The Mercy Seat
Tabernacle Furnitureכַּפֹּרֶת — “Place of atonement / covering” · H3727
Where atoning blood met the broken Law — a picture of Christ our propitiation.
The solid-gold lid of the Ark, flanked by two cherubim, where atoning blood was sprinkled and God met with Israel.
What It Was
The mercy seat was the lid of the Ark of the Covenant — a slab of pure gold the same length and breadth as the chest, with two cherubim of beaten gold rising from its two ends, their wings stretched out to cover it (Exodus 25:17–20).
The meeting place
“There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat” (Exodus 25:22). It was the focal point of the entire tabernacle.
Biblical Significance & Symbolism
On the Day of Atonement the high priest sprinkled sacrificial blood on the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:14). The Greek translation calls it the hilasterion — the very word Paul applies to Jesus in Romans 3:25 and John in 1 John 2:2. Christ is the true mercy seat: the place where God’s justice and mercy meet over the broken Law.
Timeline
Made of beaten gold with two cherubim
Appointed as the place God meets Israel
Scripture References
23 versesExodus16 verses
Exodus 25:17
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.
Exodus 25:18
And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
Exodus 25:19
And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. of: or, of the matter of the mercy seat
Exodus 25:20
And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
Exodus 25:21
And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
Exodus 25:22
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
Exodus 26:34
And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.
Exodus 30:6
And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.
Exodus 31:7
The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, furniture: Heb. vessels
Exodus 35:12
The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering,
Exodus 37:6
And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
Exodus 37:7
And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat; on: or, out of, etc
Exodus 37:8
One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof. on the end: or, out of, etc on the other end: or, out of, etc
Exodus 37:9
And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.
Exodus 39:35
The ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy seat,
Exodus 40:20
And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
Leviticus4 verses
Leviticus 16:2
And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
Leviticus 16:13
And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
Leviticus 16:14
And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
Leviticus 16:15
Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
Numbers1 verse
Numbers 7:89
And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him. with him: that is, with God
1 Chronicles1 verse
1 Chronicles 28:11
Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat,
Hebrews1 verse
Hebrews 9:5
And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.
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Frequently asked about The Mercy Seat
What was The Mercy Seat in the Bible?
The solid-gold lid of the Ark, flanked by two cherubim, where atoning blood was sprinkled and God met with Israel.
What does The Mercy Seat symbolize?
Where atoning blood met the broken Law — a picture of Christ our propitiation.
What does the name The Mercy Seat mean?
The name The Mercy Seat means “Place of atonement / covering”.
What was The Mercy Seat made of?
The Mercy Seat was made of pure beaten gold.
Who made The Mercy Seat?
The Mercy Seat was made by Bezalel.
Where was The Mercy Seat kept?
The Mercy Seat was kept at Upon the Ark, in the Most Holy Place.
Where is The Mercy Seat first mentioned in the Bible?
The Mercy Seat is first mentioned in Exodus 25:17.
How often is The Mercy Seat mentioned in the Bible?
The Mercy Seat is mentioned in 23 verses across 5 books: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 1 Chronicles, Hebrews.
What was the mercy seat?
The pure-gold lid of the Ark, with two cherubim, where atoning blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement and where God met with Israel.
How does the mercy seat point to Jesus?
The Greek word for it (hilasterion) is the same word Paul uses of Christ as our propitiation in Romans 3:25 — the place atoning blood satisfies God’s justice.
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