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Leviticus 16:8
Some scholars suggest that azazel is a name because compound nouns are frequently used as proper nouns in Hebrew. Azazel appears to be a compound noun; thus, it could be a name. However, it is not definitive. In English, proper nouns are easy to recognize because they begin with a capital letter, but in Hebrew, only the meaning or context will identify them. The question is, if azazel is a name, whom does it identify? Consider this: The word satan (Strong's #7854) means “adversary,” describing the Devil's primary role. However, the first two times the word satan is used, it does not describe the Devil, but rather God, who calls Himself an adversary of the wicked (Numbers 22:22, 32). Thus, even if the word azazel is a proper noun, more biblical support is required before we conclude that it is the name of a demon. Along these lines, the Moffatt translation makes a great leap in Leviticus 16, rendering the word azazel as “Azâzel the demon.” This is not a translation but a risky addition and assumption because the Hebrew in the chapter does not mention demons. Yet that idea is reinforced every time Moffatt's rendering of Leviticus 16 is read.
David C. Grabbe
Azazel: Beginnings
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