Exodus 25:17
in Exodus 25And you are to construct a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
KJV
And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
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This verse in Exodus 25
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A mercy seat of pure gold - (Compare Exo 37:6-9.) In external form, the mercy-seat was a plate of gold with the cherubim standing on it, the whole beaten out of one solid piece of metal Exo 37:7; it was placed upon the ark and so took the place of a cover. “mercy” seat expresses well the distinct significance and recognized designation of the Hebrew name. Exo 25:18-20 The cherubim of the mercy-seat were human figures, each having two wings. They must have been of small size, proportioned to the area of the mercy-seat.
This site's exposition
make a mercy seat of pure gold
on Exodus 25:17-19
The mercy seat occurs here for the first time in Scripture. The Septuagint renders the word with the Greek hilasterion, and Romans 3:25 uses that same word of Christ set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, a link an English reader has no way to see unless he is told. This piece is solid gold with no wood under it, and the two cherubims are beaten out of the same block rather than fastened on.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureItinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
For if you are a Cherub contemplating the essential attributes of God, and you wonder that the divine being is at once the first and the last, eternal and most present, most simple and greatest, that is, uncircumscribed, wholly everywhere and nowhere comprehended, most actual …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
This propitiatory covering, as it might well be translated, was a type of Christ, the great propitiation, whose satisfaction fully answers the demands of the law, covers our transgressions, and comes between us and the curse we deserve. Thus he is the end of the law for righteousness.
And these holy places made with hands were the figures of the true, Heb. ix, 24. The gospel-church is the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man, Heb. viii, 2. The body of Christ, in and by which he made atonement, was the greater and more perfect tabernacle, Heb. ix, 11.
quarantine:near-duplicate (2026-07-29) — near-dup(64%, 2 voices)
The mercy-seat was the covering of the ark, made exactly to fit the dimensions of it. This propitiatory covering, as it might well be translated, was a type of Christ the great propitiation, whose satisfaction covers our transgressions, and comes between us and the curse we deserve.
And thou shall make a mercy seat of pure gold,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold--to serve as a lid, covering it exactly. It was "the propitiatory cover," as the term may be rendered, denoting that Christ, our great propitiation [1Jo 2:2;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-brackets
A mercy-seat - כפרת capporeth, from כפר caphar, to cover or overspread; because by an act of pardon sins are represented as being covered, so that they no longer appear in the eye of Divine justice to displease, irritate, and call for punishment; and the person of the offender is covered or protected from the stroke of the broken law. In the Greek version of the Septuagint the word ιλαστηριον, hilasterion, is used, which signifies a propitiatory, and is the name used by the apostle, Heb 9:5. This mercy-seat or propitiatory was made of pure gold; it was properly the lid or covering of that vessel so well known by the name of the ark and ark of the covenant. On and before this, the high priest was to sprinkle the blood of the expiatory sacrifices on the great day of atonement: and it was in this place that God promised to meet the people, (see Exo 25:22); for there he dwelt, and there was the symbol of the Divine presence. At each end of this propitiatory was a cherub, between whom this glory was manifested; hence in Scripture it is so often said that he dwelleth between the cherubim. As the word ιλαστηριον, propitiatory or mercy-seat, is applied to Christ, Rom 3:25, whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation (ιλαστηριον) through faith in his blood - for the remission of sins that are past; hence we learn that Christ was the true mercy-seat, the thing signified by the capporeth, to the ancient believers. And we learn farther that it was by his blood that an atonement was to be made for the sins of the world. And as God showed himself between the cherubim over this propitiatory or mercy-seat, so it is said, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself; 2Co 5:19, etc. See on Leviticus 7 (note).
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ | veasita | and you will make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כַפֹּ֖רֶת | khaporet | an atonement cover | H3727 → | 27 times |
| זָהָ֣ב | zahav | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| טָה֑וֹר | tahor | pure | H2889 → | 94 times |
| אַמָּתַ֤יִם | ʾamatayim | [will be] two cubits | H520 → | 247 times |
| וָחֵ֙צִי֙ | vachetzi | and a half | H2677 → | 125 times |
| אָרְכָּ֔הּ | ʾarekah | length its | H753 → | 95 times |
| וְאַמָּ֥ה | veamah | and [will be] a cubit | H520 → | 247 times |
| וָחֵ֖צִי | vachetzi | and a half | H2677 → | 125 times |
| רָחְבָּֽהּ׃ | rachebah | breadth its | H7341 → | 101 times |
וְעָשִׂ֥יתָand you will make
veasitaH6213 →2628 times
כַפֹּ֖רֶתan atonement cover
khaporetH3727 →27 times
זָהָ֣בgold
zahavH2091 →389 times
טָה֑וֹרpure
tahorH2889 →94 times
אַמָּתַ֤יִם[will be] two cubits
ʾamatayimH520 →247 times
וָחֵ֙צִי֙and a half
vachetziH2677 →125 times
אָרְכָּ֔הּlength its
ʾarekahH753 →95 times
וְאַמָּ֥הand [will be] a cubit
veamahH520 →247 times
וָחֵ֖צִיand a half
vachetziH2677 →125 times
רָחְבָּֽהּ׃breadth its
rachebahH7341 →101 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 3:25God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.
it leads to
- Romans 3:23–24
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
- 1 Peter 1:18–20
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- 1 John 4:10
And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
- 1 John 2:2
He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
- Romans 5:9
Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!
- Romans 3:23–24
Through
Hebrews 9:5Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
it leads to
- Numbers 7:89
When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony.…
- Leviticus 16:2
And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he…
- Exodus 25:17–22
And you are to construct a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
- Numbers 7:89
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
About Exodus
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 6; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Sir Robert Anderson, Types in Hebrews.