In Hebrews 2:17, the unknown author says that Jesus identified with his people as their high priest, “to make propitiation” for their sins. The Greek verb here (hilaskomai), which many English versions translate as “to make propitiation,” brings to the New Testament an interesting biblical background. That background comes from the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament that was the first “Bible” of the early church. Propitiation = atonement The verb hilaskomai, which is translated “to make propitiation” in Hebrews 2:17, appears 12 times in the Septuagint (Hatch-Redpath, 684). Three of those … [Read more...]