There is hardly a student of Scripture worthy of the name who does not know that the

Hebrew word translated atonement means "to cover". It may therefore be deemed a

waste of time to ask the question again. Yet when we say "to cover", are we sure that we

all mean the same thing? "To cover" may mean "to hide", or "to conceal"; it also may

mean "to shelter or protect". It further means "to be sufficient for", "to comprehend"

and "to include", "to compensate for damage done". Which of these meanings do we

intend when we say that atonement means "to cover"? That question can only be

answered by an examination of the original words and their varied usage.

Every occurrence of the word atonement in the O.T. is a translation of kaphar, or

one of its derivatives. Both the noun and the verb occur together for the first time in

Gen. 6: 14, where the words are used in a non-doctrinal sense, and are therefore all the

more valuable.

The LXX renders the words in question: "asphaltoseis auten te asphalto", which

words are easily recognized as our English asphalt or bitumen. We need be no students

of divinity to understand why Noah was instructed to use "pitch"; it was simply to keep

the water out. Another non-doctrinal use of the word is found in I Sam. 6: 18,

where it is translated  "village",  and answers to the Arabic  khephre,  which is

observable in Caper-naum, and Chephar-haammonai in Josh. 18: 24. Yet another use

of the word is found in Song of Sol. 1: 14, and 4: 13, where kopher is translated

"camphire". This is an odoriferous shrub named henna in almost universal use in Egypt

and many parts of the East for "staining" the skin and the nails. We have therefore the

idea of protecting from a deluge, as in the pitch used on the ark, a shelter or home as in

the village, and a stain as in the henna plant.

We now come nearer to the doctrinal meaning of the word by noticing the way in

which kopher is used in connection with the law. We have "a sum of money" laid upon a

man for the ransom of his life (Exod. 21: 30); a "ransom" described as "atonement

money" (Exod. 30: 12, 16); a "satisfaction" for a life forfeited (Numb. 35: 31, 32);

a "bribe" (I Sam. 12: 3 and Amos 5: 12). In none of these passages is there the idea of

"covering" in the sense of concealing, but "covering" in the sense of compensating for

damage done, and in the sense of a "bribe" covering the eyes of the judge as Deut. 16:

19 declares: "for the gift doth blind the eyes." The plural form kippurim is translated

atonement or atonements in all passages, and for the sake of exactness, users of

Young's Analytical Concordance should note that the second entry in some editions

(Exod. 30: 10) is inserted in error; there are only eight references. To complete the

score of translations we must add:--