Bible Strands
Exodus 25:17
And you are to construct a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God commands Moses to fashion the ark's lid immediately after instructing him to place the Testimony inside it.
The words — The command uses כַפֹּרֶת (kappōret, "atonement cover") and זָהָב טָהוֹר (zahav tahor, "pure gold") to define the object's function and material composition.
The thread — The same measurements and materials appear in Exodus 37:6, the object is noted in Hebrews 9:5 as the place where cherubim overshadow it, and Romans 3:25 applies the term to Christ's blood.
Why it lands — The verse requires exact adherence to divine dimensions and materials, establishing the physical boundary where Israel's ritual atonement is centered.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Exodus 37:6 He constructed a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
- Hebrews 9:5 Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
- Romans 3:25 God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.
- Exodus 40:20 Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark.
- Leviticus 16:12 Then he must take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and take them inside the veil.
- 1 Chronicles 28:11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, storehouses, upper rooms, inner rooms, and the room for the mercy seat.
- Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
- Exodus 26:34 Put the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place.
- 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.