II. THE ἱλάσ oµα WORD-GROUP IN NON-BIBLICAL GREEK
I. INTRODUCTION
WE MEET THE VERB ἱλάσ
oµα
‘to propitiate’ twice in the New Testament, namely in the prayer of the publican ‘O God, be propitiated for me, the sinner’ (Lk. 18: 13), and in the statement in Hebrews that Jesus was a High Priest ‘to make propitiation for the sins of the people’ (Heb. 2: 17). The noun ἱλασµός, ‘propitiation’, is found in the expression ‘propitiation for our sins’ which occurs twice in the First Epistle of St. John (I Jn. 2: 2; 4: 10), while in Romans 3: 25 God is said to have set forth Christ as ἱλαστήρoν through faith ‘in his blood’, and the same word occurs in Hebrews 9: 5 where it means ‘the mercy-seat’. Then there is the adjective ἴλεως, which we find in the idiomatic expression ‘Be it far from thee’ (Mt. 16: 22), and also in the quotation ‘I will be propitious with reference to their sins’ (Heb. 8: 12, quoting from Je. 31: 34).
oµα ‘to propitiate’ twice in the New Testament, namely in the prayer of the publican ‘O God, be propitiated for me, the sinner’ (Lk. 18: 13), and in the statement in Hebrews that Jesus was a High Priest ‘to make propitiation for the sins of the people’ (Heb. 2: 17). The noun ἱλασµός, ‘propitiation’, is found in the expression ‘propitiation for our sins’ which occurs twice in the First Epistle of St. John (I Jn. 2: 2; 4: 10), while in Romans 3: 25 God is said to have set forth Christ as ἱλαστήρoν through faith ‘in his blood’, and the same word occurs in Hebrews 9: 5 where it means ‘the mercy-seat’. Then there is the adjective ἴλεως, which we find in the idiomatic expression ‘Be it far from thee’ (Mt. 16: 22), and also in the quotation ‘I will be propitious with reference to their sins’ (Heb. 8: 12, quoting from Je. 31: 34).This is not a large number of passages, and some even of these (e.g. Mt. 16: 22 and Heb. 9: 5) do not refer to the atonement. Again, while Luke 18: 13 and Hebrews 8: 12 may teach us something about the way God and man are reconciled, they were not originally spoken with specific reference to Calvary. We are left, then, with but four undisputed references. But we should not, on that account, dismiss the concept as unimportant, for the idea is often present where this particular terminology is absent, for example in passages dealing with the wrath of God. So persuasive is this line of reasoning that S. R. Driver can regard propitiation as one of the three main categories used in the New Testament to interpret the death of Christ.266
ἴλεως is cognate with ἱλαρός, giving the original meaning of joyous’, ‘gay’. Thus Büchsel draws attention to the statement in Plato that wine πoεĩ ... ἴλεων, and to the frequent conjunction with εὐµενής.267 From this is derived the verb ἱλάσoµα with the significance ‘to make joyous or gracious’, and hence, ‘to appease, propitiate’. This became the characteristic meaning of the verb and governed the usage of the related words, so that the whole word-group came to refer to propitiation. The noun ἱλασµός then conveyed the idea ‘that which makes propitiation’, and the adjective ἱλαστήρoς meant ‘propitiatory’. Other words from this root occur, but apart from ἐξλάσoµα, which is found frequently in the LXX, none of them greatly concerns us.
εĩ ... ἴλεων, and to the frequent conjunction with εὐµενής.267 From this is derived the verb ἱλάσoµα with the significance ‘to make joyous or gracious’, and hence, ‘to appease, propitiate’. This became the characteristic meaning of the verb and governed the usage of the related words, so that the whole word-group came to refer to propitiation. The noun ἱλασµός then conveyed the idea ‘that which makes propitiation’, and the adjective ἱλαστήρoς meant ‘propitiatory’. Other words from this root occur, but apart from ἐξλάσoµα, which is found frequently in the LXX, none of them greatly concerns us.