Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Live Goat's Bearing of Sins
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Leviticus 16:8
In the Day of Atonement ritual involving two goats, the Hebrew text calls the living goat azazel (Leviticus 16:8, 10, 26), often translated as "scapegoat." Scholars present numerous and conflicting interpretations of the living goat, and they cannot even agree on a definition of this word. Given that a basic tenet of Bible study is not to base a doctrine on the meaning of a Hebrew word—nor "to strive about words" (II Timothy 2:14)—we will skip the definition and consider the larger picture. The interpretation with the most biblical support is that this goat prefigures Jesus Christ: The Father laid our sins and iniquities on His innocent head (Isaiah 53:6), and He bore them as a substitutionary sacrifice (Isaiah 53:11-12; Hebrews 9:28; I Peter 2:24), just like the azazel. Paul writes in II Corinthians 5:21 that He became sin for us as the live goat did for the Israelites. Jesus, too, was led "outside the gate" (Hebrews 13:12) as the azazel was led "outside the camp" (see verse 11: The two phrases are parallel). And, just as being sent from God's presence signifies a curse, Christ became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). Many scriptures readily support Christ's fulfillment of the live goat. A second interpretation is that the live goat represents Satan. Humanity's sins will be placed on Satan's head, and he will bear them. This interpretation is highly problematic, chiefly because the bearing of sin is what the Messiah does, not the Devil! Nowhere does Scripture support the idea that humanity's sins will be confessed over or laid on Satan's head. It is an assertion without any biblical fulfillment. Worldwide Church of God (WCG) leaders recognized that Satan cannot bear human sins and said so adamantly in their writings. Nevertheless, the WCG still interpreted the azazel as a type of Satan, claiming that the Day of Atonement pictures the Devil's sins being put on his own head. Yet, this explanation is also a non-starter because Atonement contemplates only human sins, not those of demons (Leviticus 16:21). This third interpretation is another assertion without biblical backing. It sounds plausible at first, but the Bible nowhere reveals a fulfillment.
David C. Grabbe
Inventing Goddesses and Demons (Part Three)
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Leviticus 16:10
The New King James Version (NKJV) translates Leviticus 16:10 as: But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat [azazel] shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat [azazel] into the wilderness. Contrast this with the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation: . . . but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel. Did you catch the shocking difference? The NKJV reads that the live goat was chosen to be the azazel. In this translation, azazel describes the role that this goat fills: to be taken away, bearing the nation's sins, so they are completely removed. However, the NRSV (along with some other modern translations) reads that this goat was to be sent to Azazel. In other words, the translators do not interpret the goat as the azazel, but rather that the goat is sent to a personality named Azazel! Some scholars see "Azazel" as a name because compound nouns—nouns made of two words—are often proper nouns (names) in Hebrew. The Hebrew word azazel appears to be a compound noun, so the possibility exists that it is a name. While the Hebrew allows for it, it does not require it. What tips the scale for modern translators is Jewish folklore. Between the testaments, Jewish folklore invented a lesser demon named Azazel, who was blamed for all human sin (see The Book of Enoch). A millennium after Leviticus 16, the word azazel had been turned into a name. Many Jews of this time used a saying that reveals how they intertwined Scripture with folklore: "On the day of atonement, a gift to Sammael" (see The Judgment, Its Events and Their Order by J.N. Andrews, pp. 78-81). These Jews viewed the live goat as an offering sent to Samael, the Devil, who blended with their myth of Azazel, as folklore is wont to do. A significant difference exists between the goat being chosen "to be" the azazel and it being "sent . . . to" a personality, a demon, named Azazel! Let this sink in: If, at God's command, the Israelites sent a sacrificial animal to Azazel—if this biblical ritual was designed to appease or even acknowledge a demon—the Israelites would be committing gross idolatry at God's instigation! It is an appalling assertion. Regardless of the thoughts of some Jews in the centuries before Christ or what translators think the Hebrew suggests, the live goat could not possibly represent a gift or offering sent to a demon. Not only is sacrificing to demons directly prohibited in the very next chapter (Leviticus 17:7), but God says right in the covenant not even to mention the names of other gods (Exodus 23:13). In Deuteronomy 12:3, He commands Israel to destroy the names of false gods wherever they find them. He declares in Exodus 22:20, "He who sacrifices to any god, except to the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed." Yet, modern translators and other scholars would have us believe the holy God not only enshrined the name of a demon in the instructions for this solemn day, but He also intended His people to acknowledge or even placate this false god with a sacrificial animal. He did not. Instead, He commanded an Israelite to lead a substitutionary animal bearing the nation's sins away from the camp, prefiguring the Messiah. God called that animal azazel, "complete removal." If we stick to God's Word, we get a single, cohesive scenario. If, however, we borrow ideas from this anti-God world, something very different and destructive emerges, twisting the truth of God. As Paul writes, such doctrines of demons lead to people departing the faith (I Timothy 4:1). We must reject the cup of demons and drink only from the cup of the Lord (I Corinthians 10:21).
David C. Grabbe
Inventing Goddesses and Demons (Part Three)
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Leviticus 16:20-22
Most of what happened with the first goat and its blood was out of view of the congregation, as it was used to "make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness" (verse 16). More meaningful to the people was what happened to the second goat, “the goat of departure,” which they could watch as it carried their sins out of sight. One of the best-known Messianic prophecies provides an unambiguous fulfillment of the live goat's bearing of sins: Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. . . . He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:4, 11-12; emphasis ours) Scripture also describes the Messiah's “bearing” of transgression as acceptance, forgiveness, and pardon (Job 42:8-9; Psalm 25:18; 28:9; 32:1, 5; 85:2; Micah 7:18). The Hebrew word means “to lift up,” “to carry,” and “to take away.” It is tied to forgiveness because it is as if He carries the sins out of sight. While the Bible also uses it to refer to what men do—such as “carry” (Genesis 47:30) and “forgive” (Genesis 50:17)—it is never used to refer to Satan. Christ's bearing of sins goes beyond paying the penalty, fitting perfectly with one of the meanings of azazel, “complete removal” (compare Psalm 103:12). In Isaiah 53:12, the bearing is linked with intercession. They are not the same thing, but the parallelism indicates that an active work occurs in carrying the sins until they are completely removed from view, figuratively “as far as the east is from the west.” We see the same thing in the New Testament. I Peter 2:24 says Jesus “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree.” Not only did He bear the sins, but He did it by Himself, just as the azazel did (Leviticus 16:22). He did not share that role. The author writes in Hebrews 9:28, “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.” His single and singular sacrifice both cleansed the sanctuary and bore away the sins of many.
David C. Grabbe
Who Fulfills the Azazel Goat—Satan or Christ? (Part Two)
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