The Hebrew word kaphar means "to cover over," but is often translated as atonement. The word atonement is an abstract word and in order to understand the true Hebrew meaning of a word we must look to the concrete meaning. If an offense has been made, the one that has been offended can act as though the offense is covered over and unseen. We express this idea through the word of forgiveness. Atonement is an outward action that covers over the error. Strong's: 3722
Isn't this exactly what our Heavenly Father has done for us? Isn't it what we see through the act of Atonement? Certainly in this case, the act of atonement is the reconciliation God the Father provided us by the sacrifice of Christ to cover our sins. To use the words of our day, God is saying to us, "I got you covered." Indeed God tells us if we repent, we are totally forgiven; our sins are covered and unseen.
