Regarding the AV rendering of Hebrews 2:17

I. Introduction:

Chip C. was asking me about the AV rendering of Hebrews 2:17. Namely, why does the AV use the word "reconciliation" and not "propitiation"?

Here is the verse in several popular evangelical versions:

AV Hebrews 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

NASB Hebrews 2:17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

NKJV Hebrews 2:17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

NIV Hebrews 2:17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

And in the RSV tradition (including its evangelical grandchild, the ESV):

RSV Hebrews 2:17 Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people.

NRSV Hebrews 2:17 Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.

ESV Hebrews 2:17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

II. The Issue:

Here is the central issue: Why does the AV use "reconciliation" and not "propitiation"? The question is significant because evangelical scholars have long chided some modern versions for their elimination of the word "propitiation" and the substitution of less forceful words to describe the atonement not merely as the removal of sin (expiation) but as the appeasement of God’s righteous wrath against sin (propitiation). Specifically, evangelicals have criticized the RSV’s use of "expiation" and the NIV’s use of "atoning sacrifice" in place of "propitiation" in I John 2:2; 4:10; and Romans 3:25.

The question might be raised, ‘Does the AV rendering of Hebrews 2:17 soften the notion of "propitiation" by using the word "reconciliation"?’

III. The explanation:

The explanation of the AV rendering becomes clear when we examine the Greek text. The phrase rendered "to make reconciliation" (AV; "to make propitiation" NASB, NKJV, ESV) comes from the deponent verb hilaskomai. BAGD (2nd ed.) gives the first definition for this verb as "propitiate, conciliate" noting that in the passive it means "be propitiated, be merciful or gracious." The second definition given is "expiate" and lists Heb 2:17 as an example (erroneously, in my opinion). The only other time this verb appears in the NT is in Luke 18: 13 in the Parable of the Publican and the Tax Collector, when the penitent tax collector cries out, "God be merciful (hilastheti, an aorist passive) to me, a sinner." Most translations agree on the "be merciful" (AV, NASB, NKJV, ESV) or "have mercy" (NIV) rendering here.

In the other disputed passages over "propitiation," the issue has been the proper translation of the noun hilasmos (appearing only in the NT in I John 2:2; 4:10) and hilasterion (Rom 3:25; the only other use of this noun in the NT is in Heb 9:5 where it is typically translated as "mercy seat"(AV, NASB, NKJV, ESV; "atonement cover" NIV).

So, the AV translators chose to render the verb hilaskomai in Heb 2:17 as "to make reconciliation"; whereas, modern evangelical translations have preferred to render it "to make propitiation" (NASB, NKJV, ESV). Modern evangelical versions are most likely influenced by disputes over the proper translation of the nouns hilasmos in 1 John 2:2; 4:10; and hilasterion in Romans 3:25. Clearly, the AV translators had no notion of softening the sense of Christ’s atonement as a "propitiation," as their renderings of 1 John 2:2; 4:10 and Rom 3:25 make clear. Modern evangelical translations, making clear the fact that the noun for "propitiation" comes from the verb hilaskomai in Hebrews 2:17, reflect polemical struggles with liberals over the meaning and significance of the atoning death of Jesus.

JTR