What is Atonement?
By Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
In this study I would like to explore the meaning of ‘atonement’. I want to see how atonements, ‘kippurim’, is used and what it means. Lets begin by examining what Strong’s concordance tells us about the Hebrew word for ‘kippur’:
3725 kippur, kip-poor'; from 3722; expiation (only in plural):-atonement.
----------------- Dictionary Trace --------------------- 3722 kaphar, kaw-far'; a prim. root; to cover (spec. with bitumen); fig. to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel:-appease, make (an) atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-liation).
Shemot (Exodus) 29:35-37 "Do for Aaron and his sons everything I have commanded you, taking seven days to ordain them. Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.
1. The Altar was purified by making atonement for it.
Shemot (Exodus) 30:6-10 Put the altar in front of the curtain that is before the ark of the Testimony--before the atonement cover that is over the Testimony--where I will meet with you. "Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before HaShem for the generations to come. Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to HaShem."
2. Atonement was made on the horns of the altar.
Shemot (Exodus) 30:11-16 Then HaShem said to Moses, "When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay HaShem a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to HaShem. All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to HaShem. The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to HaShem to atone for your lives. Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before HaShem, making atonement for your lives."
3. Money is used to make atonement for or to ransom the life of as Israelite.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:26-32 HaShem said to Moses, "The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to HaShem by fire. Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before HaShem your God. Anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people. I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day. You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. It is a Sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your Sabbath."
4. The tenth day of the seventh month is the time for atonement. Was the census taken then?
Bamidbar (Numbers) 5:5-10 HaShem said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to HaShem, that person is guilty And must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it and give it all to the person he has wronged. But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to HaShem and must be given to the priest, along with the ram with which atonement is made for him. All the sacred contributions the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him. Each man's sacred gifts are his own, but what he gives to the priest will belong to the priest.'"
5. A ram was used to atone for sins between man and man, which makes us unfaithful to HaShem.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 29:7-11 "'On the tenth day of this seventh month hold a sacred assembly. You must deny yourselves and do no work. Present as an aroma pleasing to HaShem a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect. With the bull prepare a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths; And with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth. Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering for atonement and the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
6. The goat on Yom HaKippurim was used for atonement.
3722 kaphar, kaw-far'; a prim. root; to cover (spec. with bitumen); fig. to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel:-appease, make (an) atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-liation).
Bereshit (Genesis) 32:17-21 He instructed the one in the lead: "When my brother Esau meets you and asks, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?' Then you are to say, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my Lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.'" He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: "You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. And be sure to say, 'Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.'" For he thought, "I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me." So Jacob's gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.
1. Atonement that means to `pacify'.
Shemot (Exodus) 29:29-37 "Aaron's sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them. The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days. "Take the ram for the ordination and cook the meat in a sacred place. At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket. They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no one else may eat them, because they are sacred. And if any of the meat of the ordination ram or any bread is left over till morning, burn it up. It must not be eaten, because it is sacred. "Do for Aaron and his sons everything I have commanded you, taking seven days to ordain them. Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.
2. How does atonement fit with ordination? 3. Why does the Altar need atonement?
Shemot (Exodus) 30:7-10 "Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before HaShem for the generations to come. Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to HaShem."
Shemot (Exodus) 30:11-16 Then HaShem said to Moses, "When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay HaShem a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to HaShem. All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to HaShem. The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to HaShem to atone for your lives. Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before HaShem, making atonement for your lives."
4. Here we see both words (kippur and kaphar) used within the same context.
Shemot (Exodus) 32:25-30 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "Whoever is for HaShem, come to me." And all the Levites rallied to him. Then he said to them, "This is what HaShem, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.'" The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. Then Moses said, "You have been set apart to HaShem today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day." The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to HaShem; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."
Vayikra (Leviticus) 1:2-4 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When any of you brings an offering to HaShem, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock. "'If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a male without defect. He must present it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting so that it will be acceptable to HaShem. He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:13-21 "'If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of HaShem’s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, they are guilty. When they become aware of the sin they committed, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting. The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull's head before HaShem, and the bull shall be slaughtered before HaShem. Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull's blood into the Tent of Meeting. He shall dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it before HaShem seven times in front of the curtain. He is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before HaShem in the Tent of Meeting. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He shall remove all the fat from it and burn it on the altar, And do with this bull just as he did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven. Then he shall take the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the community.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:22-26 "'When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of HaShem his God, he is guilty. When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect. He is to lay his hand on the goat's head and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before HaShem. It is a sin offering. Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. He shall burn all the fat on the altar as he burned the fat of the fellowship offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:27-35 "'If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of HaShem’s commands, he is guilty. When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect. He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering. Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to HaShem. In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:32 "'If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, he is to bring a female without defect. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it for a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the lamb of the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made to HaShem by fire. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.
Atonement without blood, using flour!
Many Mashiachians have said, “that without the shedding of blood there is no atonement. They derive this Bereans (Hebrews) 9:22. However a careful reading will show that the passage does NOT actually say this:
Bereans (Hebrews) 9:21-22 Moreover the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled in like manner with the blood. 22 And according to the law, I may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.
Thus we see that the passage says “almost”. We can see by the context that this is speaking of atonement from the fact that it affects the altar too. Since we now know that there is an exception, what is the exception? What non-blood substance provides atonement? The following pasuk indicates that flour can also provide atonement.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 5:1-18 "'If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible. "'Or if a person touches anything ceremonially unclean--whether the carcasses of unclean wild animals or of unclean livestock or of unclean creatures that move along the ground--even though he is unaware of it, he has become unclean and is guilty. "'Or if he touches human uncleanness--anything that would make him unclean--even though he is unaware of it, when he learns of it he will be guilty. "'Or if a person thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil--in any matter one might carelessly swear about--even though he is unaware of it, in any case when he learns of it he will be guilty. "'When anyone is guilty in any of these ways, he must confess in what way he has sinned And, as a penalty for the sin he has committed, he must bring to HaShem a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin. "'If he cannot afford a lamb, he is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to HaShem as a penalty for his sin--one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. He is to bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one for the sin offering. He is to wring its head from its neck, not severing it completely, And is to sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar; the rest of the blood must be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. The priest shall then offer the other as a burnt offering in the prescribed way and make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven. "'If, however, he cannot afford two doves or two young pigeons, he is to bring as an offering for his sin a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He must not put oil or incense on it, because it is a sin offering. He is to bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful of it as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made to HaShem by fire. It is a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for any of these sins he has committed, and he will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest, as in the case of the grain offering.'" HaShem said to Moses: "When a person commits a violation and sins unintentionally in regard to any of HaShem’s holy things, he is to bring to HaShem as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. It is a guilt offering. He must make restitution for what he has failed to do in regard to the holy things, add a fifth of the value to that and give it all to the priest, who will make atonement for him with the ram as a guilt offering, and he will be forgiven. "If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of HaShem’s commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible. He is to bring to the priest as a guilt offering a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the wrong he has committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 6:1-7 HaShem said to Moses: "If anyone sins and is unfaithful to HaShem by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him, Or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do-- When he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, Or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering. And as a penalty he must bring to the priest, that is, to HaShem, his guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for him before HaShem, and he will be forgiven for any of these things he did that made him guilty."
Vayikra (Leviticus) 7:7 "'The same law applies to both the sin offering and the guilt offering: They belong to the priest who makes atonement with them.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 8:31-34 Moses then said to Aaron and his sons, "Cook the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and eat it there with the bread from the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, 'Aaron and his sons are to eat it.' Then burn up the rest of the meat and the bread. Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed, for your ordination will last seven days. What has been done today was commanded by HaShem to make atonement for you.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 9:7 Moses said to Aaron, "Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and the people; sacrifice the offering that is for the people and make atonement for them, as HaShem has commanded."
Vayikra (Leviticus) 10:16-17 When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's remaining sons, and asked, "Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before HaShem.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 12:6-8 "'When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. He shall offer them before HaShem to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. "'These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.'"
Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:14-31 The priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. The priest shall then take some of the log of oil, pour it in the palm of his own left hand, Dip his right forefinger into the oil in his palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of it before HaShem seven times. The priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed and make atonement for him before HaShem. "Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering And offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, and make atonement for him, and he will be clean. "If, however, he is poor and cannot afford these, he must take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for him, together with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, a log of oil, And two doves or two young pigeons, which he can afford, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. "On the eighth day he must bring them for his cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, before HaShem. The priest is to take the lamb for the guilt offering, together with the log of oil, and wave them before HaShem as a wave offering. He shall slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. The priest is to pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, And with his right forefinger sprinkle some of the oil from his palm seven times before HaShem. Some of the oil in his palm he is to put on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering--on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before HaShem. Then he shall sacrifice the doves or the young pigeons, which the person can afford, One as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before HaShem on behalf of the one to be cleansed."
Atonement for a house???
Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:48-53 "But if the priest comes to examine it and the mildew has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the mildew is gone. To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop. He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. He shall purify the house with the bird's blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean."
Vayikra (Leviticus) 15:13-15 "'When a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days for his ceremonial cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean. On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons and come before HaShem to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and give them to the priest. The priest is to sacrifice them, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement before HaShem for the man because of his discharge.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 15:25-30 "'When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period. Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period. Whoever touches them will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. "'When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. On the eighth day she must take two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priest is to sacrifice one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement for her before HaShem for the uncleanness of her discharge.
Yom HaKippurim (Day of Atonements)!
Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:1-34 HaShem spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached HaShem. HaShem said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover. "This is how Aaron is to enter the sanctuary area: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. "Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. Then he is to take the two goats and present them before HaShem at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats--one lot for HaShem and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to HaShem and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before HaShem to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat. "Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before HaShem and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. He is to put the incense on the fire before HaShem, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the Testimony, so that he will not die. He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover. "He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull's blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. No one is to be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel. "Then he shall come out to the altar that is before HaShem and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites. "When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites--all their sins--and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert. "Then Aaron is to go into the Tent of Meeting and take off the linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there. He shall bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people, to make atonement for himself and for the people. He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar. "The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp. The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and offal are to be burned up. The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp. "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work--whether native-born or an alien living among you-- Because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before HaShem, you will be clean from all your sins. It is a Sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments And make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the community. "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites." And it was done, as HaShem commanded Moses.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 17:10-11 "'Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood--I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:20-22 "'If a man sleeps with a woman who is a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for a guilt offering to HaShem. With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before HaShem for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.
Kippurim and kaphar in the same verse:
Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:28 Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before HaShem your God.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 5:6-8 "Say to the Israelites: 'When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to HaShem, that person is guilty And must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it and give it all to the person he has wronged. But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to HaShem and must be given to the priest, along with the ram with which atonement is made for him.
A Nazarite:
Bamidbar (Numbers) 6:5-11 "'During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to HaShem is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long. Throughout the period of his separation to HaShem he must not go near a dead body. Even if his own father or mother or brother or sister dies, he must not make himself ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of his separation to God is on his head. Throughout the period of his separation he is consecrated to HaShem. "'If someone dies suddenly in his presence, thus defiling the hair he has dedicated, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing--the seventh day. Then on the eighth day he must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him because he sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day he is to consecrate his head.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 8:6-14 "Take the Levites from among the other Israelites and make them ceremonially clean. To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing on them; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves. Have them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil; then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering. Bring the Levites to the front of the Tent of Meeting and assemble the whole Israelite community. You are to bring the Levites before HaShem, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them. Aaron is to present the Levites before HaShem as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the work of HaShem. "After the Levites lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, use the one for a sin offering to HaShem and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites. Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering to HaShem. In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 8:21 Of all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons to do the work at the Tent of Meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to make atonement for them so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary." Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites just as HaShem commanded Moses. The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before HaShem and made atonement for them to purify them.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 15:22-29 "'Now if you unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands HaShem gave Moses-- Any of HaShem’s commands to you through him, from the day HaShem gave them and continuing through the generations to come-- And if this is done unintentionally without the community being aware of it, then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an aroma pleasing to HaShem, along with its prescribed grain offering and drink offering, and a male goat for a sin offering. The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven, for it was not intentional and they have brought to HaShem for their wrong an offering made by fire and a sin offering. The whole Israelite community and the aliens living among them will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong. "'But if just one person sins unintentionally, he must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering. The priest is to make atonement before HaShem for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven. One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether he is a native-born Israelite or an alien.
Incense for atonement:
Bamidbar (Numbers) 16:47 Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put incense in it, along with fire from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from HaShem; the plague has started." So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them.
Atonement made by killing the wicked!
Bamidbar (Numbers) 25:10-13 HaShem said to Moses, "Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them. Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites."
Bamidbar (Numbers) 28:26-30 "'On the day of firstfruits, when you present to HaShem an offering of new grain during the Feast of Weeks, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. Present a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old as an aroma pleasing to HaShem. With each bull there is to be a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths; And with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth. Include one male goat to make atonement for you.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 29:1-5 "'On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets. As an aroma pleasing to HaShem, prepare a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect. With the bull prepare a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths; And with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth. Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.
Gold for atonement:
Bamidbar (Numbers) 31:48-52 Then the officers who were over the units of the army--the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds--went to Moses And said to him, "Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing. So we have brought as an offering to HaShem the gold articles each of us acquired--armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces--to make atonement for ourselves before HaShem." Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted from them the gold--all the crafted articles. All the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds that Moses and Eleazar presented as a gift to HaShem weighed 16,750 shekels.
The wicked as atonement for Israel:
II Shmuel (Samuel) 21:2-6 The king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to [spare] them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.) David asked the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? How shall I make amends so that you will bless HaShem’s inheritance?" The Gibeonites answered him, "We have no right to demand silver or gold from Saul or his family, nor do we have the right to put anyone in Israel to death." "What do you want me to do for you?" David asked. They answered the king, "As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel, Let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and exposed before HaShem at Gibeah of Saul--the HaShem's chosen one." So the king said, "I will give them to you."
I Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles) 6:49 But Aaron and his descendants were the ones who presented offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense in connection with all that was done in the Most Holy Place, making atonement for Israel, in accordance with all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.
II Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles) 29:23-24 The goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them. The priests then slaughtered the goats and presented their blood on the altar for a sin offering to atone for all Israel, because the king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.
Ezra-Nechemiah (Nehemiah) 10:28-33 "The rest of the people--priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants and all who separated themselves from the neighboring peoples for the sake of the Law of God, together with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand-- All these now join their brothers the nobles, and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of HaShem our HaShem "We promise not to give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or take their daughters for our sons. "When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise or grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will forgo working the land and will cancel all debts. "We assume the responsibility for carrying out the commands to give a third of a shekel each year for the service of the house of our God: For the bread set out on the table; for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings; for the offerings on the Sabbaths, New Moon festivals and appointed feasts; for the holy offerings; for sin offerings to make atonement for Israel; and for all the duties of the house of our God.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 35:33 "'Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
Atonement for death:
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 28:16-22 So this is what the Sovereign HaShem says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through." The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror. The bed is too short to stretch out on, the blanket too narrow to wrap around you. HaShem will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon--to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task. Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier; the HaShem, HaShem Almighty, has told me of the destruction decreed against the whole land.
Tehillim (Psalms) 78:37-38 Their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.
Yirimiyah (Jeremiah) 18:19-23 Listen to me, HaShem; hear what my accusers are saying! Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember that I stood before you and spoke in their behalf to turn your wrath away from them. So give their children over to famine; hand them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives be made childless and widows; let their men be put to death, their young men slain by the sword in battle. Let a cry be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring invaders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet. But you know, HaShem, all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their crimes or blot out their sins from your sight. Let them be overthrown before you; deal with them in the time of your anger.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 21:1-9 If a man is found slain, lying in a field in the land HaShem your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, Your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke And lead her down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer's neck. The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for HaShem your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of HaShem and to decide all cases of dispute and assault. Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, And they shall declare: "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, HaShem, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man." And the bloodshed will be atoned for. So you will purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of HaShem.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 32:43 Rejoice, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people.
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 16:59-63 "'This is what the Sovereign HaShem says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant. Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both those who are older than you and those who are younger. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on the basis of my covenant with you. So I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am HaShem. Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign HaShem.'"
Mishlei (Proverbs) 16:14 A king's wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man will appease it.
II Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles) 30:18-19 Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May HaShem, who is good, pardon everyone Who sets his heart on seeking God--HaShem, the God of his fathers--even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary."
Atonement as bitumin or pitch:
Bereshit (Genesis) 6:14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
Tehillim (Psalms) 65:2-3 O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions.
Tehillim (Psalms) 79:9 Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name's sake.
Atonement for the Altar?
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 43:18-20 Then he said to me, "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign HaShem says: These will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings and sprinkling blood upon the altar when it is built: You are to give a young bull as a sin offering to the priests, who are Levites, of the family of Zadok, who come near to minister before me, declares the Sovereign HaShem. You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the upper ledge and all around the rim, and so purify the altar and make atonement for it.
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 43:25-26 "For seven days you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect. For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it.
No atonement:
I Shmuel (Samuel) 3:12-14 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family--from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them. Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, 'The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.'"
Mishlei (Proverbs) 16:6 Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of HaShem a man avoids evil.
Atonement with a coal:
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 6:4-7 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, HaShem Almighty." Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 22:8-14 The defenses of Judah are stripped away. And you looked in that day to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest; You saw that the City of David had many breaches in its defenses; you stored up water in the Lower Pool. You counted the buildings in Jerusalem and tore down houses to strengthen the wall. You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago. The HaShem, HaShem Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! "Let us eat and drink," you say, "for tomorrow we die!" HaShem Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: "Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for," says the HaShem, HaShem Almighty.
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 27:6-9 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit. Has [HaShem] struck her as he struck down those who struck her? Has she been killed as those were killed who killed her? By warfare and exile you contend with her--with his fierce blast he drives her out, as on a day the east wind blows. By this, then, will Jacob's guilt be atoned for, and this will be the full fruitage of the removal of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones to be like chalk stones crushed to pieces, no Asherah poles or incense altars will be left standing.
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 47:11 Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 6:30 But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place must not be eaten; it must be burned.
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 45:13-20 "'This is the special gift you are to offer: a sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat and a sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley. The prescribed portion of oil, measured by the bath, is a tenth of a bath from each cor (which consists of ten baths or one homer, for ten baths are equivalent to a homer). Also one sheep is to be taken from every flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These will be used for the grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the people, declares the Sovereign HaShem. All the people of the land will participate in this special gift for the use of the prince in Israel. It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New Moons and the Sabbaths--at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel. "'This is what the Sovereign HaShem says: In the first month on the first day you are to take a young bull without defect and purify the sanctuary. The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the upper ledge of the altar and on the gateposts of the inner court. You are to do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance; so you are to make atonement for the temple.
Atonement for the Altar:
Vayikra (Leviticus) 8:14-15 He then presented the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. Moses slaughtered the bull and took some of the blood, and with his finger he put it on all the horns of the altar to purify the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. So he consecrated it to make atonement for it.
Daniel 9:24 "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:20-22 "When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites--all their sins--and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert.
These are ALL of the references that use `kaphar' or `kippurim'.
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Daniel 9:19-27 HaShem, listen! HaShem, forgive! HaShem, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name." While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to HaShem my God for his holy hill-- While I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision: "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
References to ATONEMENT in the Nazarean Codicil:
Romans 3:25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--
The Greek word ‘hilasterion’ is normalyy used for atonement, as we can see from Strong’s:
2435 hilasterion, hil-as-tay'-ree-on; neut. of a der. of 2433; an expiatory (place or thing), i.e. (concr.) an atoning victim, or (spec.) the lid of the Ark (in the Temple):-mercyseat, propitiation.
---------------- Dictionary Trace ---------------------- 2433 hilaskomai, hil-as'-kom-ahee; mid. from the same as 2436; to conciliate, i.e. (trans.) to atone for (sin), or (intrans.) be propitious:-be merciful, make reconciliation for.
Romans 3:21-26 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Yeshua Mashiach to all who believe. There is no difference, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, And are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Mashiach Yeshua. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Yeshua.
Lets take a very mystical look at atonement. The easiest way to gain this understanding is by looking at the High Priests service on Yom Kippur.
The actions of the High Priest mimic the actions of the act of marriage. The Holy Place and The Holy of holy mimic the vagina and uterus.
The table of showbread represents the pleasure of the the marriage act. The incense represents the semen and the blood represents the sperm.
When the High Priest performs his service it is very much like the act. So much so that just as the act of marriage provides atonement for the sins of the wife so the actions of the High Priest provide atonement for the sins of ‘The Bride’, Israel.
The following passage indicates that the blood is the blood of Mashiach and Israel. It is the source of life:
Bereans (Hebrews) 9:1-14 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, Which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now. When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings--external regulations applying until the time of the new order. When Mashiach came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Mashiach, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
The result of the High Priest’s service is the creation of a new creature – Israel without sin. The result of the act of marriage is the creation of a new soul who likewise is without sin.
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There is a second Greek word, used in the Nazarean Codicil, which is also translated as ‘atonement’. Here is what Strong’s teaches us about this word:
2433 hilaskomai, hil-as'-kom-ahee; mid. from the same as 2436; to conciliate, i.e. (trans.) to atone for (sin), or (intrans.) be propitious:-be merciful, make reconciliation for.
------------------ Dictionary Trace -------------------- 2436 hileos, hil'-eh-oce; perh. from the alt. form of 138; cheerful (as attractive), i.e. propitious; adv. (by Hebr.) God be gracious!, i.e. (in averting some calamity) far be it:-be it far, merciful.
Bereans (Hebrews) 2:14-18 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil-- And free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers 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. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Luqas (Luke) 18:9-14 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Yeshua told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' "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.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
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There is a third Greek word, used in the Nazarean Codicil, which is also translated as ‘atonement’. Here is what Strong’s teaches us about this word:
2643 katallage, kat-al-lag-ay'; from 2644; exchange (fig. adjustment), i.e. restoration to (the divine) favor:-atonement, reconciliation (-ing).
------------------- Dictionary Trace --------------
2644 katallasso, kat-al-las'-so; from 2596 and 236; to change mutually, i.e. (fig.) to compound a difference:-reconcile.
Romans 5:7-11 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Mashiach died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Yeshua Mashiach, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
II Corinthians 5:14-21 For Mashiach's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Mashiach in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Mashiach, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Mashiach and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: That God was reconciling the world to himself in Mashiach, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Mashiach's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Mashiach's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Romans 11:13-25 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry In the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, Do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
This study was written by
Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David
(Greg Killian).
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Rabbi Dr. Greg Killian
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