Original Word: ἱλάσκομαι
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: hilaskomai
Pronunciation: hee-LAS-ko-my
Phonetic Spelling: (hil-as'-kom-ahee)
KJV: be merciful, make reconciliation for
NASB: make propitiation, merciful
Word Origin: [middle voice from perhaps the alternate form of G138 (αἱρέομαι - choose)]

1. to conciliate
2. (transitively) to atone for (sin)
3. (intransitively) be propitious

be merciful, make reconciliation for.

Middle voice from the same as hileos; to conciliate, i.e. (transitively) to atone for (sin), or (intransitively) be propitious -- be merciful, make reconciliation for.

see GREEK hileos

Cognate: 2433 hiláskomai (akin to 2434 /hilasmós, "propitiation, appeasement/satisfaction of divine wrath on sin") – properly, to extend propitiation, showing mercy by satisfying (literally, propitiating) the wrath of God on sin; "to conciliate, appease, propitiate (so the LXX; see also Thackeray, Gr., 270f quoting from inscriptions and Deiss., BS, 224f)" (Abbott-Smith). See 2434 /hilasmos ("propitiation").

Word Origin
from the same as hileós
Definition
to be propitious, make propitiation for
NASB Translation
make propitiation (1), merciful (1).

STRONGS NT 2433: ἱλάσκομαι

ἱλάσκομαι; (see below); in classical Greek the middle of an act. ἱλάσκω (to render propitious, appease) never met with;

1. to render propitious to oneself, to appease, conciliate to oneself (from ἴλαος gracious, gentle); from Homer down; mostly with the accusative of a person, as Θεόν, Ἀθηνην, etc. (τόν Θεόν ἱλάσασθαι, Josephus, Antiquities 6, 6, 5); very rarely with the accusative of the thing, as τήν ὀργήν, Plutarch, Cat. min. 61 (with which cf. ἐξιλάσκεσθαι θυμόν, Proverbs 16:14 the Sept.). In Biblical Greek used passively, to become propitious, be placated or appeased; in 1 aorist imperative ἱλάσθητι, be propitious, be gracious, be merciful (in secular authors ἱληθι and Doric, ἵλαθι, which the gramm. regard as the present of an unused verb ἵλημι, to be propitious; cf. Alexander Buttmann (1873) Ausf. Sp. ii., p. 206; Kühner, § 343, i., p. 839; Passow, (or Liddell and Scott, or Veitch) under the word ἵλημι), with the dative of the thing or the person: Luke 18:13 (ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις, Psalm 78:9 (); Psalm 87:38 (); τῇ ἁμαρτία, Psalm 24:11 (); ἱλάσθη ὁ κύριος περί τῆς κακίας, Exodus 32:14 Alex.; ἱλασθήσεται κυρίου τῷ δούλῳ σου, 2 Kings 5:18).

2. by an Alexandrian usage, to expiate, make propitiation for (as ἐξιλάσκεσθαι in the O. T.): τάς ἁμαριτας, Hebrews 2:17 (ἡμῶν τάς ψυχάς, Philo, alleg. leg. 3, 61). (Cf. Kurtz, Commentary on Hebrews, at the passage cited; Winer's Grammar, 227 (213); Westcott, Epistles of St. John, p. 83f.)

Scope of the Term

Strong’s Greek 2433 expresses the idea of turning away divine wrath by means of an accepted satisfaction, and thereby securing God’s favorable regard. Because Scripture never portrays God as capricious, propitiation is not a change in His character but the divinely ordained means by which His unchanging holiness and love meet in the forgiveness of sinners.

Occurrences in the New Testament

1. Luke 18:13 – A lone tax collector pleads, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”. Here the verb gives voice to personal desperation: he does not ask merely for leniency but for the removal of guilt through a God-given sacrifice.
2. Hebrews 2:17 – Jesus “had to be made like His brothers in every way … to make atonement for the sins of the people”. The same verb describes the objective, priestly work of Christ in history.

The two scenes—one private and one cosmic—frame the full range of biblical propitiation: from the whisper of a broken heart to the once-for-all offering of the Son of God.

Old Testament Foundations

• Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16): The high priest sprinkles blood on and before the mercy seat, foreshadowing the ultimate propitiation accomplished by Christ.
• Exodus 32:30-32; Numbers 16:46-48: Moses and Aaron intercede to “make atonement,” revealing that true mediation requires both identification with the people and appeal to divine mercy.
• Psalms of lament (for example, Psalm 79:9) often petition, “Atone for our sins for Your name’s sake,” uniting God’s honor with the removal of guilt.

In the Septuagint, the same verbal root frequently translates the Hebrew kipper, reinforcing the continuity between the Testaments.

The High-Priestly Ministry of Jesus

Hebrews develops the theme in three stages:

1. Identification – “made like His brothers” (Hebrews 2:17): propitiation demands incarnation.
2. Representation – “a merciful and faithful high priest” (Hebrews 2:17): Jesus exercises perfect sympathy without diminishing divine justice.
3. Completion – “once for all” self-offering (Hebrews 9:26-28): unlike Levitical sacrifices, His work never needs repetition.

Related passages amplify the doctrine: Romans 3:25 declares Christ to be the publicly displayed “propitiation through faith in His blood,” while 1 John 2:2 and 1 John 4:10 present Him as the ongoing propitiation for believers and the whole world.

Pastoral and Devotional Implications

• Assurance of Forgiveness: Because propitiation satisfies God’s righteous demands, believers rest on objective ground, not fluctuating feelings (1 John 1:9).
• Humble Approach to God: The tax collector’s prayer models contrition. True worship never presumes upon grace; it leans on the sacrifice God provides.
• Motivation for Holiness: “You were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20). Propitiated people pursue purity, knowing what their redemption cost.
• Bold Intercession: Being reconciled, Christians may now “approach the throne of grace with confidence” (Hebrews 4:16), interceding for others as Christ intercedes for them.

Missional Significance

The gospel message centers on this verb’s reality. Evangelism is not a call to self-improvement but an announcement that God’s wrath has been satisfied in Christ. Cross-cultural mission mirrors the widening scope of propitiation: “for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

Doctrinal Harmony

Propitiation is never in tension with God’s love; it is its expression. At Calvary, righteousness and peace “kiss” (Psalm 85:10). Penal substitution safeguards divine righteousness, while reconciliation highlights restored relationship. Together they display a coherent redemption accomplished by the triune God.

Conclusion

Strong’s 2433 stands at the heart of redemptive history. From a sinner’s whispered plea to the Son’s victorious cry, it proclaims that God Himself provides the atoning sacrifice that His holiness requires and His love desires, inviting every repentant heart into the joy of sins forgiven and fellowship restored.

ιλάσεται ιλάσεταί ίλασεταί ιλάση ιλάσθη ιλασθήναι ιλασθητι ιλάσθητι ιλάσθητί ἱλάσθητί ιλασκεσθαι ιλάσκεσθαι ἱλάσκεσθαι hilaskesthai hiláskesthai hilastheti hilasthēti hilásthetí hilásthētí ilaskesthai ilastheti ilasthētiInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts