H3725 — כִּפֻּר (kippur)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H3725
Original: כִּפֻּר
Transliteration: kippur
Pronunciation: kip-poor
Part of Speech: Masculine plural noun
Root: כָּפַר (kaphar, H3722) — to cover, expiate, atone
Occurrences: 7 unique verses (8 tokens) in 3 books
First Occurrence: Exo 29:36 — "a bullock [for] a sin offering for atonement"
Hapax Legomenon: No
Note: Occurs only in the plural form (kippurim) in Hebrew

Lexicon Definition¶

From H3722 (kaphar); expiation (only in plural): —atonement.

The plural form כִּפֻּרִים (kippurim) is the abstract plurale tantum for the concept of expiation/atonement. The singular form does not occur. This is the noun in the phrase יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים (Yom HaKippurim — Day of Atonements), the annual Day of Atonement.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
of atonement	4	57%
atonement	1	14%
of atonements	1	14%
of the atonement	1	14%

KJV consistently renders kippur as "atonement" in all occurrences. The singular English form is used even though the Hebrew is plural.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Leviticus	3	0.3
Exodus	2	0.2
Numbers	2	0.2

All occurrences are confined to the Pentateuch, exclusively in Leviticus-Numbers ritual law and the Exodus Sinai instructions. Concentrated in the priestly legislation for the sacrificial calendar and tabernacle service.

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Annual Day of Atonement (Yom Kippurim)¶

The tenth day of the seventh month — Israel's holiest fast day, a day of total rest and affliction.

Lev 23:27 — "Also on the tenth [day] of this seventh month [there shall be] a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD."
Lev 23:28 — "And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it [is] a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God."
Lev 25:9 — "Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth [day] of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land."

2. Altar and Tabernacle Consecration¶

Atonement offerings made during the initial consecration of the altar and the ongoing annual maintenance of the incense altar.

Exo 29:36 — "And thou shalt offer every day a bullock [for] a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it."
Exo 30:10 — "And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it [is] most holy unto the LORD."

3. Legal Restitution (No Human Redeemer)¶

Atonement made to YHWH when a trespass victim has no surviving kinsman to receive restitution.

Num 5:8 — "But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, [even] to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him."

4. Festival Calendar Offerings¶

Kippur cited as a category marker for the special sin offering prescribed alongside the regular festival sacrifices on Yom Kippurim.

Num 29:11 — "One kid of the goats [for] a sin offering; beside the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering of it, and their drink offerings."

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יוֹם (yom/day)	H3117	4x	"day of atonement" — Yom HaKippurim
כָּפַר (kaphar)	H3722	4x	"day of atonement, to make atonement" — noun + root verb in same verse
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	4x	atonement is directed toward / performed before YHWH
חַטָּאָה (chattaah)	H2403	3x	"sin offering of atonement" — kippur tied to the chattaah sacrifice
קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh)	H6944	2x	"most holy" — atonement rituals marked by extreme holiness
עָשׂוֹר (asor)	H6218	2x	"tenth [day]" — fixed calendar position of Yom Kippurim
שְׁבִיעִי (shebii)	H7637	2x	"seventh month" — Tishri context of Yom Kippurim

Word Family / Cognates (כפר root)¶

H3722 כָּפַר (kaphar) — root verb: to cover, atone, expiate (102 occurrences)
H3724 כֹּפֶר (kopher) — ransom price, satisfaction, bribe; the amount paid (17 occurrences)
H3727 כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporeth) — the mercy seat / atonement cover on the ark (27 occurrences)

Synonyms¶

No synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H3725.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H3725.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
כָּפַר (kaphar)	H3722	both yield "atonement" in KJV	kaphar is the verb (the action performed); kippur is the noun (the event or ritual result)
כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporeth)	H3727	both tied to "atonement" context	kapporeth = the physical atonement cover / mercy seat; kippur = the abstract event of expiation
כֹּפֶר (kopher)	H3724	both derive from כפר root	kopher = the ransom price or substitute paid; kippur = the resulting state of expiation

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002003003015] Innocent — search_relationships.py places kippur in a cleared/blameless field, alongside neighbors such as H935 בוא, H1252/H1253 בֹּר, H1305 ברר, and H1460 גֵּו.

LXX Mapping¶

The gather_word_data.py tool identifies Greek co-occurrences in LXX verses corresponding to the 7 Hebrew verses. No single Greek word dominates as a direct lexical equivalent (all co-occurrence counts are low, reflecting a rare Hebrew term). The top co-occurring Greek words are:

Greek Word	Strong's	Co-occ	Why It Appears
ἁμαρτία (hamartia)	G266	3x	Translates חַטָּאָה (chattaah) in the same verses — "sin offering" context
ἡμέρα (hemera)	G2250	4x	Translates יוֹם (yom) in "day of atonement" phrases
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	5x	Translates יְהֹוָה (YHWH) in the same verses

The LXX typically renders כִּפֻּרִים (kippurim) as ἐξιλασμός (exilasmos) or within the phrase ἡμέρα ἐξιλασμοῦ (day of atonement), but direct lexical alignment data is limited by the small verse count (7 verses).

No auto-trace generated: no dominant Greek equivalent meets the threshold (≥20 co-occurrences).