Wikipedia's first sentence called it “golden covering of the ark of the covenant in judaism and the throne of god in heaven”. Today it says “gold lid placed on the ark of the covenant”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant”. It now reads “Gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant Replica of the ark of the covenant, with the "”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
The mercy seat ( Hebrew kapporeth or Greek hilasterion ) is the golden covering of the Ark of the Covenant in Judaism and the throne of God in heaven . It was stored in the Most Holy Place . It was on the lid of the Ark with two cherubim with their faces turned toward each other ( Leviticus 16:2; Numbers 7:89)—the mercy seat was the sole exception on the ban against engraved images. Their outspread wings over the top of the ark formed the throne of God, while the ark itself was his footstool ( Exodus 25:10-22; 37:1-9). The holiest place of the mercy seat was the oracle where Yahweh made announcements from a cloud or bright light over the oracle. Christians hold that the sacrifice of Jesus was the equivalent of the atonement shown by the mercy seat.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17225156.
The opening as it stood in 2010 6 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
According to the Bible , the mercy seat ( Name 1 ) was an object which rested upon the Ark of the Covenant , and was connected with the rituals of Yom Kippur ; the term also appears in the Pauline Epistles , and has a significance in Christian theology .The phrase mercy seat is not a translation of the Hebrew term kapporeth , which appears in its place in the Masoretic text , nor of the Greek term hilasterion , which takes the same place in the Septuagint , but instead is the translation by William Tyndale of the German term Gnadenstuhl , from the same narrative position in the Luther Bible ; Gnadenstuhl literally means seat of grace , in the sense of location of grace .Though kapporeth is probably derived from kaphar , which is often considered to mean cover , the literal meaning of kaphar is wipe out , implying that kapporeth means thing of wiping out / thing of cleansing ; the cognate Arabic term kaffarat (also generally taken to mean cover , but from which the word kafir also derives) is used in modern legal contexts to refer to any mechanism of rectifying illegality (ranging from rectifying the failure to fast during Ramadan to the rectification of murder ), for example the freeing of slaves after the slave has suffered shocking circumstances could be considered as a kaffarat .Similarly hilasterion etymologically means thing for propitiation , with Hesychius writing that a synonym of hilasterion was thing for catharsis , while the Vulgate translates it as propitiatorium .Thus it is unclear whether the kapporeth was the lid of the Ark, or merely sat on top of the Ark, possibly with the Ark having a cover beneath it.Cheyne and Black, Encyclopedia Biblica ibid ibid ibid
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 364351144.
The opening as it stood in 2015 5 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
uses2 According to the Bible , the mercy seat ( Name 1 ) was the lid or cover of solid gold of the Ark of the Covenant , and was connected with the rituals of the Day of Atonement ; the term also appears in later Jewish sources, and twice in the New Testament , from where it has significance in Christian theology .The English phrase mercy seat is a translation of the Hebrew kapporeth (in the Masoretic text ) and its Greek hilasterion (in the Septuagint ) by William Tyndale influenced by the German word Gnadenstuhl as in the Luther Bible ; Gnadenstuhl , literally meaning seat of grace .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 655013234.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant For other uses, see Mercy seat (disambiguation) ." The Ark and the Mercy Seat", 1894 illustration by Henry Davenport Northrop According to the Hebrew Bible the kaporet ( ha-kappōreṯ ) or mercy seat was the gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant , with two cherubim beaten out of the ends to cover and create the space into which Yahweh was said to appear. This was connected with the rituals of the Day of Atonement . The term also appears in later Jewish sources, and twice in the New Testament , from where it has significance in Christian theology .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 960094623.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant For other uses, see Mercy seat (disambiguation) . Replica of the ark of the covenant, with the "mercy seat" ( kaporet ) acting as lid. According to the Hebrew Bible , the kaporet ( kapōreṯ ) or mercy seat was the gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant , with two cherubim beaten out of the ends to cover and create the space in which Yahweh appeared and dwelled. This was connected with the rituals of the Day of Atonement . The term also appears in later Jewish sources, and twice in the New Testament , from where it has significance in Christian theology .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1177047071.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant For other uses, see Mercy seat (disambiguation) . Replica of the ark of the covenant, with the "mercy seat" ( kaporet ) acting as lid. According to the Hebrew Bible , the kaporet ( Hebrew : כַּפֹּרֶת kapōreṯ ) or mercy seat was the gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant , with two cherubim at the ends to cover and create the space in which Yahweh appeared and dwelled. This was connected with the rituals of the Day of Atonement . The term also appears in later Jewish sources, and twice in the New Testament , from where it has significance in Christian theology .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1294418248. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “golden covering of the ark of the covenant in judaism and the throne of god in heaven”. Today it says “gold lid placed on the ark of the covenant”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant”. It now reads “Gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant Replica of the ark of the covenant, with the "”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
golden covering of the ark of the covenant in judaism and the throne of god in heaven
Now
gold lid placed on the ark of the covenant
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
