Yom Kippur - Etymology

Etymology

Yom means "day" in Hebrew and Kippur comes from a root that means "to atone". Thus Yom Kippur has come to mean "day of atonement". Some say there is a link to kapporet, the “mercy seat” or covering of the Ark of the Covenant. Abraham Ibn Ezra states that the word indicates the task and not just the shape of the ark cover; since the blood of the Yom Kippur sacrifice was sprinkled in its direction, it was the symbol of propitiation.

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