Did you know you can “make atonement” for inanimate objects in Hebrew?
That’s right, Leviticus 16:18 describes the “day of atonement” where the high priest should “make atonement” for the altar before the tabernacle. Right after it says the priest should make atonement for the altar, a ritual is described where the priest takes some of the blood of a sacrifice and puts it on the horns of the altar. After this, he sprinkles some blood on the altar itself, and then the text says that the altar will be clean and will be purified from the uncleanness of Israel. Given that this ritual immediately follows God’s command for the high priest to “atone” for the altar, it seems that the ritual is a description of how “atonement” is made.
I am tired of using scare quotes around atonement, so let me just explain what I think this Hebrew word actually means. I think it is best approximated by the English word ‘cover’ and not ‘atone.’ In reality, the verb כִּפֶּר does not mean ‘cover’ nor does it mean ‘atone.’ It means כִּפֶּר. Whatever English word we want to substitute for it will be an imperfect approximation of the word. This is not about כִּפֶּר being special, but it is about words not having one-to-one correspondences in other languages. But why is ‘cover’ a better approximation than ‘atone?’ Simply put, examples like Leviticus 16:18 don’t work for the English word ‘atone.’ The action of the priest covering the altar with blood explains the act referred to be כִּפֶּר. The English word ‘cover’ works well for this, but the word ‘atone’ requires an animate object, and it does not necessarily mean to physically cover something.
Other contexts suggest this same meaning. In Number 17:11-12 (which is Numbers 16:47-47 in English), Moses tells Aaron to run out amidst the people carrying incense. He then says וְכַּפֵּר עֲלֵיהֶם. Pretty much every English translation uses some form of the word ‘atone’ in their translation in this verse, but what if we used ‘cover’ instead? I would argue that this makes far more sense. Aaron brings the incense to create a physical barrier between the wrath of God that had broken out and the people themselves. In other words, he covers them with the incense. Once they are covered, they are protected. The word ‘atone’ also works in this context, since ‘atonement’ has to do with something wrong being made right, and the wrath of God being among the people is definitely something wrong. However, ‘cover’ arguably works better because it describes what Aaron is physically doing with the incense, and it certainly fits Leviticus 16:18 better. Whereas ‘cover’ fits well for both contexts, the word ‘atone’ only works for Numbers 17, and ‘cover’ still seems to be a more appropriate rendering.
But are there some contexts where ‘atone’ works and ‘cover’ does not? At first glance, a passage like Leviticus 4:26 would be one such context. It says וְכִפֶּ֨ר עָלָ֧יו הַכֹּהֵ֛ן מֵחַטָּאתוֹ֖ וְנִסְלַ֥ח לוֹֽ ‘the priest will cover/atone for him for his sin, and he will be forgiven.’ This verse is the conclusion of a ritual performed with a sacrifice. After the priest performs all his ritual duties, we get this verse that tells us the result of the sacrifice. Since something is being made right, ‘atone’ fits this context well. However, the phrase ‘cover for’ also makes sense. The priest covers for the sinner with the sacrifice. This is a common colloquial expression. If someone owes a debt, I can cover the payment for him. The result is that he will be debt-free. I suggest that this is exactly what is happening with the sacrificial system. Because of sin, some sort of reparation must be made. The priest sacrifices an animal in order to cover for the sinner, so that he or she no longer needs to make the requisite reparation. Even in this meaning, ‘cover’ works remarkably well.
Again, this is not to suggest that the Hebrew word כִּפֶּר means the same thing as the English word ‘cover.’ I will say it again: כִּפֶּר means כִּפֶּר. But if we are looking for an approximation in English, the word ‘cover’ works remarkably well. The word ‘atone’ only works in a limited number of contexts, and it is, therefore, sometimes misleading to translate כִּפֶּר as ‘atone’, even though this is the word chosen most often by most English translations.
