Daily Bread - Jan 10, 2007

Leviticus 16:16 - "And, thus, He shall purge the sanctuary from the sins of the sons of Israel. From their pollution and rebellion unto all their sins and so shall he do for the Tent of Meeting that dwells in the midst of their impurities."

The common translation for 'kipper' is 'atone' or 'expiate.' However, there is much evidence that 'kipper,' in many cases, means purify. In poetry, its parallel synonym is usually 'macha,' 'wipe' (Jer 18:23) or 'hesir,' 'remove' (Isa 27:9) which suggests that 'kipper' means purge (The Anchor Bible Leviticus 1-16, Jacob Milgrom, Nov 1991).

In Ezekiel 43:20 and 26, it is used as a synonym for 'taher' which means to purify. Additionally, the Hebrew root word 'kapar' corresponds to the Akkadian word 'kaparu,' which means 'rub' or 'smear' and the Akkadian 'kuppuru' whose Hebrew equivalent is 'kipper' means 'rub' or 'wipe off.' Although we understand from the Epistle to the Hebrews that it was not possible for the blood of bulls and goats on the Day of Atonement to take away sin and purge the worshippers, (Hebrews 10:2-4), yet there was a purifying (Gr. katharoteta) of the flesh (Hebrews 9:13).

With respect to the application here in Leviticus, it would have been essential that the Cover of the Ark - which had been contaminated by the pollution, rebellion, and sins of Israel - be purified so that YHWH would be able to remain in the midst of Israel. It is of the utmost importance that the dwelling place of YHWH be pure and undefiled - which is the context of Leviticus 10 through 15; therefore, to understand this act of 'kipper' as removing the contamination of sin is in keeping with the purpose of this sacrifice. In fact, the ancient use of the word is associated with a cleaning detergent; thus, we could view the blood of the covenant as a divine detergent designed to remove the stains of sin. If one views this as an expiatory role then the effect of removing the sin is compromised by virtue of the meaning of expiate - which is to nullify the effects of sin. However, the center piece of the Day of Atonement was the purification of the Cover of the Ark. Perhaps this is why Ezra and those who returned from exile kept the Feast of Tabernacles but did not keep the Day of Atonement because there was no Ark of the Covenant (Ezra 3:1-6).

Today, through the blood of Jesus, our sins have been removed and and our iniquities have been purged. He has purified us with His own blood, and if we sin He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all our sins.

Be blessed,

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
abidingplace.org