v. Ark, Cherub
Exo 25:17 a p of fine gold, the length of which shall be
Lev 16:2 before the p that is on the ark, to
Heb 9:5 over it the cherubim .. covered the p
Mercy seat (Heb. kappôreth, “cover”; Gr. hilasterion, “a means of reconciliation”). Lid or cover of the ark of the covenant, within which the tables of the law were deposited (Exo 25:17; Deu 10:2). Thus the law and the gospel – divine justice and mercy – were 954 intimately associated in the ancient sanctuary service. Of course, the mercy seat was the literal lid or covering of the ark, but the kappôreth implied much more, as well as the frequent use of the related verb form, kâfar (“to cover”), meant “to make atonement” or “to make reconciliation” in its broader meaning (support for the meaning of “cover” comes from Qumran Cave 4, thanks to the reading, in an Aramaic translation of Leviticus, of kappôreth as ksy’, “cover”). Above the mercy seat appeared the glory, called in postbiblical Hebrew the Shekinah, * the visible sign of God’s presence among his people (Heb 8: 5). The mercy seat and the tablets of the law within the ark represented the fundamental principles of God’s dealings with his people: justice tempered with mercy. Once a year, on the great Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the holy of holies with sacrificial blood, which he sprinkled before the mercy seat in the hope that God would accept the vicarious blood of reconciliation as evidence of confession. of their sins and obtain mercy for them. See Atonement, Day of the. Bib.: JT Milik, Ten Years of Discovery in Wilderness of Judaea (London, 1959), p 31.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
Hebrew kappôret, from kafar, to cover, and also to make atonement, to erase. It was the gold plate that was on the Ark and that supported the two cherubim, also of gold, Ex 25, 17-21. It was the place where Yahweh met Moses, Ex 25, 17 22; 30, 6; Lev 16, 2; Numbers 7, 89. A veil separated Fr. of the faithful, who is called the Holy of Holies, the abode of Yahweh, Ex 26, 33-34; which only the high priest could enter on the day of Atonement, Lv 16. This separation also existed in the Temple of Solomon, 1 R 6, 16, the same as that of Herod, Mt 27, 51.
Paul compares the old Covenant with the new. In the former there were impediments to enter the sanctuary, access to God was restricted; in the new, Jesus is the way to reach the Father, Heb 9, 114; that is, Jesus is Fr. of the new Covenant, Rm 3, 25.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
†¢tabernacle.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
tip, UTEN LEYE ANGE
see, ATONEMENT
vet, Cover of the ark (Heb. “kapporeth”, “cover”; Gr. “hilasterion” (Ex. 26:34; Heb. 9:5). This term did not designate only the cover of the ark, but also evoked the time the place and act by which the atoning sacrifice made God propitious to the sinner. The mercy seat was of pure gold, measuring 2.5 cubits in length by 1.5 in width. Forming an integral part of one piece with this covered, there was a cherub at each of its ends. Both cherubim were facing each other, with outstretched wings, leaning towards the mercy seat. One of their wings descended towards the mercy seat, while the other joined with that of the other cherub The glory of the Lord was manifested between the cherubim That was the meeting point of Jehovah with His people, and from there He spoke with them (Ex. 25:17-22; 30:6; Num. 7:89). Solomon’s Temple had the same layout (1 Kings 6:23-28; 8:6-11; 1 Chron. 28:11) Only once a year did the high priest enter the Holy of Holies or, and this only after having offered a sacrifice for his own sin, to burn incense there in the presence of Jehovah. A cloud of perfume rose there, a symbol of accepted intercession (cf. Rev. 8:4). The cloud of incense covered the mercy seat. The high priest then sprinkled the mercy seat and before it with the blood of the sacrificed bull. He then immolated a male goat for the sin of the nation, also carrying this shed blood behind the veil, into the Holy of Holies. Sprinkled again the mercy seat, and before him. The high priest made atonement for his own sins and those of the people above the divine Law, written on the two stone tablets deposited inside the ark. The cherubim, armed with a fiery sword, had kept fallen man from the tree of life and from paradise (Gen. 3:24). By right, they should pierce the reckless sinner into the very presence of God, into the Holy of Holies. But here they were unarmed, with their eyes directed towards the mercy seat, where the blood showed that the death of the victim had fully satisfied the Law and the justice of God (cf. Lev. 16:1-16; see ATONEMENT“ N).
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
hilasterion (hJlasthvrion, 2435), the lid or cover of the ark of the covenant, means the mercy seat, named for the atonement that was made once a year on the great day of atonement (Heb 9:5). For its form, see Exo 25:17-21. The Hebrew term is kapporeth, the covering, meaning related to the covering or act of removing sin (Psa 32:1) through an atoning sacrifice. This mercy seat, along with the ark, is designated as God’s footstool (1Ch 28:2; cf. Psa 99:5; 132.7). The Lord promised to be present over him and declare Himself to Moses “from between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony” (Exo 25:22; see ). In the LXX the term epithema, itself meaning a covering, is added to hilasterion; epithema was simply a translation of kapporeth; therefore hilasterion was added, which does not have this meaning, and which is essentially related to propitiation. Later hilasterion came to mean both. In 1Ch 28:11 the Holy of Holies is called “The House of the Kapporeth”. By his willing sacrifice of atonement, shedding his blood, under divine judgment on sin, and by his resurrection, Christ has become the mercy seat for his people. See Rom 3:25, and see , No. 1.¶
Source: Vine New Testament Dictionary
The ḵappōreṯ, (etymologically, and perhaps literally, “the expiatory thing”), rested on the ark of the covenant and is described in Ex. 25:17–22. It was made of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide, with two cherubim facing each other with their wings spread over the mercy seat. On the day of atonement the high priest took the blood of a bull and sprinkled it in front of the ḵappōreṯ and about him. He did the same with the blood of a male goat.
According to the LXX translation in Ex. 25:17, the adjective hilasterioncommonly used to translate ḵappōreṯis followed by epizema for which there is no corresponding word in the Hebrew text. Therefore, it seems that the LXX understands ḵappōreṯ as a mechanism of atonement and not just as a cover. Luther translates Gnadenstuhl (followed by Tyndale: “the seat of grace”), deriving the meaning of kāp̄ar (ḵippēr), «expiate», «make atonement». In Ro. 3:25, Paul uses the word that appears in the LXX in a way that conveys the idea of an expiatory instrument. It may be questioned whether an association with TA is necessarily implied; but it is difficult to conceive its absence from the apostle’s mind. In any case, the substantiation of the neuter adjective (a simple adjectival use in the masculine would be unusual) suggests that Jesus is the atoning medium through whose blood atonement is made. The word does not necessarily imply that one is trying to modify God’s disposition. Heb. 9:5 clearly refers to the ḵappōreṯ.
See also Propitiation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arndt; A. Deissmann, ZNW, 4, 193–212; Hermann Buechsel in TWNT.
Frederick William Danker
LXX Septuagint
ZNW Zeitschrift fuer die neuentestamentliche Wissenschaft
TWNT Theologisches Woerterbuch zum Neuen Testament (kittel)
Harrison, EF, Bromiley, GW, & Henry, CFH (2006). Dictionary of Theology (496). Grand Rapids, MI: Challenge Books.
Source: Dictionary of Theology