# Commentary on 1 John Word Study – Expiation > *Expiation* (1 Jn 2:2) - *Hilasmos* (Gk.): a term that can mean \"propitiation\" with reference to God or \"expiation\" with reference to sin. The word is used only twice in the NT (1 Jn 2:2; 4:10) but is related to other biblical terms with a similar meaning (Lk 18:13; Rom 3:25; Heb 2:17). In all of these instances, the notion of removing or wiping away sin is in view. The basis for this understanding comes from the Greek OT, where *hilasmos* is a cultic term that refers to an expiatory sacrifice of atonement (Num 5:8; Ezek 44:27; 2 Mac 3:33). John interprets the death of Jesus along the same lines: the shedding of his blood on the Cross was an act of sacrifice that takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29; 1 Jn 1:7) (CCC 457, 614). --- > Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, *The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament*, Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010).