G2434 — ἱλασμός (hilasmos)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2434
Original: ἱλασμός
Transliteration: hilasmos
Pronunciation: hil-as-mos'
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: ἱλάσκομαι (hilaskomai, G2433) — to propitiate, expiate, be merciful
NT Occurrences: 2 (1 John 2:2; 4:10)
First Occurrence: 1 John 2:2 — "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world."
Hapax Legomenon: No (2 occurrences, both in 1 John)

Lexicon Definition¶

ἱλασμός (hil-as-mos'); from ἱλάσκομαι (G2433); the means or act of propitiation, expiation — the provision by which sin is dealt with and wrath averted. The -μός suffix denotes the action or result of the verb, making hilasmos the abstract noun for the propitiatory act or event itself.

Louw-Nida gloss: "the means of forgiveness, expiation."

The word does not appear in the G-prefix lexicon table of the local Strong's database (entry absent), but is attested in the NT text at both occurrences and confirmed via the Greek morphological parser and Louw-Nida mapping.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 40 — Reconciliation, Forgiveness
Subdomain: 40.2 — Forgiveness
Other words in subdomain: ἱλάσκομαι (G2433), ἱλαστήριον (G2435), ἄφεσις (G859), ἀφίημι (G863), χαρίζομαι (G5483), ἐπικαλύπτω (G1943)

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
the propitiation	2	100%

The KJV uniformly renders ἱλασμός as "propitiation" in both occurrences.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 John	2	1.9

Confined entirely to 1 John. The word does not appear elsewhere in the NT. In the LXX, ἱλασμός occurs in Lev 25:9, Num 5:8, Psa 130:4, Dan 9:9, Eze 44:27, and Amo 8:14 — always in atonement/forgiveness contexts.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Christ as the Propitiation for Sin¶

1 John 2:2 — "And he is the propitiation (ἱλασμός) for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world."
1 John 4:10 — "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation (ἱλασμόν) for our sins."

Both occurrences identify Christ himself as the hilasmos. In 2:2 the nominative (ἱλασμός) predicates Christ's identity; in 4:10 the accusative (ἱλασμόν) describes the purpose for which the Son was sent. The first places hilasmos in the context of advocacy and ongoing intercession; the second places it in the context of divine love as the initiating cause.

2. LXX Usage — Atonement/Forgiveness as a State or Event¶

The LXX uses ἱλασμός to translate Hebrew concepts of atonement and forgiveness: - Lev 25:9 (LXX) — "day of atonement" (ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ ἱλασμοῦ), translating H3725 כִּפֻּר (kippur) - Num 5:8 (LXX) — "ram of the atonement" (κριὸς τοῦ ἱλασμοῦ), translating H3725 kippur - Psa 130:4 (LXX 129:4) — "there is forgiveness with thee" (ὁ ἱλασμός ἐστιν), translating H5547 סְלִיחָה (selichah) - Dan 9:9 (LXX) — "mercies and forgivenesses" (ἱλασμοί), translating H5547 selichah

Common Collocations¶

(With only 2 NT verses, co-occurrences reflect the immediate literary context.)

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἁμαρτία (hamartia)	G266	2x	"propitiation for our sins" — hilasmos always governs sin as its object via περί
περί (peri)	G4012	2x	"concerning/for" — the preposition linking propitiation to its object (sins)
αὐτός (autos)	G846	2x	Pronoun identifying Christ as the propitiation
κόσμος (kosmos)	G2889	1x	1 John 2:2 — scope extended to "the whole world"
ἀγάπη (agape)	G26	1x	1 John 4:10 — divine love as the motive for propitiation
υἱός (huios)	G5207	1x	1 John 4:10 — "sent his Son to be the propitiation"
ἀποστέλλω (apostello)	G649	1x	1 John 4:10 — the sending of the Son as propitiation

Word Family (hilask- root)¶

G2433 ἱλάσκομαι (hilaskomai) — verb: to propitiate, expiate, be merciful (2x: Luke 18:13; Heb 2:17)
G2435 ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion) — noun: propitiatory place or thing; mercy seat (2x: Rom 3:25; Heb 9:5)
G2436 ἵλεως (hileōs) — adjective: propitious, gracious, merciful (2x: Matt 16:22; Heb 8:12)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion)	G2435	both → "propitiation" (KJV)	hilasmos is abstract — the propitiatory act or provision; hilastērion is concrete — the place/object that serves as the propitiatory (mercy seat in Heb 9:5, or Christ as the public display of propitiation in Rom 3:25)

Synonyms (Louw-Nida 40.2 — Forgiveness)¶

G859 ἄφεσις (aphesis) — forgiveness, remission (17x); the release from guilt that propitiation achieves
G1943 ἐπικαλύπτω (epikalyptō) — to cover over, forgive (1x: Rom 4:7); Psalm 32:1 quotation

Antonyms¶

No direct antonyms returned by search_relationships.py.

Morphological Forms¶

Reference	Form	Parsing
1 John 2:2	ἱλασμός	Nominative Singular Masculine — predicate nominative ("he is the propitiation")
1 John 4:10	ἱλασμόν	Accusative Singular Masculine — purpose clause ("sent his Son to be the propitiation")

Hebrew Source (LXX Alignment)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	LXX Context	Notes
כִּפֻּר (kippur)	H3725	Lev 25:9; Num 5:8	"day of atonement," "ram of the atonement" — the atonement event
סְלִיחָה (selichah)	H5547	Psa 130:4; Dan 9:9	"forgiveness" — divine attribute of pardoning
חַטָּאָה (chattaah)	H2403	Eze 44:27	"sin offering" — the sacrificial context

The LXX translators chose ἱλασμός for both the cultic-ritual concept (kippur/atonement) and the relational-forgiveness concept (selichah/pardon), unifying what Hebrew expressed with distinct terms.

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 40 — Reconciliation, Forgiveness)¶

Strong's	Lemma	NT Occurrences	Primary KJV Translation
G2433	ἱλάσκομαι	2	be merciful, make reconciliation for
G2435	ἱλαστήριον	2	propitiation, mercyseat
G859	ἄφεσις	17	forgiveness, remission
G863	ἀφίημι	146	forgive, left
G2643	καταλλαγή	4	reconciliation, atonement
G2644	καταλλάσσω	6	reconcile
G604	ἀποκαταλλάσσω	3	reconcile
G5483	χαρίζομαι	23	forgave, forgiving
G1943	ἐπικαλύπτω	1	covered