ἱλαστήριος, -a, -ov, (ἱλάσκομαι, q. V.), relaling to appeasing or expiating, having placating or expiating force, expiatory: μνῆμα ἱλαστήριον, a monument built to propitiate God, Joseph. antt. 16, 7, 1; ἱλαστήριος θάνατος, 4 Mace. xvii. 22; χεῖρας ixernpious, εἰ βούλει δὲ ἵλαστηpious, ἐκτείνας θεῷ, Niceph. in act. SS. ed. Mai, vol. v. p- 335,17. Neut. τὸ ἱλαστήριον, as subst., a means a7 appeasing or expiating, a propitiation, (Germ. Verséhnungs- oder Siihnmittel); cf. W. 96 (91); [592 (551)]. So used of 1. the well-known cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of holies, which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the annual day of atonement (this rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they had merited by their sins, was offered to God in the blood as the life of the victim, and that God by this ceremony was appeased and their sins were expiated); hence the lid of expiation, the propitiatory, Vulg. propitiatorium; Luth. Gnadenstuhl, [A. V. mercy-seat]: Heb. ix. 5 (Sept. Ex. xxv. 18 sqq.; Lev. xvi. 2, ete.; more fully ἱλαστήριον ἐπίθεμα. Ex. xxv. 17; xxxvili. (xxxvii.) 7 (6), for the Hebr. Dd, fr. 75D to cover, sc. sins, i.e. to pardon). Theodoret, Theophyl., Oecum., Luther, Grotius, Tholuck, Wilke, Philippi, Umbreit, [Cremer (4te Aufl.)] and others give this meaning to the word also in Ro. iii. 25, viz. that Christ, besprinkled with his own blood, was truly that which the cover or ‘mercy-seat’ had been ty pically, i. 6. the sign and pledge of expiation; but in opp. to this interpretation see Fritzsche, Meyer, Van Hengel, [Godet, Oltramare] and others ad loc. a an expiatory sacrifice; a piacular victim (Vulg. propitiatio): Ro. iii. 25 (after the analogy of the words χαριστήρια sacrifices expressive of gratitude, thank-offerings, σωτήρια sacrifices for safety obtained. On the other hand, in Dion Chrys. or. 11, 121, p. 355 ed. Reiske, the reference is not to a sacrifice but toa monument, as the preceding words show: καταλείψειν yap αὐτοὺς ἀνάθημα κάλλιστον καὶ μέγιστον τῇ Αθηνᾷ καὶ ἐπιγράψειν, ἱλαστήριον ᾿Αχαιοὶ τῇ Ἰλιάδι). [See the full discussion of the word in Dr. Jas. Morison, Crit. Exposition of the Third Chap. of the Ep. to the Rom. pp. 281-303.]

ἱλαστήριον hilastērion 2x

the cover of the ark of the covenant, the mercy-seat, the place of propitiation, Rom. 3:25; Heb. 9:5*

† ἱλαστήριος, -α, -ον

(< ἱλάσκομαι), [in LXX: IV Mac 17:22; neut., Ex 25:16(17) ff. 31:7 35:12 38:5 (37:6) ff., Le 16:2, 13 ff. Nu 7:89 (כַּפֹּרֶת), Ez 43:14, 17, 20 (עֲזָרָה) Am 9:1 (on the original here, v. Deiss., BS, 127)*;]

propitiatory (μνῆμα, FlJ, Ant., xvi, 7, 1; θάνατος, II Mac, l.c.): of Christ, Ro 3:25; as subst., το ἱ. (sc. ἐπίθεμα, Ex 25:16, 17, where the word first occurs in LXX and where ἱ. ἐ. = כַּפֹּרֶת (q.v. in BDB, s.v.), elsewhere rendered simply τὸ ἱ; cf. Deiss., 124 ff.; Westc., He., in l.), He 9:5.†

ἱλαστήριος. The meaning of ἱλαστήριον in the important passage Rom 325 has recently been fully discussed by Deissmann in BS p. 124 ff. and ZNTW iv. (1903) p- 193 ff., where he comes to the conclusion that the word must be understood not as a ferm. techn. for the NBD or cover (of the ark of the covenant), but as an adj. = ‘‘of use for propitiation,’’ on the analogy of such word-formations as σωτήριον or χαριστήριον with reference to. votive offerings. And in support of this view, he is able to appeal, not only as Lightfoot had already done (Notes on Epistles of St. Paul, p. 271), to such a passage as Dion Chrys. Or. xi. p. 355 ed. Reiske : καταλείWew γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἀνάθημα κάλλιστον καὶ μέγιστον τῇ ᾿Αθηνᾷ καὶ ἐπιγράψειν᾽ ἱλαστήριον ᾿Αχαιὸν τῇ ᾿Αθηνᾷ τῇ ᾿Ιλιάδι, but to two interesting exx. of the word from the inscrr. of Cos. The first, Cos 81, is found on a votive-gift which the people of Cos erected as a ἱλαστήριον for the welfare of the Emperor Augustus —6 δᾶμος ὑπὲρ (τὴᾶς Αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος, θεοῦ υἱοῦ, Σεβαστοῦ σωτηρίας θεοῖς ἱλαστήριον. The second, Cos 347, which also belongs to the Imperial period, runs—6 δᾶμος ὁ ᾿Αλεντίων Σε]βασίτ]ῷ Διὰ Σ[τ]ρατίῳ ἱλαστήριον, δαμαρχεῦντος Τ'αΐου Νωρβανοῦ Μοσχίωνοϊς φι]λοκαίσαρος. Nor is this all, but, as he points out, the adjectival use of ἱλαστήριος is now definitely established by the fragment of a philosophical work concernthe gods, P Fay 337! 3 (ii/A.D.) tots θεοῖς εἷἱἷλαστη[ρίο]υς (for form cf. εἱλαστήριον Rom 3*°B*D*) θυσίας ἀξιω[θέ ?]vTes ἐπιτελεῖσθαι : cf. 4 Macc 1η23 διὰ .. τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου θανάτου, θανάτου αὐτῶν (see SH, p. 88). The theological consequences of the above iaterpretation cannot be discussed here, but reference may be made, in addition to the commentators, to an art. by C. Bruston in ZV7 IV vii. (1906), p. 77 ff. It should be added, however, that, whatever view is taken of Rom 325, in Heb 9°, the only other place where the word occursin the NT, ἱλαστήριον must mean ‘‘ place of propitiation” or ‘‘ mercy-seat,” as in the LXX of the Pentateuch.

ἱλαστήριος (hilastērios) — propitiation. ἱλᾰσ-τήριος, α, ον (ος, ον [Refs 2nd c.AD+], propitiatory, offered in propitiation, μνῆμα [LXX+1st c.AD+]; θυσίαι [Refs]

II. ἱλαστήριον ἐπίθεμα, the mercy-seat, covering of the ark in the Holy of Holies, [LXX] alone as substantive,[LXX+NT+1st c.AD+]

II.2. (i.e. ἀνάθημα) propitiatory gift or offering, [NT]; of a monument, [Refs]

II.3. monastery, Men.Prot.p.15 [Refs 4th c.BC+]