horns Aaron will make a
Lev 1:4 his hand .. and it will be accepted for his
Lev 4:3 will offer .. a calf without blemish for e
Lev 4:20 so shall the priest do for them
Lev 5:6 for his e shall bring Jehovah for his sin
Lev 8:14 hands on the head of the calf of the e
Lev 16:30 in this day it shall be done for you, and
Lev 23:27 ten days of this month shall be the day of e
Lev 25:9 day of the e ye shall cause the trumpet to sound
Num 8:12 for e.. to do e for the Levites
Num 15:25 priest shall e for .. the congregation
Num 25:13 zeal .. and did e for the children of Israel
Num 31:50 do e for our souls before
Deu 32:43 he will do e for the land of his people
Isa 53:10 has laid down his life for sin
Eze 45:20 so you will do the .. and you will do e for the house
Atonement (Heb. kippurîm, literally “covers”; kappêr, “replacement”; Gk. katallague, “reconciliation”). Term that appears in the OT, generally in relation to various sacrifices and services of the ceremonial system. The Greek term reflects the fundamental idea of restoring harmony in a relationship, so that when there has been a separation it can be eliminated by the process of covering up the problem, bringing about reconciliation. The word “atonement” acquired the theological and technical meaning of “propitiation,” and when used in this way implies that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross constituted reparation for an offended God. This concept reflects the pagan idea of propitiating an offended deity in order to avoid his wrath and vengeance and assumes that God must be reconciled with us. When kâfar and kippurîm are used in connection with the ceremonial system, the biblical writer assumes that the persons or things for which that “covering” is made – the persons or things covered – are common, “unclean” or sinful in the sight of God. a just God; therefore, do not accept before him. Because of sin in general, and sometimes because of particular sins in particular, it is understood that men are far from God. But the biblical writers present God as eager for a reconciliation, and show that he has made the necessary provisions to accomplish this. No change on his part is necessary to bring about reconciliation, because man in his natural state is a sinner who does not even have the desire to be reconciled, and therefore a change on his part is necessary. It is the sinner who must be “covered” or reconciled with God, not God with respect to the sinner. The ritual system provided an objective illustration of how men can be reconciled to God. The blood of sacrificial animals provided the objective covering (Lev 17:11), but this blood could not, in and of itself, really cover the sinner (Heb 10:1, 4, 6, 8, 11). Only if by faith he saw in it a symbol of the blood of Christ and accepted the promise of divine grace thus represented, was he “covered” in reality and thus reconciled to God (vs 10, 12, 14-18) . This “covering” was always accompanied by forgiveness of sins and divine acceptance (Lev 4:20; Num 15:25; etc.). God was satisfied with the sincerity of purpose of the person for whom the “cover” was made, and made no further accusations against him as long as they remained in harmony with him. A few illustrations of the use of the word “atonement” in the OT will suffice to clarify its meaning. The sanctuary and its objects were made of common materials, and it was necessary to “cover” them, or “make atonement” for them, before they were given to sacred use (Exo 29:36, 37; 30:10; Lev 8:15; etc.). Aaron and his sons were ordinary people, and in the same way they had to be “covered” when they were set apart for the priesthood (Exo 29:35; Lev 8:34). A covering of blood was also indicated for the sins of the entire congregation (Lev 4:20; Num 15:25), for those of individual persons (Lev 4:27-35; Num 15:28), and for various forms of sin. ritual impurity (Lev 12:7, 8; 14:18, 20, 53; 15:28). At the end of the annual series of ceremonies, on a special day of “atonement” (Lev 16:21-28; Heb 10:1-3), Aaron and his sons, the priests, made a specific “covering” for impurities. accumulated in the year (Lev 16:6,11,24), 430 for the sanctuary and its furnishings (vs 16-20, 33, 34), and for the people of Israel (vs 30, 34). This symbolized the complete and final removal of sin from God’s universe. In the NT this work of atonement is described by the word “reconciliation.” The words gr are also used. hilasterion (Rom 3:25), hiláskomai (Heb 2:17) and hilasmós (1 Joh 2:2; 4:10), “propitiation”, “be propitious” or “expiate”. The true “covering” has been provided by the precious blood of our Savior, and reconciliation with God is possible through faith in him (Rom 5:8-11; 2Co 5:17-19). See Day of Atonement; Propitiatory.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
It includes the idea of reparation, of achieving a reconciliation that produces harmony between those who have been separated, at odds.
In the OT, atonement is expressed mostly by the verb kaphar, whose root means to cover. The noun related to this verb, kopher, is used primarily in cases of ransom that covers the offense, not sweeping it out of sight but making an equivalent payment so that the offense is actually and exactly paid (eg, Exo 30 :12 ransom; Num 35:31; Psa 49:7; Isa 43:3). Originating from this use of the noun, an entire section of the verb (in Heb. the forms piel and dagger, kipper and kuppar) came to be reserved to express only the idea of removing the offense by means of an equivalent payment and thus bringing the who committed the offense with the offended party. The only secular uses of this word (in Gen 32:20; Lev 5:16; Lev 16:30, Lev 16:33; Lev 17:11) also show that the means of atonement, the actual price paid as equivalent to sin committed, was the sacrificial blood, the life given in death. See BLOOD.
In the Day of Atonement ritual (Lev 16:15-17, Lev 16:20-22) the Lord wanted his people to know the significance of what had happened in secret when the high priest sprinkled the blood on the covering of atonement (Heb., kapporeth). He therefore decreed the ceremony of the living goat so that they could see with their own eyes their sins placed on another and see that their sins were forever taken away never to return. See ATONEMENT, DAY OF; See LAYING ON OF HANDS.
In Christian theology, the atonement is the central doctrine of the faith and can rightly include all that Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. It was a vicarious (substitute) atonement. On the day of Atonement the goat, which was substituted, was in a sense not as valuable as a person, even though he had never sinned; but God in his matchless grace provided a substitute who was infinitely better than the sinner, absolutely sinless and holy, and dearer to the Father than all his creation. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23) and God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2Co 5:21).
There are two contrary facts which the ingenuity of theologians could not have reconciled without God’s solution: First, that God is holy and hates sin and that according to his holy law sin is a capital crime; and second, that God is love (1Jo 4:8). So the dilemma was: How can God be just and at the same time justify the sinner? (compare Rom 3:26). Joh 3:16 tells us that God loved the world so much that he gave his Son. In the eternal councils of the Trinity, Jesus offered himself to bear our sins (Rev 13:8). He voluntarily stripped himself of the divine garments of omnipotence, omniscience and glory (Phi 2: 5-8) in order to be authentically human. He perfectly fulfilled the law in our place (Mat 5:18) and then paid the penalty for our sins by dying for us on the cross. The atoning work of our Lord looks in three directions: towards sin (1Pe 1:18-19), towards us (Rom 5:6-11) and towards the Holy Father (1Jo 2:1).
The KJV uses the term atonement while the KJV-1960 uses the word “propitiation” three times: hilasterion (Rom 3:25; also BA, BJ and VHA); hylasmos (1Jo 2:2; also BA, BJ and VHA ); hilasmos (1Jo 4:10; also BA, BJ and VHA). The BA uses it once again (hilaskomai, Heb 2:17 . Propitiation and atonement are not synonymous; they have very different meanings. Propitiation is something that is done to a person:
Christ propitiated God in the sense that he turned away the wrath of God from guilty sinners, bearing that wrath himself in the solitude of Calvary.
Atonement is what is done for crimes or sins or wrongdoing:
Jesus provided the means to cleanse or cancel them.
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
(cancel, suffering suffered to pay a fault).
1- The Death of Jesus atones for our sins, Jn.1:29, Is.53, Mar 10:45.
2- The Holy Mass, sacrifice of atonement: (Luke 22:19-20).
The sacrifices of the OT were a prefiguration of the only true Sacrifice of Calvary, which comes to life in each Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
Act by which, through a sacrifice, God is sought to be propitious, satisfying his justice, erasing guilt, purifying the soul and reconciling it with him. In the OT, with the sacrifices it was recognized that God was angry against sin and that it was done with the purpose of appeasing it, or putting it in a favorable disposition, or making it propitious. The man also recognized his guilt and tried to eliminate it, or purify himself, or expiate it. The sacrifice, then, sought to load on an innocent victim the wrath of God (expiate) and put him in a favorable attitude towards man (propitiate). The Hebrew term used for e. it is kaphar. In the NT it is never properly said “expiate”, but rather “be propitious” (Gr. ilaskomai). In the biblical sense, “atone” has not only a negative meaning, indicating punishment, but also a positive one, pointing to purification, cleansing, and reconciliation. Thus, in Exo 29:36 (†œ…and you shall cleanse the altar when you do e. for it† ).
God’s justice and holiness compel him to condemn sin. The NT is very emphatic in presenting the fact that God is angry because of sin, since “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Rom 1:18; Col 3:6; 1Th 1:10). God sovereignly provided in the OT a way to accomplish e. of sins through animal sacrifices, whose blood was shed following divine instructions. But the death of an animal could not have enough value to compensate for the magnitude of the offense against God that sin represents, nor to erase the guilt (“The blood of bulls and goats does not…