katallassō

Semantic range

1. 1to exchange one thing for another (the commercial root)
2. 2to change enmity for friendship
3. 3to reconcile parties

The root meaning is exchange — allassō, to change. Reconciliation in this vocabulary is a transaction in which hostility is exchanged for peace. 2 Corinthians 5:18–20 says God has done the reconciling and given His servants "the ministry of reconciliation."

Note the direction of the verbs throughout the New Testament: God reconciles the world to Himself. He is not the party being appeased into cooperation. That matters for how the Atonement is preached — Jacob 4:11 invites us to "be reconciled unto him," and 2 Nephi 10:24 says to reconcile yourselves to the will of God. The estrangement to be overcome is ours.

See also

• כָּפַרkāphar
• ἱλαστήριονhilastērion
• εἰρήνηeirēnē