Reference: Mercy Seat
Fausets
kaporeth Hebrew; hilasteerion, epitheema, Septuagint. The propitiatory, the golden cover of the ark. From the piel conjugation of kaapar, "to cover up," "forgive," or "reconcile," "atone" for offenses. Having a distinct significance and designation of its own; not a mere part of the ark. Placed "above upon the ark" (Ex 25:17-22; 26:34; 30:6; 31:7; 35:12; 37:6). Never called "the cover" (kaporeth) merely of the ark, but made a distinct thing.
The holy of belies is called "the place of the mercy-seat" (1Ch 28:11; Le 16:2), marking that it was not a mere subordinate part of the ark. The kippurim, "atonements," on the day of atonement are inseparably connected with the kaporeth, which was sprinkled with the blood (Le 16:13-15). The same hilasteerion occurs Heb 9:5 "mercy-seat," Ro 3:25 "propitiation." (See ARK.) The atonement was for the breach of the covenant. Appropriately, therefore the mercy-seat covered that covenant written on the two tables of stone inside the ark. God, thus reconciled through the blood sprinkled on the mercy-seat, could speak to His people "from off the mercy-seat that was upon the ark of the testimony" (Nu 7:89; Ps 80:1).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And you shall make a mercy seat (a covering) of pure gold, two cubits and a half long and a cubit and a half wide. And you shall make two cherubim (winged angelic figures) of [solid] hammered gold on the two ends of the mercy seat. read more. Make one cherub on each end, making the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat, on the two ends of it. And the cherubim shall spread out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, facing each other and looking down toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony [the Ten Commandments] that I will give you. There I will meet with you and, from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the Testimony, I will speak intimately with you of all which I will give you in commandment to the Israelites.
And you shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place.
You shall put the altar [of incense] in front and outside of the veil that screens the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony (the Law, the tables of stone), where I will meet with you.
The Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, the mercy seat that is on it, all the furnishings of the tent -- "
The ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the screen;
[Bezalel] made the mercy seat of pure gold, two cubits and a half its length and one cubit and a half its breadth.
The Lord said to Moses, Tell Aaron your brother he must not come at all times into the Holy of Holies within the veil before the mercy seat upon the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.
And put the incense on the fire [in the censer] before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon [the ark of] the Testimony, lest he die. He shall take of the bull's blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the front [the east side] of the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. read more. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering that is for [the sins of] the people and bring its blood within the veil [into the Holy of Holies] and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.
And when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was upon the ark of the Testimony from between the two cherubim; and He spoke to [Moses].
Then David gave Solomon his son the plan of the vestibule of the temple, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner rooms, and of the place for the [ark and its] mercy seat;
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You Who lead Joseph like a flock; You Who sit enthroned upon the cherubim [of the ark of the covenant], shine forth
Whom God put forward [ before the eyes of all] as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received] through faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment.
Above [the ark] and overshadowing the mercy seat were the representations of the cherubim [winged creatures which were the symbols] of glory. We cannot now go into detail about these things.
Hastings
Morish
This was made of pure gold and covered the ark. Two cherubim were also made of pure gold and were of one piece with the mercy seat. The faces were inwards, towards the covenant that was contained in the ark. God said to Moses, "I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony." The place for the mediator to receive divine communications from God, and for the high priest to approach with the blood of atonement, was the mercy seat. It is typical of Christ, the same word being used in the N.T. for the mercy seat in the tabernacle and for the Lord Himself, "whom God hath set forth to be a mercy seat," ??????????. Ro 3:25; Heb 9:5.
Blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat once a year on the day of atonement. This Aaron "offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:" typical of Christ entering into heaven, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Heb 9:7,Heb 9:12. The veil of the temple being rent, God has come out in grace, and man in the person of Christ has gone in, and the Christian is exhorted to come at all times boldly to the throne of grace that he may find grace to help in time of need. Ex 25:17-22; 26:34; 30:6; 31:7; 35:12; 37:6-9; 39:35; 40:20; Le 16:2-15; Nu 7:89; 1Ch 28:11.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And you shall make a mercy seat (a covering) of pure gold, two cubits and a half long and a cubit and a half wide. And you shall make two cherubim (winged angelic figures) of [solid] hammered gold on the two ends of the mercy seat. read more. Make one cherub on each end, making the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat, on the two ends of it. And the cherubim shall spread out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, facing each other and looking down toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony [the Ten Commandments] that I will give you. There I will meet with you and, from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the Testimony, I will speak intimately with you of all which I will give you in commandment to the Israelites.
And you shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place.
You shall put the altar [of incense] in front and outside of the veil that screens the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony (the Law, the tables of stone), where I will meet with you.
The Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, the mercy seat that is on it, all the furnishings of the tent -- "
The ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the screen;
[Bezalel] made the mercy seat of pure gold, two cubits and a half its length and one cubit and a half its breadth. And he made two cherubim of beaten gold; on the two ends of the mercy seat he made them, read more. One cherub at one end and one at the other end; of one piece with the mercy seat he made the cherubim at its two ends. And the cherubim spread out their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces to each other, looking down to the mercy seat.
The ark of the Testimony, its poles, and the mercy seat;
He took the Testimony [the Ten Commandments] and put it into the ark, and set the poles [in the rings] on the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.
The Lord said to Moses, Tell Aaron your brother he must not come at all times into the Holy of Holies within the veil before the mercy seat upon the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat. But Aaron shall come into the holy enclosure in this way: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. read more. He shall put on the holy linen undergarment, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his body, and be girded with the linen girdle or sash, and with the linen turban or miter shall he be attired; these are the holy garments; he shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. He shall take [at the expense] of the congregation of the Israelites two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall present the bull as the sin offering for himself and make atonement for himself and for his house [the other priests]. He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats -- "one lot for the Lord, the other lot for Azazel or removal. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord's lot fell and offer him as a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel or removal shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over him, that he may be let go into the wilderness for Azazel (for dismissal). Aaron shall present the bull as the sin offering for his own sins and shall make atonement for himself and for his house [the other priests], and shall kill the bull as the sin offering for himself. He shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the [bronze] altar before the Lord, and his two hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil [into the Holy of Holies], And put the incense on the fire [in the censer] before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon [the ark of] the Testimony, lest he die. He shall take of the bull's blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the front [the east side] of the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering that is for [the sins of] the people and bring its blood within the veil [into the Holy of Holies] and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.
And when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was upon the ark of the Testimony from between the two cherubim; and He spoke to [Moses].
Whom God put forward [ before the eyes of all] as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received] through faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment.
Above [the ark] and overshadowing the mercy seat were the representations of the cherubim [winged creatures which were the symbols] of glory. We cannot now go into detail about these things.
But into the second [division of the tabernacle] none but the high priest goes, and he only once a year, and never without taking a sacrifice of blood with him, which he offers for himself and for the errors and sins of ignorance and thoughtlessness which the people have committed.
He went once for all into the [Holy of] Holies [of heaven], not by virtue of the blood of goats and calves [by which to make reconciliation between God and man], but His own blood, having found and secured a complete redemption (an everlasting release for us).
Watsons
MERCY SEAT, ??????????, propitiatory. This word is properly an adjective, agreeing with ???????, a lid, understood, which is expressed by the LXX, Ex 25:17. In that version, ?????????? generally answers to the Hebrew ????, from the verb ???, to cover, expiate, and was the lid or covering of the ark of the covenant, made of pure gold, on and before which the high priest was to sprinkle the blood of the expiatory sacrifices on the great day of atonement, and where God promised to meet his people, Ex 25:17,22; 29:42; 30:36; Le 16:2,14. St. Paul, by applying this name to Christ, Ro 3:25, assures us that he is the true mercy seat, the reality of what the ???? represented to the ancient believers; by him our sins are covered or expiated, and through him God communes with us in mercy. The mercy seat also represents our approach to God through Christ; we come to the "throne of grace;" which is only a variation of the term "mercy seat."
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And you shall make a mercy seat (a covering) of pure gold, two cubits and a half long and a cubit and a half wide.
And you shall make a mercy seat (a covering) of pure gold, two cubits and a half long and a cubit and a half wide.
There I will meet with you and, from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the Testimony, I will speak intimately with you of all which I will give you in commandment to the Israelites.
This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you to speak there to you.
You shall beat some of it very small and put some of it before the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you; it shall be to you most holy.
The Lord said to Moses, Tell Aaron your brother he must not come at all times into the Holy of Holies within the veil before the mercy seat upon the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.
He shall take of the bull's blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the front [the east side] of the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
Whom God put forward [ before the eyes of all] as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received] through faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment.