mercy seat

plural mercy seats

1. JudaismChristianityThe lid of the Ark of the Covenant, on which God is said to have been enthroned; taken to represent the throne in heaven.

   And thou shalt make a Mercieseat of pure gold: two cubites and a halfe shalbe the length thereof, and a cubite and a halfe the breadth thereof.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 25:17

   1 more example

   The greatest mystery of Religion is expressed by adumbration, and in the noblest part of Jewish Types, we finde the Cherubims shadowing the Mercy-seat.

   1658, Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, Folio Society, published 2007, page 206

2. Synonym of mourners' bench.

   Synonyms: mourners' bench