Azazel as Scapegoat in Leviticus Rituals and Sacrifices
In the Levitical rituals, particularly those for the Day of Atonement, the term "Azazel" refers to a goat that is sent into the wilderness, bearing the sins of the people [1, 4]. The King James Version of the Bible translates "Azazel" as "scapegoat" [2]. This goat was one of two chosen for a sin offering for the congregation of Israel, the other being sacrificed to the Lord [10].
The ritual involved the high priest casting lots over the two goats: one lot "for the Lord" and the other "for Azazel" [4]. The goat designated "for Azazel" was presented alive before the Lord to make atonement, and then sent away into the wilderness [4, 5]. Before its release, the high priest would lay his hands upon the goat's head, confessing "all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins," thereby transferring these to the goat [6]. This act symbolized the goat bearing "upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited" [1]. The person who led the goat into the wilderness was required to wash his clothes and bathe before returning to the camp [3].
The precise meaning of "Azazel" has been a subject of varied interpretation [2, 8]. Some Jewish interpreters have understood it as the name of a place in the wilderness, specifically a mountain called Tzuk, located about ten Sabbath days' journey from Jerusalem [1, 9]. Abraham Ibn Ezra, a rationalist Jewish commentator, suggests that "Azazel" might refer to a "mighty and tall mountain," deriving the name from Hebrew words meaning "strong" and "tall" [9]. Other interpretations include the possibility of "Azazel" being the name of an evil spirit or even Satan [2]. Some scholars propose it means "the goat of going away" or "utter loss," reflecting the goat's role in removing Israel's sins from the camp [8].
The two goats together are seen by some as typifying Christ, upon whom the Lord "laid the iniquity of us all" [2]. The scapegoat ritual is distinct from other sacrifices, as its blood is not sprinkled on the altar, nor is its flesh consumed [7]. Instead, it serves to symbolically remove the sins of the community [8].
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Scapegoat — Lev. 16:8-26; R.V., "the goat for Azazel" (q.v.), the name given to the goat which was taken away into the wilderness on the day of Atonement (16:20-22). The priest made atonement over the scapegoat, laying Israel's guilt upon it, and then sent it away, the goat bearing "upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited." At a later period an evasion or modification of the law of Moses was introduced by the Jews. "The goat was conducted to a mountain named Tzuk, situated at a distance of ten Sabbath days' journey, or about six and a half English mil”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Azazel — (Lev. 16:8, 10, 26, Revised Version only here; rendered "scape-goat" in the Authorized Version). This word has given rise to many different views. Some Jewish interpreters regard it as the name of a place some 12 miles east of Jerusalem, in the wilderness. Others take it to be the name of an evil spirit, or even of Satan. But when we remember that the two goats together form a type of Christ, on whom the Lord "laid the iniquity of us all," and examine into the root meaning of this word (viz., "separation"), the interpretation of those who regard the one goat”
- Leviticus “Leviticus 16:26 (ASV) — And he that letteth go the goat for Azazel shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.”
- Leviticus “Leviticus 16:10 (ASV) — But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be set alive before Jehovah, to make atonement for him, to send him away for Azazel into the wilderness.”
- Leviticus (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Leviticus 16:10: But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat,.... Or for Azazel, of which more hereafter in the latter part of the verse: shall be presented alive before the Lord; this seems to be a second presentation; both the goats were presented before the Lord before the lots were cast, Lev 16:7; but this was afterwards, when one of the goats, according to the lot, being presented, was ordered to be killed for a sin offering, and the other according to the lot being presented alive, was ordered to remain so: to make an atonement with him; to make an atonement f”
- Leviticus (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Leviticus 16:20: he shall bring the live goat--Having already been presented before the Lord (Lev 16:10), it was now brought forward to the high priest, who, placing his hands upon its head, and "having confessed over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins," transferred them by this act to the goat as their substitute. It was then delivered into the hands of a person, who was appointed to lead him away into a distant, solitary, and desert place, where in early times he was let go, to escape for his life; but in”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 1:4: AND HE SHALL LAY HIS HAND. It would appear from the plain meaning of the text that the celebrant lays one hand 48 For Scripture reads yado (his hand). on the animal about to be sacrificed, for the manner of the scapegoat 49 Literally, the goat which is sent, the scapegoat which is sent into the wilderness on Yom Kippur. Scripture explicitly tells us that two hands are to be laid on the scapegoat. See Lev. 16:21. is unlike all sacrifices. 50 The scapegoat is not treated as all other sacrifices. Its blood is not sprinkled on the altar, and none of its flesh is ”
- Leviticus (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Leviticus 16:8: 16:8 The Hebrew term ‘aza’zel (Azazel) is found only in 16:8, 10, 26. This word has generally been interpreted in four different ways: (1) as a word meaning “the goat of going away”; (2) as a demon that lived in the wilderness; (3) as a strengthened form of the Hebrew word for “go, leave,” meaning “utter loss”; and (4) as a rocky cliff over which the goat was pushed. Since this goat represented the removal of the sins of Israel from the camp (16:22), the first interpretation is probably the simplest solution.”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 16:8: LOTS. We know what they are from the words of our sages. 31 See Yoma 36a. The Gaon 32 Rabbi Saadiah Gaon. says that Azazel is the name of a mountain. It is so called because of its might. 33 Hard and rocky. See Yoma 63a. Azazel is a combination of az (strong) and el (tall). Azazel thus means mighty and tall mountain (Krinsky). God’s name 34 The divine name El. El means mighty. is mentioned in Azazel as it is in ke-harere el (the mighty mountains) (Ps. 36:7) and in yakti’el (Joktheel) (II Kings 14:7). The Gaon, the Levite, 35 Neither I.E. nor any of the comme”
- Leviticus (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Leviticus 16:5: shall take of the congregation . . . two kids of the goats . . . and one ram--The sacrifices were to be offered by the high priest, respectively for himself and the other priests, as well as for the people. The bullock (Lev 16:3) and the goats were for sin offerings and the rams for burnt offerings. The goats, though used in different ways, constituted only one offering. They were both presented before the Lord, and the disposal of them determined by lot, which Jewish writers have thus described: The priest, placing one of the goats on his right han”