NOTES on the Greek word hilasmos in 1 John
The noun hilasmos occurs only in 1 John "He is the atoning sacrifice [hilasmos] for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (2:2). "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice [hilasmos] for our sins" (4:10). Note again the NIV footnote in both of these verses, that Jesus is "the one who turns aside God's wrath." The decision whether to translate hilasmos by "expiation" (RSV note that the NRSV uses "atoning sacrifice") or "propitiation" must be decided against the background of the considerations already discussed (see OT section below). But as with other OT and NT passages concerning reconciliation, it is not a matter of applying some impersonal antidote. The question at issue is our personal relationship with God and that which hinders this relationship must be dealt with for God's part just as much as for ours (cf. 1 John 1:5 - 10; 4:7 - 10, 13 – 21).
In 1 John 1, the author outlines what it is that makes atonement for our sins - the death of Christ: "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" (1:7). Jesus' death (referred to by the word "blood") is the basis on which we are purified whenever we confess our sins: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1:9). John. does not set out the need for a hilasmos. For him it is self-evident in the light of the character of God and the coming judgment (4:17). Note also that atonement is not regarded as something that we do to God, but rather as an expression of God's love for us (4:10).
The basic idea behind hilasmos is a human effort to dispose in one's favor the awful and frequently calamitous power of the dead, of demons, and of the gods, and to strengthen one's own power by the assistance of supernatural forces. This presupposes some knowledge of the threat posed to human existence by the envy, punishment, and baseless anger of the all-powerful gods. The propitiation of deities is accomplished by means of cultic acts, including human or animal sacrifice, purificatory rites, prayers, and dances.
In later, more enlightened times the power of the gods lost some of its terror, so that the significance of propitiatory rites diminished. In Stoicism cultic rites are replaced by the moral person, who keeps in line with the will of the deity through ethical behavior.
OT
The Israelite concept of propitiation can therefore be understood only against the background of the OT doctrine of sin ( → adikia, 94). An offense (even if unwitting) against Yahweh's covenant laws gives rise to objective guilt (cf. 1 Sam 14:2 - 44), which sets in motion a destructive force whose disastrous effects fall of necessity as punishment on the miscreant and his or her affairs. This chain of sin and disaster can be halted only by Yahweh, who diverts the evil effect of a misdeed from the doer to an animal, which dies in his place - the classic example being the ritual of the scapegoat given to Azazel on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:20 - 22).
In this act, the subject who brings about the atonement is Yahweh. The priests function merely as his representatives in the cultic action (cf. Exod. 28:38; Num 18:22 - 23), while the wrongdoer or the sinful people are the recipients of the atonement. According to the OT, life is carried in the blood, and thus blood acts as the means of atonement (Lev. 17:11; cf. 17:14; Gen. 9:4; Deut. 12:23; see below).
These notes are from New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology
Copyright © 2000 by The Zondervan Corporation. - covering the Greek word hilasmos and others.
The noun hilasmos occurs only in 1 John "He is the atoning sacrifice [hilasmos] for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (2:2). "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice [hilasmos] for our sins" (4:10). Note again the NIV footnote in both of these verses, that Jesus is "the one who turns aside God's wrath." The decision whether to translate hilasmos by "expiation" (RSV note that the NRSV uses "atoning sacrifice") or "propitiation" must be decided against the background of the considerations already discussed (see OT section below). But as with other OT and NT passages concerning reconciliation, it is not a matter of applying some impersonal antidote. The question at issue is our personal relationship with God and that which hinders this relationship must be dealt with for God's part just as much as for ours (cf. 1 John 1:5 - 10; 4:7 - 10, 13 – 21).
In 1 John 1, the author outlines what it is that makes atonement for our sins - the death of Christ: "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" (1:7). Jesus' death (referred to by the word "blood") is the basis on which we are purified whenever we confess our sins: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1:9). John. does not set out the need for a hilasmos. For him it is self-evident in the light of the character of God and the coming judgment (4:17). Note also that atonement is not regarded as something that we do to God, but rather as an expression of God's love for us (4:10).
The basic idea behind hilasmos is a human effort to dispose in one's favor the awful and frequently calamitous power of the dead, of demons, and of the gods, and to strengthen one's own power by the assistance of supernatural forces. This presupposes some knowledge of the threat posed to human existence by the envy, punishment, and baseless anger of the all-powerful gods. The propitiation of deities is accomplished by means of cultic acts, including human or animal sacrifice, purificatory rites, prayers, and dances.
In later, more enlightened times the power of the gods lost some of its terror, so that the significance of propitiatory rites diminished. In Stoicism cultic rites are replaced by the moral person, who keeps in line with the will of the deity through ethical behavior.
OT
The Israelite concept of propitiation can therefore be understood only against the background of the OT doctrine of sin ( → adikia, 94). An offense (even if unwitting) against Yahweh's covenant laws gives rise to objective guilt (cf. 1 Sam 14:2 - 44), which sets in motion a destructive force whose disastrous effects fall of necessity as punishment on the miscreant and his or her affairs. This chain of sin and disaster can be halted only by Yahweh, who diverts the evil effect of a misdeed from the doer to an animal, which dies in his place - the classic example being the ritual of the scapegoat given to Azazel on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:20 - 22).
In this act, the subject who brings about the atonement is Yahweh. The priests function merely as his representatives in the cultic action (cf. Exod. 28:38; Num 18:22 - 23), while the wrongdoer or the sinful people are the recipients of the atonement. According to the OT, life is carried in the blood, and thus blood acts as the means of atonement (Lev. 17:11; cf. 17:14; Gen. 9:4; Deut. 12:23; see below).
These notes are from New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology
Copyright © 2000 by The Zondervan Corporation. - covering the Greek word hilasmos and others.
- ἱλάσκομαι (hilaskomai), propitiate, expiate, conciliate, make gracious, be gracious (G2661);
- ἵλεως (hileōs), gracious, merciful (G2664);
- ἱλασμός (hilasmos), propitiation, propitiatory sacrifice (G2662);
- ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion), that which expiates or propitiates, means of propitiation, atonement cover (G2663).
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