Encyclopedia entry
Mercy-seat
(Heb. kapporeth, a “covering;” LXX. and N.T., hilasterion; Vulg., propitiatorium), the covering or lid of the ark of the covenant (q.v.). It was of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, or perhaps rather a plate of solid gold, 2 1/2 cubits long and 1 1/2 broad (Ex. 25:17; 30:6; 31:7). It is compared to the throne of grace (Heb. 9:5; Eph. 2:6). The holy of holies is called the “place of the mercy-seat” (1 Chr. 28:11: Lev. 16:2).
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It has been conjectured that the censer (thumiaterion, meaning “anything having regard to or employed in the burning of incense”) mentioned in Heb. 9:4 was the “mercy-seat,” at which the incense was burned by the high priest on the great day of atonement, and upon or toward which the blood of the goat was sprinkled (Lev. 16:11-16; comp. Num. 7:89 and Ex. 25:22).
In the Bible
23
Verses where Mercy-seat is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Chronicles 28:11
Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, storehouses, upper rooms, inner rooms, and the room for the mercy seat.
- Exodus 25:17
And you are to construct a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
- Exodus 25:18
Make two cherubim of hammered gold at the ends of the mercy seat,
- Exodus 25:19
one cherub on one end and one on the other, all made from one piece of gold.
- Exodus 25:20
And the cherubim are to have wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the mercy seat.
- Exodus 25:21
Set the mercy seat atop the ark and put the Testimony that I will give you into the ark.
+17 more verses naming Mercy-seat.
Scripture on Mercy-seat
13
Sources · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.